A seller comparing offers needs more than a cash or mortgage label. The broker's useful contribution is a consistent evidence sheet: what is offered, what is confirmed, which conditions remain and who owns the next action.
This is a communication method, not financial, investment, legal or tax advice. It does not establish contract rights, recommend waiving protections or promise that one funding method wins a negotiation.
Replace certainty claims with documented stages
For a cash offer, ask whether the funds are available for this purchase and what must happen before transfer. Money dependent on another sale or a future transfer has a dependency even when no mortgage is planned.
For a financed offer, distinguish an enquiry, preliminary assessment, valuation, final offer and release of funds. Do not describe preapproval as near certainty. A letter may contain conditions, an expiry or assumptions that change.
The ADREC mortgage calculator is illustrative. A screenshot of an estimated payment is not evidence that a lender accepted either buyer or property.
Compare every offer on the same sheet
This original workflow is not an official transaction form. Retain evidence dates and obtain permission before sharing financial documents. Give the seller a necessary summary rather than circulating complete statements without a reason.
| Item | Cash offer | Financed offer |
|---|---|---|
| Amount and validity | Written price and expiry | Written price and expiry |
| Contribution evidence | Status of purchase funds | Status of funds beyond the proposed loan |
| Dependencies | Any sale, transfer or document condition | Any lender, valuation, sale or transfer condition |
| Proposed completion | Requested date and supporting evidence | Requested date and lender stage supporting it |
| Remaining questions | Named owner and expected response | Named owner and expected response |
| Change handling | Process if a condition changes | Process if a condition changes |
Use unknown when evidence is missing. Do not score an unknown as zero risk. Explain differences in completion dates and conditions before summarising two offers as comparable prices.
Test the comparison without predicting the outcome
In a fictional example, one buyer offers the requested price but needs proceeds from another sale. A second offers the same price with a lender assessment while the property valuation is outstanding. Neither description establishes who will finish first.
Ask the first buyer for the status of the separate sale. The second can obtain confirmation of the remaining lending steps. The seller then evaluates the updated evidence against their priorities. Do not invent a completion probability or discount percentage from those facts.
If the seller also has a loan or other documented obligation to address, record that separately. A cash buyer does not remove every dependency on the seller's side.
Separate price evidence from funding evidence
The ADREC market data interface provides sales filters including area, property type and time. Use a matched, dated sample for recorded prices; do not treat an asking price or loan estimate as a completed transaction.
Funding evidence explains how an offer might proceed. It does not prove that its price is fair or that the seller should accept it. Keep adjustments for condition, area definition, timing and location visible instead of hiding them inside a claimed cash advantage.
Report changes precisely
Update the sheet when evidence changes. An accepted valuation is not the same event as released funds. A buyer saying funds are available is not the same evidence as the required confirmation being checked by the responsible party.
Communicate delays and avoid guaranteeing a date that depends on an unconfirmed action. Ask a qualified adviser about contract wording and consequences rather than promising that a condition can be ignored.
For the buyer's separate funding decision, see cash versus mortgage planning. This playbook addresses a broker's evidence comparison, not which financing choice a household should make.