The same house down both roads, with every cost on the table. Sometimes we lose this comparison, and we say so.
Cash buyers who pretend their offer beats a full price listing are lying to you. Agents who pretend a listing costs nothing are not being straight either. Here is the same house down both roads, with every cost on the table.
Say your house would sell for $200,000 fully fixed up, but it needs about $30,000 of work to get there: roof, paint, flooring, and a dated kitchen. These are illustrative round numbers so the math is easy to follow. Your actual numbers depend on your house, and we will run them with you.
| Cash sale to us | List as is | Repair, then list | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Likely sale price | $140,000 to $155,000 | $160,000 or so, to an investor or fixer buyer | Around $200,000 |
| Repairs before sale | $0 | $0 | About $30,000, paid up front |
| Commissions and seller costs | $0 | Roughly $10,000 to $13,000 | Roughly $13,000 to $16,000 |
| Carrying costs while you wait | Days | 2 to 4 months of taxes, insurance, utilities | 4 to 6 months including the renovation |
| Risk of the deal collapsing | Minimal, cash | Real: inspection and financing | Real: budget overruns, then inspection and financing |
| Approximate net to you | $140,000 to $155,000 | $145,000 or less after costs and carrying | $150,000 to $155,000 after everything, months later |
Example figures for illustration only. Every house, repair budget, and market moment is different.
On a house that needs work, the three paths often land within a few thousand dollars of each other once real costs are counted. What separates them is time, effort, and risk: the cash sale is done in days with certainty, the as is listing takes months and can fall through, and the fix then list route asks you to fund a renovation and manage contractors for a payoff that may never materialize.
On a house that does not need work, the listing math genuinely wins, usually by more than a cash buyer can close. That is the honest boundary, and it is why we tell some callers to list.
When the house is in good condition, you can handle showings, and you can wait one to three months. A market ready house sells to the deepest pool of buyers, and the higher price outruns the commissions. We tell sellers this regularly, and if that is your house, list it.
When the house needs real work, when a deadline is coming such as a foreclosure sale or a move, when the house is occupied by tenants, or when the estate or family simply wants finished. In those cases the listing route costs months of carrying costs and repair money that a cash sale makes unnecessary.
Yes, and you should. Our offer is free and written, so take it to a listing agent and ask for their honest net sheet at a realistic price with realistic repairs. Whichever number serves you better, take it. We win enough of those comparisons to be happy making them.
Tell us about the house and we will call with a cash offer, usually within 24 hours. No fees, no repairs, no obligation.
Prefer to talk first? Call (248) 238-8315