Our standard approval turnaround time is two days.
This process usually requires some back and forth. Please monitor your voicemail and email (including your spam folder). We often have follow-up questions, and the faster you respond, the sooner we can approve you.
If you’re interested in making a Homeward Cash Offer, we suggest you get approved as soon as possible. That way, you’re ready to make an offer as soon as the home you want comes on the market.
We do a soft credit pull as part of the Homeward approval process. (You may notice that the application says it is a hard credit pull. Unfortunately, we cannot modify this language, which comes from a third-party partner.) You must have a credit score of at least 640 to use our services.
Homeward Mortgage does a hard credit pull if you eventually decide to use them to finance your home loan.
You’ll complete an application that asks about your finances. We do this to ensure that you can buy back your new home from us after we make a cash offer on your behalf. For this step, we need information about your income, assets, and credit.
If you are using our Buy before you sell service, we also collect information about your current home to calculate how much home equity you have and to provide you with a floor price if you're eligible. You’ll fill out a questionnaire about your home and upload photos of it (we don’t need anything fancy; cell phone photos are fine).
During the approval process, Homeward Mortgage preapproves you for a loan. This does not obligate you to use Homeward Mortgage, but once you’re approved, you have that option.
Yes. We approve you to make a Homeward Cash Offer, which is a separate approval. So you will have to complete that approval process even if you’re already preapproved for a mortgage with a lender.
Yes. In addition to the standard information we collect during the approval process, we’ll also need the following:
1. Details about the floor plan and specifications of your new home
2. The home’s price
3. What stage of construction the home is in (percentage of completion)
4. Your proposed closing date
Yes. In addition to the standard information we collect during the approval process, we’ll also need the following:
1. A link to your new home’s listing
2. A copy of your purchase contract
Our team of analysts conducts a thorough market value assessment of your home using publicly available real estate data.
We approve you for a specific amount so you can start shopping and be ready to make an offer as soon as the home you want comes on the market. Then we’ll review that property and work with your agent to make a Homeward Cash Offer.
We charge a convenience fee that can often be rolled into the mortgage for your new home. Because the cost of doing business varies from state to state, so does our fee.
We are backed by large institutional investors that give us access to the funds we use to help make you a cash buyer.
The Homeward Cash Offer reduces or removes the finance, home sale, and appraisal contingencies. (We do require an appraisal — and so will your lender — but the purchase does not have to be contingent upon the appraisal.) Sellers prefer cash and cash-backed offers because they eliminate these contingencies and close more smoothly and swiftly. That's why cash offers are more than four times more likely to win in a bidding war.
To learn more about our Dual Appraisal Advantage, read this article.
You’ll pay a small convenience fee to become a cash buyer. You’ll also pay prorated rent on your new home until you buy it back from us. We defer your rent payments until closing. See more about rent below.
Because the cost of doing business varies for us from state to state, so does our convenience fee. To learn more about convenience fees, visit the Buy with cash or Buy before you sell pages. If you use Homeward Mortgage to finance your home purchase, you'll receive a seller's credit at closing.
No. We do not mark up the price of the home when you purchase it. You’ll pay the same purchase price we paid for the home plus your convenience fee and rent when you buy back your home from us. In most cases, you can roll your convenience fee into your mortgage.
There are no upfront costs. You’ll pay the convenience fee when you buy the home back from us. In some cases, you can roll the convenience fee into your mortgage.
You will not pay a convenience fee if you make an offer that doesn’t win.
Yes, you will need to make an earnest money deposit (EMD). This deposit represents your good faith to buy the home. This deposit is not a fee. We will apply these funds as a credit to your down payment at closing.
We require you to make this earnest money deposit within 48 hours of the seller accepting your offer.
For Buy before you sell and Buy with cash purchases, our EMD requirements are as follows:
No, you don't have to use Homeward Mortgage, but we give you a seller's credit at closing when you do. See the Buy before you sell or Buy with cash page for more information about pricing and credits.
Yes, Homeward Mortgage’s rates are competitive. They even offer a Best Price Guarantee. Visit Homeward Mortgage for details.
There are a few things you should know about rent.
1. We prorate the rent by day. Rent begins on the day we close on your new home and ends on the day you buy the home back from us.
2. We defer rent payments. You won't pay rent until closing.
3. We don’t mark up rent. You simply reimburses us for the cost of holding the home for you until you finalize your mortgage and buy it back from us.
No, you will not need to pay a security deposit.
We pass the cost of property taxes to you while we own the home and you rent it.
Our insurance does not cover your personal property. We highly recommend you get renter’s insurance before you move so that your belongings are covered during the move and while you rent from us. Make sure you understand exactly what your policy covers in case you need to buy additional policies (for example, coverage for floods, big ticket items, an at-home business, etc.) to fill any coverage gaps.
Of course. We know you consider your pets part of the family and they are welcome.
Yes. Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. We believe you should make it with the help of a real estate professional. And unlike some alternative real estate companies, we don’t assign an agent to you. We encourage you to work with an agent you already know and trust.
Yes. Your agent will still receive their full commission.
We created our Buy before you sell service for this exact situation. When you use this service, you can go ahead and move into your new home as soon as we buy it for you (we call this the Homeward Purchase). Then you can get your old home ready to sell, list and sell it, and then use the proceeds to buy back your new home from us (we call this the Customer Purchase).
No, Homeward Inc. is not a financial institution. We are a business entity that helps homebuyers and agents purchases homes with cash and cash-backed offers. Our affiliate company, Homeward Mortgage, is a mortgage lender.
Yes, there are several:
When you use Homeward Mortgage, we credit part of your convenience fee back to you at closing so you save even more money. To learn more about convenience fees and credits for using Homeward Mortgage, visit the Buy before you sell or Buy with cash page, depending on which service you’re using.
Congratulations! Your agent will submit an offer request so we can review the property and approve your Homeward Cash Offer. We’ll need the property address and offer price. We’ll contact your agent as soon as we approve the offer, typically this takes about four hours.
You’ll work with your agent to make, negotiate, and finalize the offer with the seller.
In many circumstances, your client is able to waive the appraisal contingency when they make a Homeward Cash Offer. (This depends on their personal finances and which cash offer service and type of loan they're using.)
Your client will get an appraised value for the home during the option period/due diligence regardless of whether or not they waive the appraisal contingency. This value is based on a desktop appraisal, not a site visit.
Your client's lender will require an appraisal for underwriting purposes. If you're interested in helping your client waive the appraisal contingency when you make an offer, speak with your Customer Experience (CX) Manager.
As the homebuyer, you are responsible for ordering the inspection.
As we explained above, when you make a Homeward Cash Offer with Buy before you sell or Buy with cash, there are two transactions: first, we buy the home for you (we call this the Homeward Purchase); then, you buy the home from us (we call this the Customer Purchase). There is one contract for each of these transactions.
Because we buy homes with cash from our balance sheet, we can close much faster than mortgage-backed offers. This is not only better for you, but more attractive to sellers, which is another reason your cash offer is three times more likely to win than a financed offer.
You won’t attend the Homeward Purchase closing (when we buy the home for you).
If you use our Buy before you sell or Buy with cash service, your agent will be responsible for getting the keys to your new home to you. You’ll take possession as soon as we close on it. You’ll also set up utilities in your name at this point.
When you use our Buy before you sell service, you have six months from the time we close on the home to buy it back from us. When you use our Buy with cash service, you have 30 days from the time we close on the home to buy it back from us. But our goal is the same as yours: to get you into your new home as soon as possible.
On average, our Buy before you sell clients buy back their new home from us in 45 days.
Our Buy with cash clients, who don’t have an existing home to sell, buy it back much faster.
