Guide

How a cash offer on a North Texas house actually works, start to close

A direct sale has fewer steps than a listing, but each one matters. Here's the order, what's normal, and what isn't.

Updated October 2026

A younger man and an older homeowner smiling while reviewing a document together — Photo: Kampus Production / Pexels

The steps

You send the address and the situation. Condition, timeline, whether anyone lives there. We pass it to one local buyer, who calls within 24 hours, usually the same day.
One walk-through, usually within a few days. One visit, not a parade.
Written offer with the price, the closing date, who pays which closing costs, and any contingencies. "Cash" should mean no financing contingency.
Contract at a title company. Texas sales typically use TREC-promulgated contract forms. The title company holds the earnest money, runs the title search and prepares the closing.
Option period, if there is one: a short window the buyer pays for to inspect and back out. Short or none is normal in a cash deal.
Closing. You sign at the title company (or with a notary the title company arranges), the buyer's funds are wired to the title company, the lender and any liens are paid from the proceeds, and the rest is wired to you.

Buying or assigning: ask, and expect a straight answer

Some buyers purchase with their own funds and keep or resell the house. Others put it under contract and assign that contract to another investor who closes. Both are legal in Texas, and since September 2017 the law requires the second kind to tell you: Texas Occupations Code 1101.0045 and Property Code 5.086 require anyone selling an option or assigning a contract to disclose that they hold only an equitable interest, not title. So ask the buyer: "Are you closing on this yourself, or assigning it?" An honest buyer answers plainly either way. If a contract may be assigned, the practical questions are who the end buyer is, how earnest money is protected, and what happens to your closing date if the assignment falls through; those answers belong in the contract.

What's normal

A cash offer below the repaired retail value; that's what you're trading for speed and no repairs.
Earnest money held by the title company, not the buyer.
You choosing the closing date, within reason.
Closing costs that the buyer offers to cover.

What's not

Money changing hands outside the title company.
Being asked to sign the deed before closing, or to sign a document you haven't read.
A "cash" offer that turns out to need the buyer's financing.
Pressure to sign today. A real offer survives a night's sleep.

Questions people ask

Who pays closing costs?

Negotiable; investor buyers often cover most of them. It's in the written offer, so read that line.

How fast can it close?

Once title is clear, a cash closing can happen in a couple of weeks; probate or lien issues add time regardless of who the buyer is.

Do I need an agent?

Not for a direct sale, but nothing stops you from having one or an attorney review the contract. For a complicated title (probate, divorce, liens), a real estate attorney is money well spent.

Cash offer vs. listing: When a direct as-is sale beats listing with an agent, when it doesn't, and the one calculation to do before you decide: net to you after repairs, time and risk.
Avoiding scams: How to tell a legitimate as-is buyer from an equity-stripping scheme or a wholesaler who won't say so. Built from Texas Department of Insurance fraud guidance and Texas's wholesaling disclosure law.
Inherited a house: Selling an inherited house in Texas: what has to happen with the estate first, when a seller's disclosure applies, and how an as-is sale fits when the heirs are spread out.
Behind on the mortgage: How Texas non-judicial foreclosure timing works, the first-Tuesday sale, and when selling the house directly before the sale date is the better outcome. Also what equity-stripping scams look like.

Sources

Get a written, no-obligation offer within days

You get a call within 24 hours, usually the same day. One local buyer looks at the property as it is and gives you a written offer with a closing date. No repairs, no showings, no commission, no fee to you, and no list of companies calling. Buyers in this network typically pay the closing costs; the written offer spells out exactly what they cover.

1. Tell us the address, the property type and the situation. Two minutes.
2. You get a call within 24 hours. Your request goes to one North Texas buyer, not to a list.
3. They walk the property once and put the offer in writing. Take it, or take it to an agent and compare.

Your name

Mobile number

Property address ZIP What's the situation Property type When would you like to close? Anything else worth knowing

A cash as-is offer is below full retail value. We say that up front because the buyer will too.

DFW Direct Home OfferIndependent referral service

Plain answers about selling North Texas real estate as-is, in 13 counties, and one introduction to a local buyer when you want a written offer.

Situations

Guides

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DFW Direct Home Offer is an independent referral service, not a home buyer, broker, or agent. We don't make offers, hold funds, or handle closings; any offer, contract, and closing are between you and the independent buyer we connect you with, through a title company you choose. That buyer may buy the property or assign the contract, and Texas law requires them to tell you which. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice.