Agent, iBuyer, FSBO, cash buyer, auction. Every route trades net proceeds for speed and certainty. Here is what each one actually costs, how long it actually takes, and how to pick.
"Fast" means two different things, and mixing them up is how sellers get hurt. There is fast to a contract, which almost any route can deliver if the price is aggressive, and there is fast to money in your account, which depends on what happens after the contract: financing, appraisal, inspection, repairs, and the closing itself. This guide measures every route on the second clock, because that is the one your mortgage payoff, your tax bill, and your moving truck run on.
Part 1The honest version of "sell fast with an agent" is simple: price at or slightly below the last three comparable sales instead of above them. A sharp price can produce multiple offers in the first two weeks. What no listing can compress is everything after the contract: a financed buyer typically needs 30 to 45 days for mortgage underwriting and appraisal, and the buyer's inspection usually produces a repair-credit negotiation before you get there.
The costs are well known and worth writing down: commission commonly runs 5 to 6 percent (buyer-side compensation is negotiable, but most sellers still offer something to attract agents), seller closing costs another 1 to 3 percent, plus whatever the inspection negotiation costs you, plus taxes, insurance, and utilities for every month the house sits. If the house shows well and you can wait, this route usually nets the most. Our cash buyer vs. realtor comparison puts the two side by side in dollars.
iBuyers are companies that make near-instant offers from a pricing model, then verify with an inspection. The offer usually starts near market value, then subtracts a service fee, commonly in the 5 to 7 percent range, and a repair deduction after their walkthrough. The final net tends to land below a retail sale but above a deep-discount offer, in exchange for real convenience.
The catch is the buy box. iBuyers want newer, standardized homes in metros they cover. Older city housing stock, two-flats, houses with foundation or fire damage, tenant-occupied properties, and anything in probate usually get declined, not priced. If your house fits their box, get their quote; it is a free data point. If it does not, this route is a dead end and you are choosing among the other four.
FSBO saves the listing commission and can be genuinely fast in exactly one situation: you already have a buyer, a relative, a neighbor, a tenant who wants to purchase. Then FSBO plus a real estate attorney is a clean, cheap path. Without a buyer in hand, FSBO is usually the slowest route dressed up as the cheapest one: you are doing the pricing, photos, marketing, showings, and negotiation yourself, and your buyer still needs 30 to 45 days of financing after you find them.
Two costs sellers forget: most FSBO sellers still end up offering compensation to buyers' agents to get showings, and pricing mistakes are expensive in both directions. We wrote a full FSBO vs. cash buyer breakdown if you are weighing these two.
A cash buyer, a local investor or house-buying operation, makes an offer within a day or two of a walkthrough and closes in roughly one to three weeks, because there is no lender, no appraisal contingency, and no repair negotiation. You sell as-is, pay no commission or closing costs, and pick the closing date. The price is below full market value by design: it is the fixed-up value minus repairs, minus the buyer's resale costs, minus the buyer's profit. Whether that trade is good depends entirely on your house and your clock; for a house that needs $40,000 of work, the "discount" is often smaller than the cost of getting it retail-ready.
For transparency: Fair Home Cash works this route. We connect homeowners with independent cash buyers; those buyers pay us a flat marketing fee, and sellers pay us nothing. Any offer and closing is between you and the buyer. We publish the full offer math here and a do-it-yourself estimator here so you can check any cash offer, including ones that come through us.
A voluntary auction sets a hard date, which is its whole appeal, and works best for unusual properties that are hard to price: mixed-use buildings, estates, properties with quirks that scare conventional buyers. The risks are real: bidding can stall below your reserve and the property does not sell, auction fees or a buyer's premium come out of the result either way, and marketing periods mean "auction" is rarely faster than a cash sale.
One thing an auction is not: a plan for foreclosure. If your urgency comes from missed mortgage payments, the auction to worry about is the sheriff's sale at the end of the foreclosure timeline, and the goal is to sell before it. Our Illinois foreclosure deadline calculator shows how much runway you actually have, and the Illinois foreclosure guide walks the options.
