“wondering who does real estate transactions in cash?”
The only way to buy real estate using actual cash is to not have Title insurance, just two individuals recording a deed that changes the name on the title of a property.
If a title insurance company is involved payments must be in “good funds” which means a cashier’s check from a bank, or money wired from a bank directly to the title company.
An example of a non-arm’s length transaction is changing the owner name from John Smith to an LLC or a corporation, which requires no payment of any kind. Or, Dad sells to son with no title insurance, they just record a deed showing passage of title.
Title companies do not ever accept cash, period.
The part that can be confusing about the above is that when properties are bought by way of wiring funds between banks or a cashier’s check, such a sale is referred to as “cash” since there is no loan involved.
But in real estate, “cash” doesn’t mean actual greenbacks.
ThanQ for that.
Getting phony cash into circulation via real estate outside the states appears to be way easier.
An interesting thing and anecdotal...my nephew had an orphanage built in kenya.
He scouted the property, did what he could to find owners and officials that would allow a “foreigner” to buy property in the name of a church group.
He had to have “walking around” money as everyone he ran into had their hand out.
Everything done was mostly via cash...from buying the land to building the buildings.