The number, up front
Cash offers typically land around 70 to 85% of after-repair value, minus repairs
We would rather print the range than make you request an offer to learn it: cash offers typically land around 70 to 85% of what the house sells for fully renovated, minus the renovation to get it there, because nearly every cash buyer builds an offer from the same four lines: what it sells for fully renovated, minus the renovation to get it there, minus the buyer's costs to resell it, minus the buyer's profit for taking the risk. Part 3 below works that exact math on real numbers, and a fair written offer includes the same breakdown.
Part 1
What sellers pay Fair Home Cash: nothing. Here is the proof.
"No fees" gets said by everyone and itemized by no one. So here is the item-by-item comparison for a typical $150,000 house, a cash sale through a buyer in our network against a standard listing:
Cost
Selling to a network buyer
Listing with an agent
Agent commission (5 to 6%)
$0
$7,500 to $9,000
Seller closing costs (1 to 3%)
$0, buyers in our network typically cover them
$1,500 to $4,500
Repairs to pass a buyer's inspection
$0, buyers purchase as-is
$5,000 to $25,000+
Cleaning, hauling, staging
$0, leave what you want
$500 to $2,000
Taxes, insurance, utilities while it sits listed
$0, the buyer closes on the date you pick
$300 to $700 per month
Buyer's financing falls through
Cannot happen, cash
Happens, then you relist
Out of your pocket
$0
$15,000 to $40,000+
Agent figures are standard Chicago-area ranges. A well-priced house in good condition often nets more through an agent even after these costs. If that is your house, list it. This page is for the houses and timelines where it is not.
How Fair Home Cash gets paid: independent buyers pay Fair Home Cash flat marketing fees for the seller inquiries our advertising generates. Those fees are paid up front, are the same whether or not a purchase ever happens, are never a percentage of your sale, and never come out of your proceeds. Sellers pay Fair Home Cash nothing.
Part 2
What actually happens between your call and your check
1
The buyer's walkthrough 30 to 45 minutes, scheduled around you
One visit. The local buyer looks at the roof, systems, foundation, and code items, and writes the repair scope while you watch. No staging, no cleaning, no parade of strangers.
2
If the property is a fit many buyers respond within 24 hours
You may receive the number directly from the buyer with the math attached: the comparable sales used, the repair scope, and every cost subtracted. On paper, signed by the buyer, yours to keep either way.
3
Your decision, on your clock no expiration pressure
Take it to your attorney. Compare it against an agent's net sheet. Get other offers. The number does not change because you asked questions.
4
Title and escrow licensed title company, never Fair Home Cash holding money
If you accept, a licensed Illinois title company opens escrow, runs the title search, clears liens and back taxes out of the proceeds at closing, and handles every document. You never wire money to anyone.
5
Closing, on the date you picked many buyers close in 7 to 28 days, or on your timeline
Sign at the title office or with a mobile notary. The wire typically hits your account same day or next. Leave behind anything you do not want, including the garage.
Part 3
How the number gets built
Four numbers, each one broken all the way down. Every cash buyer in the country runs this same math. The only difference is whether they show you the breakdown, or hide it inside a lowball. Here it is in full, worked on a real example.
A worked example: a 3-bed South Side bungalow (illustrative numbers)
What it sells for fully renovated$150,000
Comp 1: renovated bungalow, same block$148,000
Comp 2: renovated bungalow, two streets over$152,500
Comp 3: similar bungalow, same neighborhood$149,900
Illustrative comps, typical for a South Side bungalow. A fair offer comes with the actual recorded sales for your block attached, not the zip-code average a lowballer hides behind.
Renovation to get it there− $38,000
Roof, full tear-off and replace$11,000
Electrical panel and partial rewire$7,500
Kitchen: cabinets, counters, appliances$12,000
Two code items: porch and plumbing$5,000
Flooring, paint, and full cleanout$2,500
Priced from the written scope the buyer walks through with you. You keep a copy of every line.
The buyer's costs to resell it− $16,500
Agent commission when the buyer resells (5%)$7,500
Closing costs on the resale$3,000
Taxes, insurance, utilities (~5 months)$4,500
Title and legal$1,500
The carrying costs while the renovated house sits on the market for a buyer.
