Compare both.
Cost, time, repairs, showings and certainty, taken one at a time for each path. Below that, a worked example in round numbers and the questions sellers ask most.
What does each path cost?
Brokerage compensation, negotiated and agreed in writing before listing. Washington excise tax, escrow and title costs at closing. Preparation: paint, cleaning, repairs, sometimes staging. The mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities for as long as the house is on the market. Any credit negotiated after the buyer’s inspection.
Excise tax, escrow and title costs apply to almost every sale in Washington, although a buyer may offer to cover some of them. Brokerage compensation as agreed in writing. Little or no preparation. A shorter holding period.
The largest cost is the one you never see on a statement: the gap between the offer and what the open market might have paid.
How long does each path take?
Preparation takes days to weeks. Time on the market depends on price, condition and season. After an offer is accepted, a financed purchase typically needs several weeks for inspection, appraisal and underwriting before it can close.
Gathering offers takes as long as buyers need to review the house and decide. Once an offer is accepted, a cash purchase can often close faster than a financed one because there is no loan to underwrite. The date is negotiated, and some sellers use that flexibility to push closing later so they can move once.
Who handles the repairs?
You decide what to fix before listing, then negotiate again after the buyer’s inspection. Lenders can require certain repairs before they will fund, which comes up most often with FHA and VA loans on older homes.
Investors usually price repairs into the offer and buy as-is. Read the agreement for any inspection or feasibility period, since a buyer can still use that window to renegotiate.
What about showings?
Showings inside the windows you set, with the house kept ready for them. Often an open house. Photos of your rooms online for anyone to see, for as long as the listing is active.
A walkthrough to document the house, and possibly a small number of scheduled visits from interested buyers. Nothing listed publicly, and no photographs on the open internet.
How certain is each path?
The market sets the price, and a wide buyer pool can produce competing offers. Deals can come apart over an inspection or a loan, and a failed deal means going back on the market with a listing history.
Fewer contingencies and no lender. But an offer may not come at all, and an accepted offer can still fail if a buyer backs out during a feasibility period or can’t close. Cash offers come from independent buyers in the Homexa® network. No offer or price is guaranteed.
A hypothetical net comparison
Invented, round figures for one imaginary house. Not an estimate for yours.
The listing path usually shows the higher net on paper. The question is whether the difference is worth the extra months and the risk that the listing sale doesn’t happen at that price.
| Line item | List it | Cash offer |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price or offer | $600,000 | $525,000 |
| Brokerage compensation (illustrative) | −$30,000 | −$15,000 |
| Excise tax, escrow and title (illustrative) | −$12,000 | −$10,500 |
| Repairs and preparation before sale | −$12,000 | $0 |
| Repair credit after inspection | −$5,000 | $0 |
| Holding costs while selling | −$8,000 | −$2,000 |
| Estimated net before mortgage payoff | $533,000 | $497,500 |
| Difference | $35,500 less |
Real numbers depend on the home. They also depend on the terms of each offer and the agreements you sign. The listing column assumes the house sells at that price, which is never certain, and the cash column assumes a buyer makes that offer, which is never certain either.
The holding line is where time shows up. If the listing takes three months longer than you planned, add three more mortgage payments to it. If a cash sale spares you from carrying two houses at once, that saving belongs in the cash column. Your own net sheet will carry the costs specific to you.
Questions sellers ask
Do I have to choose a path before I call?
No. The point is to see both first. Deciding to wait is a fine outcome too.
Does Austin buy the house himself?
No. Cash offers come from independent investor buyers in the Homexa® network. Austin represents you as the seller on either path.
Will I definitely get a cash offer?
No. Each buyer decides for themselves whether to make an offer. Some homes draw several, some draw none, and the listing path stays open either way.
Is a cash offer always lower than listing?
Usually, because the investor prices in repairs, holding costs, resale costs and profit. The gap tends to shrink on homes that need major work, since open-market buyers and their lenders discount the same problems.
Can I hold a cash offer while I test the market?
Sometimes, if the buyer agrees to terms that allow it. It depends on what the buyer will accept and on your listing agreement, so it is worth talking through before you sign either one.
Do I need to make repairs before a cash sale?
Generally no. Investors price the repairs into the offer. You may still need to remove your belongings and handle anything the agreement assigns to you.
How long does each path take?
It varies. Listing adds preparation and time on the market, then a financed buyer’s appraisal and loan approval. A cash sale skips the loan, so it can often close sooner once terms are agreed. Neither timeline is promised.
What does it cost to ask for both numbers?
Nothing. Asking for a listing plan and a cash offer request doesn’t commit you to either one. You sign an agreement only if you decide to go forward.
Put your house in both columns.
I’ll see the house, write the listing plan, request cash offers if you want them, and fill in this table with real figures for your home.
Get both numbersOr call me at 206.940.0942
Email Austin.Hellickson@homexa.com