If you are considering a cash offer, these are the questions worth asking. The answers matter, but so does the reaction — a legitimate buyer answers them as a matter of routine.
About the offer
What is your offer, in writing, in a standard contract? Not a number on a business card. A normal, reviewable purchase contract.
How did you arrive at that figure? A buyer who has actually assessed the property can explain their reasoning. One who cannot is either guessing or hoping you will not ask.
What do you estimate the home would list for on the open market? A straight answer here tells you the size of the discount you are being asked to accept. Evasion tells you something too.
About the buyer
Can you show proof of funds? A genuine cash buyer has this ready. If financing is actually involved, that is not a cash offer, and the certainty you are paying a discount for is not there.
Are you buying it, or assigning the contract to someone else? Both happen. You are entitled to know which, because it affects whether the deal that closes is the one you agreed.
Who is your lawyer? Real transactions run through real lawyers.
About the terms
What conditions are in this offer? "Cash, no conditions" should be visible in the contract, not just said out loud.
What happens if you reduce your price before closing? Ask directly. Ask what recourse you have. The answer reveals a great deal.
Are there any fees, deductions or holdbacks? The number you sign should be the number that arrives.
The one question for yourself
Is the discount worth the certainty? If a sale date is close and a marketed sale realistically cannot complete in time, then paying for speed is rational — you are buying a guaranteed outcome. If you have months of runway, you are paying a great deal for convenience you do not need.
The way to answer that is to know both numbers: what a cash sale gives you today, and what a properly marketed sale would likely net. Comparing them is free.
Questions people ask
General information about the Alberta foreclosure process — not legal or financial advice, and nothing here guarantees an outcome. Every file is different.