True, anything that is not seller financing is "cash," but the ability to close in a few days and the ability to leave out a financing contingency in the contract will make it look a little stronger to the bank (seller).
I would be surprised if you can find a good enough deal in REO, though, to justify the cost of hard money. If you can, that's awesome, but in this area they are all either so overpriced or so picked over by new investors that it's next to impossible to land a good deal.