Our Customer Purchase contract states that you can take possession of the home as soon as we close on it, which is when your rental period begins (i.e., pursuant to a lease instead of pursuant to closing).
In Texas, real estate contracts include a section dedicated to negotiating a credit from the seller to cover a residential service agreement (also known as a home warranty).
If the seller gives us a credit for a residential service fee on the Homeward Purchase contract, we allow you to obtain the policy in your name at the time of the Homeward Purchase closing. So, you will not see a duplicate credit in the Customer Purchase contract.
As you probably already know, if you use Homeward Mortgage or our preferred lender, you'll receive a credit at closing. We will also pass through any credits we received from the original seller during the Homeward Purchase. These credits are called Interested Party Contributions or IPCs.
Mortgage guidelines regulate how big IPCs can be and how they are applied. Your IPC limit is based on two things:
Your Loan Officer will notify you if your IPCs might go over the allowable limit. Then we’ll work with you and your lender to modify your loan and/or lower the sales price of your home to make sure you can take full advantage of all of these credits.
Please note that credits cannot exceed your actual closing costs and cannot be applied to your down payment.
Floor Price Certainty simply refers to our promise to buy your old home from you if you can’t sell it on the market within six months. Most homebuyers who use our Buy before you sell service qualify for this guarantee, but 99% of our clients sell their homes on the market so they never have to rely on Floor Price Certainty.
We help you buy your new home and enable you to work with your agent to sell your existing home for its full value. We only buy your existing home if you’re using our Buy before you sell service and are unable to sell the on the market within six months and you’re eligible to receive a floor price from us.
If we buy your existing home, we’ll put it back on the market and sell it. You’ll pay us the standard 6% agent commission, which we’ll use to cover any real estate agent and title fees.
We base your floor price on publicly available real estate data and current photos of your home. Your floor price is typically 90% - 95% of your home’s market value. We also deduct the standard 6% agent commission fees.
Our standard approval turnaround time is two days.
This process usually requires some back and forth. Please monitor your voicemail and email (including your spam folder). We often have follow-up questions, and the faster you respond, the sooner we can approve you.
If you’re interested in making a Homeward Cash Offer, we suggest you get approved as soon as possible. That way, you’re ready to make an offer as soon as the home you want comes on the market.
You’ll complete an application that asks about your finances. We do this to ensure that you can buy back your new home from us after we make a cash offer on your behalf. For this step, we need information about your income, assets, and credit.
If you are using our Buy before you sell service, we also collect information about your current home to calculate how much home equity you have and to provide you with a floor price if you're eligible. You’ll fill out a questionnaire about your home and upload photos of it (we don’t need anything fancy; cell phone photos are fine).
During the approval process, Homeward Mortgage preapproves you for a loan. This does not obligate you to use Homeward Mortgage, but once you’re approved, you have that option.
Yes. We approve you to make a Homeward Cash Offer, which is a separate approval. So you will have to complete that approval process even if you’re already preapproved for a mortgage with a lender.
Yes. In addition to the standard information we collect during the approval process, we’ll also need the following:
1. Details about the floor plan and specifications of your new home
2. The home’s price
3. What stage of construction the home is in (percentage of completion)
4. Your proposed closing date
Yes. In addition to the standard information we collect during the approval process, we’ll also need the following:
1. A link to your new home’s listing
2. A copy of your purchase contract
Our team of analysts conducts a thorough market value assessment of your home using publicly available real estate data.
We approve you for a specific amount so you can start shopping and be ready to make an offer as soon as the home you want comes on the market. Then we’ll review that property and work with your agent to make a Homeward Cash Offer.
We do a soft credit pull as part of the Homeward approval process. (You may notice that the application says it is a hard credit pull. Unfortunately, we cannot modify this language, which comes from a third-party partner.) You must have a credit score of at least 640 to use our services.
Homeward Mortgage does a hard credit pull if you eventually decide to use them to finance your home loan.