Typical ranges, not promises. Every market and every house moves these numbers. The point of the table is the shape of the trade, not the exact figures.
Here is the part most guides skip: waiting has a price too. Every month a house sits, you pay taxes, insurance, utilities, and often a mortgage. On many houses that is $1,500 to $3,000 a month before anything breaks. A route that nets $15,000 more on paper but takes four months longer can quietly hand a third of that advantage back, and that is before pricing in the risk that a financed deal falls through and you start over. Run your comparison on net proceeds by date, not on headline price.
Part 3List with an agent and price it at or just under the comps. This is the highest-net route, and nothing else on this page beats it when the house and the timeline cooperate.
Get an iBuyer quote and a cash offer in the same week and compare the nets. Both are free numbers, and the comparison keeps everyone honest.
FSBO with a real estate attorney handling the contract. Cheapest clean path there is, and in Illinois an attorney at closing is standard practice anyway.
Cash buyer, almost every time. These are the houses agents struggle to sell financed and iBuyers decline outright. Start with what as-is really means, and if the estate is still in probate, read the probate guide first because the court timeline controls the sale.
Certainty beats price. A financed deal that falls through six weeks in is a catastrophe on a deadline. Check your actual deadline, then choose the fastest route that reliably closes before it. A 7-day cash closing exists for exactly this situation.
With agents: the highest listing-price pitch wins the listing and then cuts the price a month later. Ask every agent to show the comps behind their number and to tell you the price that sells in 14 days, not the price that flatters you.
With iBuyers: the headline offer is not the net. Get the fee and the post-inspection repair deduction in writing before you compare it to anything.
With FSBO buyers: no proof of funds or pre-approval letter, no showing. And never sign a purchase contract without an attorney reading it, no matter how friendly the buyer.
With cash buyers: anyone who will not show the math behind the offer, asks you to pay any fee up front, floats a tiny earnest deposit with a long inspection window (that is a free option on your house, not an offer), or cuts the price days before closing. A fair buyer's number is built from checkable inputs; this page shows exactly what those inputs should look like.
With auctions: vague reserve terms and fee structures you cannot get in writing. If the auctioneer cannot explain in one page what you net at three different sale prices, walk.
And one universal: pressure to sign today is information. Every legitimate option on this page survives you sleeping on it.
Part 5A cash buyer is the fastest route that ends with money in your account: an offer within a day or two of a walkthrough and a closing in roughly 7 to 21 days, because there is no financing, appraisal, or repair negotiation. The tradeoff is that the price is below full market value by design. Every other route is faster to start than to finish: a well-priced listing can attract an offer in days but still needs 30 to 45 more days for the buyer's mortgage to close.
Pricing slightly below recent comparable sales can produce a contract within the first two weeks in many markets. But the clock does not stop at the contract: a financed buyer typically needs 30 to 45 days after that for the mortgage, appraisal, and inspection, and inspection repair demands or a financing fall-through can restart the process. Plan on 45 to 90 days from listing to funded closing, and budget for commission, seller closing costs, and any repairs the buyer's inspection turns up.
iBuyers generally start near market value for homes that fit their criteria, then subtract a service fee, commonly in the 5 to 7 percent range, and a repair deduction after their inspection. The final net is usually below a full retail sale. They also buy inside narrow criteria: newer, standardized homes in covered metros. Older city housing stock, small multi-units, and houses needing major work usually fall outside what they will buy at all.
Make every buyer show their math. A legitimate fast-sale price is built from the fixed-up value of the house, minus repair costs, minus the buyer's resale costs and profit. Ask for the comparable sales they used, a copy of the repair list they priced, and what happens to the offer if you get your own inspection. Then get a second offer and compare the inputs, not just the headline number. Anyone who hides the math, charges an upfront fee, or cuts the price late in the process is the lowball.
Written offer within 24 hours, with the math attached. Compare it against every route above. No fees, no obligation.
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