Cash Offer vs. Listing With A Realtor: The Real Numbers

Four ways to sell a house in Central Florida. Here’s what each actually nets you, with real math.

We’re a local cash buyer, so read this knowing that. We’ve tried to make the comparison one you’d get from someone with no stake in it - including the parts where we lose.

The four options

	List with agent	iBuyer (Opendoor/Offerpad)	Local cash buyer	FSBO
Price	Highest	90–98% of market, minus fees	60–80% of ARV	Market-ish
Fees	5–6% commission	5–8% service fee + repairs	None	0–3%
Repairs	Usually required	Deducted from offer	None	Usually required
Time to close	45–90 days	14–60 days	7–21 days	60–120 days
Showings	Many	Few or none	None	Many
Condition accepted	Good	Good to fair only	Any	Good
Certainty	Moderate	Moderate	High	Moderate

Worked example: $400,000 Central Florida house in decent condition

Option 1 - List with an agent

Sale price	$400,000
Commission (5.5%)	−$22,000
Doc stamps (0.7%)	−$2,800
Owner’s title policy	−$2,075
Title/settlement fees	−$850
Repairs/concessions after inspection	−$6,000
Carrying costs (3 months)	−$4,500
Net	≈ $361,775
Timeline	60–90 days

Option 2 - iBuyer (Opendoor / Offerpad)

Offer (~95% of market)	$380,000
Service fee (~6%)	−$22,800
Repair deductions after inspection	−$9,000
Doc stamps	−$2,800
Carrying costs (1 month)	−$1,500
Net	≈ $343,900
Timeline	14–45 days

Option 3 - Local cash buyer

Offer	$320,000
Fees	$0
Closing costs (often buyer-paid)	$0–$3,000
Repairs	$0
Carrying costs (2 weeks)	−$750
Net	≈ $316,250–$319,250
Timeline	7–21 days

On a house in decent condition, listing wins by roughly $45,000. That’s not close, and no honest cash buyer will tell you otherwise.

Now change one variable: the house needs $60,000 of work

Roof, HVAC, kitchen, flooring. Can’t be insured, so it can’t be financed.

List with an agent

You can’t list at $400,000 - it won’t appraise or insure. Either:

• Do the repairs first: $60,000 out of pocket, 3–4 months of work, then 60–90 days to sell, then all the costs above. Net ≈ $302,000, and you’ve fronted $60,000 and waited 6+ months.
• List as-is: realistic price around $310,000 to a cash-only pool, minus 5.5% commission and closing costs. Net ≈ $285,000, in 60–120 days.

iBuyer

They decline. Opendoor and Offerpad buy houses in good-to-fair condition. A house that can’t be insured is outside their model. This is the single biggest limitation of iBuyers and it’s not well advertised.

Local cash buyer

Offer ≈ $290,000 (ARV $400,000 − $60,000 repairs − holding − selling − margin). No repairs, no commission, closes in two weeks. Net ≈ $289,000.

Now the cash buyer wins, and it isn’t particularly close once you account for six months of carrying costs and the risk that opening walls reveals more.

That’s the whole story. The right answer flips entirely on condition, timeline, and whether the house can be financed.

What iBuyers actually are

Opendoor and Offerpad are institutional buyers using algorithmic pricing. Both operate in the Orlando metro.

How it works: submit your address, get a preliminary offer in a day or two, they inspect, they revise the offer downward for repairs, you choose a closing date.

Realistic: they pay near market, then charge a service fee of roughly 5–8% - comparable to commission - plus repair deductions. The convenience is real; the savings usually aren’t.

Their hard limits:

• Homes in good to fair condition only
• Price range caps
• Age and property-type restrictions
• Specific ZIP codes only - much of Lake, Polk, Marion, and rural Volusia isn’t covered
• Won’t buy with major structural, roof, or insurability problems
• Won’t buy occupied by an uncooperative tenant, mid-probate, or with title issues

When an iBuyer is genuinely a good choice: a 2005-or-newer suburban house in good shape, in a covered ZIP, where you want speed and don’t want showings, and you’re fine paying roughly what you’d pay in commission. That’s a real and reasonable use case.

What “We Buy Ugly Houses” / HomeVestors is

A franchise network - individual local franchisees operating under a national brand. Quality and pricing vary considerably by franchisee because they’re separate businesses.

The model is the same as any local cash buyer: below-market offer, as-is, fast close. Compare their offer to other local buyers the same way you’d compare any two.

How to actually decide

Get all of them. It costs nothing:

1. A real listing opinion from a local agent - price, timeline, and what repairs buyers will demand
2. An iBuyer offer if you’re in a covered ZIP and the house qualifies
3. Two or three local cash offers

Then compare net proceeds and time, not headline price. Build the same table we built above with your actual numbers.

Listing wins when: the house is in decent condition, insurable, you have 60–90 days, you have equity, and you can handle showings. This is most people.

iBuyer wins when: good-condition house in a covered ZIP, you want speed without showings, and the service fee is acceptable.

Local cash buyer wins when: the house needs significant work, can’t be insured or financed, there’s a deadline, it’s occupied or full of belongings, there’s a title or probate complication, or you’re out of state and can’t manage a listed sale.

FSBO wins when: the house shows well, you’re local and available, and you’re comfortable with the paperwork. See how to sell a house without a realtor in Florida.

Questions to ask any cash buyer

• Are you buying this yourself, or assigning the contract? Both can be fine. A dodge isn’t.
• Can you show me proof of funds?
• How did you get to this number? ARV, repair estimate, margin. A real buyer will walk you through it.
• Under what circumstances would this number change? Get it in writing.
• Which closing costs do you cover?
• What title company will we use?
• How much earnest money, and when is it deposited?

And the rules: never pay an upfront fee, never sign a deed outside of a proper closing. See are cash home buyers legit.

Frequently asked questions

How much less do cash buyers pay? Typically 60–80% of after-repair value. The less work a house needs, the higher the percentage should be.

Is Opendoor a good deal? It’s a fair convenience trade for a good-condition house in a covered ZIP. The service fee is roughly what you’d pay in commission, so the savings are smaller than they appear.

Do iBuyers buy houses that need work? Generally no. Major repairs, roof problems, or insurability issues put a house outside their model.

Should I get multiple cash offers? Always. It’s free and it’s your best protection.

What’s the fastest way to sell a house in Florida? A local cash buyer - 7 to 21 days, sometimes less when there’s a deadline.

Do I pay closing costs with a cash buyer? Often not - many cover them. Ask specifically which ones, because it varies.

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General information, not legal or financial advice. Figures are illustrative Central Florida examples; run your own numbers.

Beach Bums Real Estate buys houses for cash in Orlando and Central Florida. We’ll show you our math, we’ll wait while you get other offers, and if listing nets you more, we’ll tell you. (689) 249-4888.