The Homeward Cash Offer reduces or removes the finance, home sale, and appraisal contingencies. (We do require an appraisal — and so will your lender — but the purchase does not have to be contingent upon the appraisal.) Sellers prefer cash and cash-backed offers because they eliminate these contingencies and close more smoothly and swiftly. That's why cash offers are more than four times more likely to win in a bidding war.
To learn more about our Dual Appraisal Advantage, read this article.
We are backed by large institutional investors that give us access to the funds we use to help make you a cash buyer.
We charge a convenience fee that can often be rolled into the mortgage for your new home. Because the cost of doing business varies from state to state, so does our fee.
You’ll pay a small convenience fee to become a cash buyer. You’ll also pay prorated rent on your new home until you buy it back from us. We defer your rent payments until closing. See more about rent below.
Because the cost of doing business varies for us from state to state, so does our convenience fee. To learn more about convenience fees, visit the Buy with cash or Buy before you sell pages. If you use Homeward Mortgage to finance your home purchase, you'll receive a seller's credit at closing.
There are no upfront costs. You’ll pay the convenience fee when you buy the home back from us. In some cases, you can roll the convenience fee into your mortgage.
You will not pay a convenience fee if you make an offer that doesn’t win.
Yes, Homeward Mortgage’s rates are competitive. They even offer a Best Price Guarantee. Visit Homeward Mortgage for details.
No, you don't have to use Homeward Mortgage, but we give you a seller's credit at closing when you do. See the Buy before you sell or Buy with cash page for more information about pricing and credits.
Our insurance does not cover your personal property. We highly recommend you get renter’s insurance before you move so that your belongings are covered during the move and while you rent from us. Make sure you understand exactly what your policy covers in case you need to buy additional policies (for example, coverage for floods, big ticket items, an at-home business, etc.) to fill any coverage gaps.
No, you will not need to pay a security deposit.
Of course. We know you consider your pets part of the family and they are welcome.
No. We do not mark up the price of the home when you purchase it. You’ll pay the same purchase price we paid for the home plus your convenience fee and rent when you buy back your home from us. In most cases, you can roll your convenience fee into your mortgage.
Yes, you will need to make an earnest money deposit (EMD). This deposit represents your good faith to buy the home. This deposit is not a fee. We will apply these funds as a credit to your down payment at closing.
We require you to make this earnest money deposit within 48 hours of the seller accepting your offer.
For Buy before you sell and Buy with cash purchases, our EMD requirements are as follows:
There are a few things you should know about rent.
1. We prorate the rent by day. Rent begins on the day we close on your new home and ends on the day you buy the home back from us.
2. We defer rent payments. You won't pay rent until closing.
3. We don’t mark up rent. You simply reimburses us for the cost of holding the home for you until you finalize your mortgage and buy it back from us.
We pass the cost of property taxes to you while we own the home and you rent it.
Yes. Buying a home is one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. We believe you should make it with the help of a real estate professional. And unlike some alternative real estate companies, we don’t assign an agent to you. We encourage you to work with an agent you already know and trust.
Yes. Your agent will still receive their full commission.
We created our Buy before you sell service for this exact situation. When you use this service, you can go ahead and move into your new home as soon as we buy it for you (we call this the Homeward Purchase). Then you can get your old home ready to sell, list and sell it, and then use the proceeds to buy back your new home from us (we call this the Customer Purchase).
No, Homeward Inc. is not a financial institution. We are a business entity that helps homebuyers and agents purchases homes with cash and cash-backed offers. Our affiliate company, Homeward Mortgage, is a mortgage lender.
Yes, there are several:
When you use Homeward Mortgage, we credit part of your convenience fee back to you at closing so you save even more money. To learn more about convenience fees and credits for using Homeward Mortgage, visit the Buy before you sell or Buy with cash page, depending on which service you’re using.