The buyer's profit for taking the risk− $20,500
About 14% of the resale price. This is how a buyer stays in business and keeps buying houses on your block, after carrying every cost above and absorbing whatever surprises are behind the walls. A fair buyer puts it on the page instead of hiding it inside a lower number. If it ever looks too high to you, say so at the walkthrough.
Your cash offer$75,000
Why the profit line is printed out loud: every buyer has one, including the one whose flyer is on your porch. The only difference is whether they will say it to your face or bury it in a lower number. If a cash offer loses to your other options after you run this math, take the better one. The buyers we work with are expected to say so at the walkthrough when they see it.
One more table, because the agent is not the only alternative: the cash buyer whose flyer is on your porch is another. Same bungalow, same numbers from above, all three ways out, itemized down to what actually lands in your pocket:
Line item
Selling to a network buyer
Listing with an agent
Other cash investors
The number you start from
$75,000, with the math above attached in writing
$150,000 asking — but only after you fund the $38,000 renovation
Often close to this; it is the same math. The question is whether they show it to you
Agent commission
$0
$7,500 to $9,000
$0, same model
Seller closing costs
$0, network buyers typically cover them
$1,500 to $4,500
Usually covered too; get it in writing
Repairs before closing
$0, as-is
$38,000 on this house
$0, as-is
Taxes, insurance, utilities while you wait
$0, the buyer closes on the date in your contract
$300 to $700 per month
$0 if they close on schedule; pin the date down in the contract
The math, shown to you
Every line, on paper, yours to keep
Your agent's net sheet
Sometimes never — one low number, no breakdown
The price after an inspection
Buyers in our network are expected to let the written offer stand
Buyers ask for credits; deals get renegotiated
This is where the cut can come. That move has a name, and it works because by then you are committed
What you walk away with
$75,000, no deductions, on the closing date you pick
Often more than a cash sale; if the house is in shape, you can fund the work, and you can wait months
Whatever survives the second look. If it is not in writing, it is not promised
Swipe to compare all three options →
We cannot tell you what any investor will offer, only what to make them put in writing before you sign. The three questions in the next section are how you do that.
Part 4
Three questions that expose a bad buyer in two minutes
1. "What did you use for the fixed-up value, and can I see those sales?"
A fair buyer hands you addresses. A lowballer changes the subject.
2. "Can I keep a copy of the repair list you priced?"
If the repair number cannot survive being written down, it was invented.
3. "What happens to this offer if I get my own inspection first?"
The right answer is "nothing changes." Watch for buyers who cut the price after you are emotionally committed. That move has a name in this business, and no buyer in our network should do it; if one does, walk.
Straight answers
Who actually ends up owning the house?
The independent cash buyer who signs the contract does — sometimes they hold and renovate, sometimes they resell to another local investor. Either way, your price and closing date are set out in the written purchase contract you sign directly with the buyer, and the title company answers to that contract, not to us.
Is the offer negotiable?
The inputs are. If you think the repair number is high, show the buyer a contractor bid and ask for the math to be rerun with you. The rest is facts you can check together.
What if I am behind on taxes or there is a lien?
Both get paid out of the sale proceeds at closing by the title company. You do not bring money to closing. You walk away with whatever is left over, clean.
The Fair Offer Standard
Everything this page explains, packaged into the three commitments Fair Home Cash asks of every buyer in its network:
The Fair Offer Standard: asked of every buyer in our network
1. The math attached
Buyers in our network are expected to put the number in writing with the work shown: the comparable sales used, the repair scope priced, and every cost subtracted. On paper, signed by the buyer, yours to keep either way. Many respond within 24 hours of the walkthrough.
2. No re-trades after you commit
Network buyers are expected to honor the written offer after your inspection. It should change only if you and the buyer agree in writing that a material fact changed, never because you are already committed.
3. Walk away any time before you sign
Until you sign a purchase contract, nothing binds you: no fee, no obligation, no argument. Take the offer to your attorney, shop it against other options, or ignore it entirely.
The full ten rights behind this standard are published in our Seller's Bill of Rights. If a buyer we connect you with ever falls short of a line on it, read that line back to the buyer, tell us, and until you have signed, you can simply walk.
Want your number, with the math attached?
If the property is a fit, you may receive a written offer, often within 24 hours. Ask for every line explained; the standard is published on this page. No fees to you, no obligation.
Get My Fair Cash Offer