If you have called more than one cash home buyer in Tulsa, you probably have two or three numbers in front of you, and the natural thing is to take the biggest one. Sometimes that is right. Often it is not, because the price on page one of a purchase contract is not the amount you walk away with.
This page shows how to put two Tulsa cash offers side by side and compare what each one actually puts in your pocket, and how likely it is to close on the date it says.
To compare cash home buyers in Tulsa, look past the offer price to seven terms: who pays the closing costs and the abstract update, how much earnest money they put up and when it becomes non-refundable, how long their inspection period runs, whether the contract can be assigned to someone else, who controls the closing date, any "subject to" clauses, and what happens to the contents and your move-out. A lower offer with the buyer paying all closing costs, a short inspection period and no assignment clause routinely nets a Tulsa seller more, and closes more reliably, than a higher offer without those terms. Ask every buyer for a written contract, not a verbal number, and compare the contracts line by line.
A verbal number on the phone costs a buyer nothing to say. A written contract is where the real offer lives, and the gap between the two is where most sellers lose money.
There are two ways a high offer shrinks. The first is costs that land on you at the closing table: title work, the abstract update, a share of closing fees, prorated taxes. The second is the re-trade. The buyer signs at a high number, ties the house up through a long inspection period, then comes back a week before closing with a list of "problems we found" and a lower price. By then you have stopped talking to the other buyers, and you are negotiating against your own deadline.
Neither one shows up in the headline number. Both show up in the contract, if you know where to look. (If what you need is to check whether a buyer is legitimate in the first place, that is a different job, covered in how to check out a Tulsa cash home buyer before you sign anything. If you want to know how the offer number itself gets built, that is on how we buy houses Tulsa companies work.)
1. Who pays closing costs. Some buyers pay all of them. Some split them "as customary." Some leave most of them with you. Ask for the answer in writing, in the contract, not in a text message. On a Tulsa sale the closing costs a seller can be handed include the title company's closing fee, the abstract update, release-of-mortgage recording fees, and the seller's share of any title insurance.2. The abstract update. Oklahoma is an abstract state. Before a sale closes, the abstract of title for the property is brought current and examined by an attorney. If your abstract has not been updated in years, or has been lost, the cost and time involved are not trivial. Find out who pays for it and who orders it.3. Earnest money, and when it goes hard. Earnest money is the deposit the buyer puts down to show they are serious. Two numbers matter: how much it is, and the date after which the buyer loses it if they walk away. A buyer who puts down a meaningful deposit that goes non-refundable after a short inspection period has something to lose. A buyer who puts down a token amount that stays refundable until closing has nothing to lose, and the contract is closer to an option than a purchase.
4. The inspection or due-diligence period. This is how long the buyer can walk away, or renegotiate, for any reason. A cash buyer who has already walked the house usually needs a few days. A long one, two or three weeks, on a house they have already seen is the most common setup for a re-trade.
5. The assignment clause. Look for the words "and/or assigns" after the buyer's name, or a paragraph that lets the buyer transfer the contract. That language means the company signing with you may not be the company that buys your house. It is legal, and some wholesalers are open about it. But it means your closing depends on someone you have never met agreeing to the price, and if they will not, the deal tends to come back to you late, with a lower number attached. Ask directly: "Are you buying this yourself, or assigning the contract?"
6. Who controls the closing date. You want a fixed date, or a window you choose. Watch for language that lets the buyer extend closing on their own say-so, or ties the date to "when financing is arranged" on an offer that was supposed to be cash.
7. "Subject to" clauses, contents, and move-out. "Subject to partner approval," "subject to inspection satisfactory to buyer," and "subject to appraisal" each give the buyer a way out. Separately, check what the contract says about the contents of the house and whether you can stay a few days after closing. If you are clearing out a family home, being able to leave the contents behind is worth real money and real weeks.
Two hypothetical written offers on the same Tulsa house. The numbers are illustrative only, to show how the terms change the outcome; they are not a quote and not a typical discount.
| Offer A | Offer B | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $142,000 | $135,000 |
| Closing costs | Seller pays "customary" share | Buyer pays all |
| Abstract update | Seller orders and pays | Buyer orders and pays |
| Earnest money | $500, refundable until closing | $5,000, non-refundable after day 5 |
| Inspection period | 21 days | 5 days |
| Assignment clause | "and/or assigns" | None — buyer closes in own name |
| Contents | House delivered empty | Leave what you do not want |
| What it means | Higher headline, but you carry the costs and the buyer can walk or re-price for three weeks at no cost to them | Lower headline, but the price is close to what you net, and the buyer loses $5,000 if they back out after day 5 |
Offer A only stays ahead if every one of those costs comes in small, nothing is "found" during the 21 days, and the assignee closes at the full price. Offer B is close to the number you will actually see. Sellers who pick Offer A and then accept a reduced price in week three frequently end up below Offer B, having lost a month.
If your house is in sound, financeable condition and you are not under a deadline, the right comparison is not cash offer against cash offer. It is cash offer against a listing, and on a house like that a listing almost always nets more, even after commission. Get an agent's opinion of value before you sign anything. There is more on that trade-off in your options in Tulsa, and if you want to try it yourself, how to sell a house without a realtor.
Top Dollar Home Offer is a father-and-son company, Bucky and Cove Cordray, that has been buying houses in Tulsa for more than 25 years. We average 4.9 stars across 61 Google reviews.Since this page tells you what to look for, here is how our contract reads on those seven terms. We buy in our own name and close with our own funds. We pay the closing costs. You pick the closing date, usually 7 to 14 days out when title is clean. You can leave the contents. And we will put a written number in front of you, usually within 24 hours, that you can lay next to anyone else's.If title is the reason nobody else will commit to a number, that is the situation we are built for. See what to do when the title on an inherited Tulsa property is clouded. Outside the city limits, we buy across the metro; see the Tulsa suburbs and towns we buy in.
The best one for you is the one whose written contract nets you the most and is most likely to close on your date, which is not always the one with the highest number or the most advertising. Compare the seven terms on this page: closing costs, the abstract update, earnest money, the inspection period, assignment, the closing date, and any "subject to" clauses. A buyer who closes in their own name, pays the closing costs and puts down real earnest money is offering you more certainty than one who does not.
Yes. Two or three written offers is enough to see where the real number sits and to spot a contract that is built to be re-priced later. Give every buyer the same information about the house and ask for written offers by the same date, so you are comparing like with like.
Usually because the contract let them. A long inspection period, refundable earnest money and an assignment clause together let a buyer tie up a house at a high price, then come back near closing with repairs they "found" or a lower price from the person they assigned the contract to. Short inspection periods, earnest money that goes non-refundable early, and no assignment clause make that much harder.
It depends entirely on the contract. Some cash buyers pay all closing costs, including the abstract update; some split them; some leave most of them with the seller. Ask for it in writing and include it when you compare offers, because the difference between buyers can be several thousand dollars.
It means the buyer can transfer the contract to someone else before closing. The company you signed with may never own your house; they may sell the contract to another investor for a fee. That is legal in Oklahoma, but it puts your closing in the hands of a buyer you have not met. Ask any cash buyer directly whether they intend to assign.---
This is general information, not legal advice. Talk to an Oklahoma real estate attorney before signing a purchase contract.