Congratulations! Your agent will submit an offer request so we can review the property and approve your Homeward Cash Offer. We’ll need the property address and offer price. We’ll contact your agent as soon as we approve the offer, typically this takes about four hours.
You’ll work with your agent to make, negotiate, and finalize the offer with the seller.
In many circumstances, your client is able to waive the appraisal contingency when they make a Homeward Cash Offer. (This depends on their personal finances and which cash offer service and type of loan they're using.)
Your client will get an appraised value for the home during the option period/due diligence regardless of whether or not they waive the appraisal contingency. This value is based on a desktop appraisal, not a site visit.
Your client's lender will require an appraisal for underwriting purposes. If you're interested in helping your client waive the appraisal contingency when you make an offer, speak with your Customer Experience (CX) Manager.
As the homebuyer, you are responsible for ordering the inspection.
As we explained above, when you make a Homeward Cash Offer with Buy before you sell or Buy with cash, there are two transactions: first, we buy the home for you (we call this the Homeward Purchase); then, you buy the home from us (we call this the Customer Purchase). There is one contract for each of these transactions.
Because we buy homes with cash from our balance sheet, we can close much faster than mortgage-backed offers. This is not only better for you, but more attractive to sellers, which is another reason your cash offer is three times more likely to win than a financed offer.
You won’t attend the Homeward Purchase closing (when we buy the home for you).
If you use our Buy before you sell or Buy with cash service, your agent will be responsible for getting the keys to your new home to you. You’ll take possession as soon as we close on it. You’ll also set up utilities in your name at this point.
When you use our Buy before you sell service, you have six months from the time we close on the home to buy it back from us. When you use our Buy with cash service, you have 30 days from the time we close on the home to buy it back from us. But our goal is the same as yours: to get you into your new home as soon as possible.
On average, our Buy before you sell clients buy back their new home from us in 45 days.
Our Buy with cash clients, who don’t have an existing home to sell, buy it back much faster.
Our Customer Purchase contract states that you can take possession of the home as soon as we close on it, which is when your rental period begins (i.e., pursuant to a lease instead of pursuant to closing).
In Texas, real estate contracts include a section dedicated to negotiating a credit from the seller to cover a residential service agreement (also known as a home warranty).
If the seller gives us a credit for a residential service fee on the Homeward Purchase contract, we allow you to obtain the policy in your name at the time of the Homeward Purchase closing. So, you will not see a duplicate credit in the Customer Purchase contract.
As you probably already know, if you use Homeward Mortgage or our preferred lender, you'll receive a credit at closing. We will also pass through any credits we received from the original seller during the Homeward Purchase. These credits are called Interested Party Contributions or IPCs.
Mortgage guidelines regulate how big IPCs can be and how they are applied. Your IPC limit is based on two things:
Your Loan Officer will notify you if your IPCs might go over the allowable limit. Then we’ll work with you and your lender to modify your loan and/or lower the sales price of your home to make sure you can take full advantage of all of these credits.
Please note that credits cannot exceed your actual closing costs and cannot be applied to your down payment.
We help you buy your new home and enable you to work with your agent to sell your existing home for its full value. We only buy your existing home if you’re using our Buy before you sell service and are unable to sell the on the market within six months and you’re eligible to receive a floor price from us.
Floor Price Certainty simply refers to our promise to buy your old home from you if you can’t sell it on the market within six months. Most homebuyers who use our Buy before you sell service qualify for this guarantee, but 99% of our clients sell their homes on the market so they never have to rely on Floor Price Certainty.
We base your floor price on publicly available real estate data and current photos of your home. Your floor price is typically 90% - 95% of your home’s market value. We also deduct the standard 6% agent commission fees.
If we buy your existing home, we’ll put it back on the market and sell it. You’ll pay us the standard 6% agent commission, which we’ll use to cover any real estate agent and title fees.
These Homeward specialists may reach out to you directly to ensure everything remains on track.