Two questions decide whether a cash sale is right for you: how we arrive at the number, and how and when the money actually reaches your hands. A lot of cash-buyer sites are vague about both. This page is not. It walks through exactly how we build an offer and exactly how you get paid, so there is nothing left to guess at before you decide.
We are Sell Home Seattle, a local cash home buyer. We buy houses directly from owners across Seattle and the nearby cities and pay with our own funds. There is no agent, no commission and no financing, which is what lets us make a clean cash offer and close at a local title company on the day you choose.
We will also be honest about the one thing some buyers dodge, which is that a cash offer comes in below full retail. You will see why that is, and what you get in return, laid out plainly below.
Want a real cash number on your Seattle house? Send a few details and we will build one.
How we build your cash offer
A fair cash offer is built from a few straightforward pieces, not pulled out of the air, and you should never accept one that cannot be explained to you. We start with what your house would be worth in good, updated condition, based on what comparable homes near you in Seattle have recently sold for. That number is the top of the calculation, and everything else is subtracted from it.
From that starting value, we take out:
- The cost of the repairs and updates the house would need to reach that good condition
- The costs of actually buying the house and later reselling it, including title, holding and closing costs on our side
- The margin we need to stay in business, which is how we keep buying houses
What remains after those are subtracted is the cash we can pay you today, as-is, with no financing and no waiting. It is a real number tied to real figures, and we walk you through each piece so the offer makes sense. If recent nearby sales are strong and the house needs little, the offer is higher. If the repairs are heavy, the offer reflects that. Nothing about it is hidden, and you are free to check our comparable sales against your own.
No fees, no commissions, and we cover the closing costs
On a direct cash sale there is no agent in the middle, so there is no commission taken out of your proceeds. There are no listing fees, no marketing costs and nothing to pay up front. We also cover the normal closing costs on our side. The cash figure we agree on is the figure the title company writes up for you, not a number that quietly shrinks with deductions by the time you sign.
This is a bigger deal than it looks on the surface. A traditional sale commonly carries real estate commissions quoted at around 5 to 6 percent of the price, which are negotiable but seldom disappear, plus seller-paid closing costs on top. Selling without an agent removes the commission, and our sell a house without a realtor page covers that path. The fair way to weigh our offer is not list price against cash price, it is what is actually left in your pocket each way, after the fees, repairs and months of carrying a listing are paid.
One Washington cost is worth naming plainly, because it applies either way. When a house sells here, the state charges a real estate excise tax, graduated by price from 1.1 percent up to 3 percent with a local share on top, and in Washington the seller customarily pays it. That tax is the state’s, not a fee of ours, and the escrow company settles it out of the proceeds at closing on a cash sale the same as on a listing. We will point it out when we go over your numbers so nothing at the closing table is a surprise.
| Sell to us for cash | List with an agent | |
|---|---|---|
| Agent commission | None | Commonly around 5 to 6 percent, negotiable |
| Repairs before selling | None, we buy as-is | Often needed to attract buyers |
| Closing costs | We cover the normal costs | Often shared or paid by the seller |
| Months of carrying the house | None, you close quickly | Taxes, insurance and upkeep while it sits |
| What the agreed number does | It is what you are paid | It is the gross, before fees come out |
Ask for a cash offer and we will show you how every piece of the number was reached.
How and when you get paid
You get paid in cash at closing, handled safely through a local title and escrow company here in the Seattle area, the same way any proper home sale is settled. The cash part means the money is ready and the sale does not hinge on a loan, not that anything is done off the books or rushed in a way that skips the paperwork.
The payment goes like this. Once you accept the offer, the title company opens a file and checks the title to confirm you can sell and to find anything owed on the house, such as a mortgage, a lien or back taxes. On the closing day you choose, you sign the documents, the escrow company pays off whatever is owed and settles the state excise tax out of the sale, and the remaining cash is sent to you by wire or check. There are no fees pulled from your side and no commission, so what reaches you is the agreed figure minus only what was already owed and that tax.
Because there is no loan to underwrite and no appraisal to wait on, the pace is usually set by the title work alone, which is why a cash sale can close in about one to two weeks rather than the month or more a financed sale often takes. If speed is what you need, our sell my house fast page covers the timeline, and how it works walks through the full process step by step.
Honest about the number
A cash offer is below what the house might eventually bring on the open market in good condition, after repairs, months of listing and showings, and the fees that come with all of it. We will always tell you that to your face. A buyer who pretends a quick, as-is cash sale matches a perfect retail sale is not being straight with you.
What you trade that difference for is worth counting carefully. You get a sale that is nearly certain to close, with no buyer’s loan to fall through, a closing date you choose, no repairs, no showings, no commission and no fees, and an end to the taxes, insurance and upkeep the house costs every month it sits unsold. For a house that needs work, or a seller who values speed and certainty, that trade often comes out ahead once it is all added up. Our cash home buyers page explains why cash is steadier, and we buy houses covers everything we purchase.
Get a cash offer on your Seattle house
Send the address and a few details and we will get back to you with a fair, no obligation cash offer and an explanation of how we reached it. There is no cost to find out.
There is no cost to find out your number and no obligation to take it. Send the house details, we will build an offer and show you how we got there, and you decide in your own time. If you would rather talk the figures through before anything is in writing, call and we will walk you through it.
Call or send the form for a fair, no obligation cash offer on your Seattle house.
Questions people ask
How do you decide how much to offer?
We start from what your house would be worth in good condition, based on what comparable homes near you in Seattle have recently sold for. From that we subtract the repairs the house needs, our costs to buy and resell, and the margin we need to operate. What is left is the cash we can pay, and we walk you through each piece so the number makes sense.
Will you show me how you reached the number?
Yes, every time. We would rather you understood the offer than felt pushed into it. We show you the recent nearby sales we used, the repairs we accounted for, and the costs behind the figure. If you think we have missed something about the house that would raise its value, tell us and we will take another look.
Are there any fees or commissions taken out?
No. There is no agent, so no commission, and there are no listing or marketing fees. We also cover the normal closing costs on our side. The Washington real estate excise tax is the state’s and is the seller’s by custom, settled at closing, but there are no fees of ours deducted from your side at the end except anything already owed on the house.
How exactly do I get paid?
At a local title and escrow company. Once you accept, they check the title and find anything owed on the house. On your chosen closing day you sign, they pay off the mortgage, liens or back taxes and settle the excise tax out of the sale, and the rest is sent to you in cash by wire or check. It is the same safe settlement process any home sale uses.
How long until the money reaches me?
Often about one to two weeks from the day you accept, and sometimes faster, because there is no loan to underwrite or appraisal to wait on. The title work usually sets the pace. If you need more time, you can choose a later closing date, so the day you get paid is one you pick.
Why is the cash offer below the market price?
Because you are selling as-is, fast and with no fees, repairs or showings, and we take on the condition and the resale ourselves. We say so plainly rather than dress it up. What you gain is speed, certainty and a clean close with no loan to fall through. For many houses, once commissions, repairs and carrying costs are counted, the gap is smaller than it first looks.