How Can I Sell My House Fast Without Losing Money?

3 ways to sell your house fast | Sell to a cash buyer | Top cash buyer companies | Sell to an iBuyer | Top iBuyers | List with a top local agent | Tips from realtors | FAQs

Depending on the time of year, it takes an average of 36–61 days to complete a home sale. But what if that’s not fast enough?

For example, what if you’re behind on your mortgage and need a quick home sale to avoid foreclosure? Or what if a divorce decree requires you to sell your home by a specific deadline? 

From inheriting an unwanted property, to moving for a new job, to wanting to avoid the home selling process altogether, there are lots of reasons that the typical timeline might not work for a seller.

Fortunately, there are ways to speed up the home-selling process and get your money faster.

3 ways to sell your house fast

If you need to sell your home quickly, your options include:

• Selling to a cash buyer
• Requesting an offer from an iBuyer
• Listing with a top-rated real estate agent

To find your ideal strategy, consider your priorities and how much money you’re willing to sacrifice for speed.

A “We Buy Houses” company could make a cash offer and potentially close on your home in under 10 days, but you’d probably only get paid about 50–85% of the property’s worth. 

For a distressed property that has little chance of success on the open market, selling for pennies on the dollar may be the best option. However, in most instances, you’ll want to explore other avenues.

So before you start dialing up home flippers, we recommend talking to an experienced real estate agent who really knows the local market. A good agent will offer an informed opinion of your best- and worst-case scenario factoring in your timeline, property condition, and the current state of the market.

» JUMP: What to look for in an agent

This guide walks you through the pros and cons of different options for selling a house fast and offers real-world advice from realtors who’ve helped their clients get out of sticky situations to sell in record time.

Option 1: Sell your home to a cash buyer

The biggest bottleneck in a traditional home closing is often the mortgage process. It can take weeks for lenders to order and review a home appraisal, underwrite a mortgage application, and prepare the funding and closing documents. 

By contrast, offers from all-cash buyers aren’t conditioned on securing a mortgage, so they can often close in less than two weeks. Just keep in mind that the speed of a cash sale usually comes at a cost.

» READ: Are “We Buy Houses” Companies a Ripoff?

Most cash buyers are investors looking to resell the property quickly. So they need a substantial discount from the fair market value (15–50%) for the deal to make sense.  In exchange for this discount, the buyer usually waives the right to contingencies, inspections, walk-throughs, appraisals, repairs, or title insurance.

In fact, that’s the major advantage of selling with a cash buyer — a house in poor condition can be a real sticking point for conventional home buyers but a seasoned real estate investor can look past a property’s faults to locate the opportunity.

How does selling to a cash buyer work?

Cash buyers generally fall into two categories:

You can usually request an offer from a “We Buy Houses” company by doing a quick Google search and submitting your home’s information online or over the phone.

However, tapping into the broader investor community will often require some marketing. Therefore, you might want to enlist the help of an agent who is familiar with how to market to local and national investors and may even have an investor network in their database.

Once you’ve provided a cash buyer with basic property details, the process will usually go something like this:

1. Receive a preliminary offer. In some cases, a cash buyer can turn around an offer in 24–48 hours.
2. Have your home inspected. The buyer will send a third-party inspector or company representative to your house to verify its condition.
3. Get a firm offer. Following the inspection, you’ll get an adjusted offer that reflects the amount of work needed on the home.
4. Review and sign the contract. Cash buyers’ offers are usually non-negotiable. Your agent (or their attorney) can make sure a contract is fair and contains no surprises.
5. Close the deal. The cash buy will open an escrow account and verify the title is clean. In some cases, like if there is a lien on the property, the investors will help you sort through the steps of getting the lien cleared.
6. Receive payment. Payment typically comes within a few weeks, occasionally even the same day. 

Top cash buyer companies

Cash buyers tend to be individual investors or independently owned franchises that operate under a national brand. As such, service levels and trustworthiness vary greatly among providers. 

We suggest researching multiple cash buyers up front or asking an agent to share their recommendations. As a starting point, below are some of the companies with the largest operating footprints in the U.S.

» MORE: Companies That Buy Houses for Cash in 2022

Other ways to sell your house fast for cash

Local investors and “We Buy Houses” companies aren’t your only options for cash sales. In fact, nearly a third of homes (30.3%) sold in the U.S. in 2021 were paid for in cash.

If your home doesn’t need too much fixing up, you could consider selling to an iBuyer. These companies purchase homes at a high volume to resell them for a quick, modest profit. Because the homes they buy tend to be in better condition, iBuyers offer much closer to fair market value.

However, many traditional buyers are also able to make cash offers — either by selling a previous home, liquidating capital from other investments, or working with a company that offers upfront underwriting enabling buyers to make a cash-backed offer. 

If you need a fast house sale, don’t discount working with an agent to put your home on the market. Even if your house isn’t in the greatest condition, the open market offers the greatest chance of reaching multiple qualified buyers.

Option 2: Sell to an iBuyer

iBuyers are large, venture-backed companies that purchase homes for cash and resell them on the open market.

In general, iBuyers offer a higher percentage of fair market value than home flippers and can often close in as little as seven days after the offer is accepted. There are no real estate agent commissions, and you can avoid the hassle and uncertainty of a traditional home sale.

With an iBuyer, there’s no need to prep your home or make it available for showings — which can be great if you own an out-of-town property or have pets or small children that make it difficult to vacate at a moment’s notice.

However, iBuyers charge service fees of 5% or more, plus deductions for repairs, which could result in you walking away with less than if you sold with an agent on the open market — even after paying a full commission.

» LEARN: What Is an iBuyer?

Apart from the fees, iBuyers have strict criteria for the homes they purchase — including the neighborhood, age, home condition, and property type. They’re also only available in select markets.

Opendoor, for example, typically only buys single-family homes and condos in the $100,000 to $600,000 range (though it can be higher in certain markets). Homes must be built after 1930, on lots not exceeding an acre, and located within one of 45 major markets where they operate.

Other iBuyers have similar restrictions, so they’re not an option for everyone. However, for those whose homes meet the requirements, an iBuyer might be the best compromise of speed and selling price.

How does selling to an iBuyer work?

Selling to an iBuyer is pretty straightforward: 

1. Request an offer. After submitting basic information about your home’s age, size, and features online, an iBuyer provides an initial, no-obligation cash offer within 24–48 hours. 

2. Undergo a home inspection. If you accept the initial offer, the iBuyer will schedule an in-person inspection to assess its condition and identify needed repairs.

3. Review the final offer. After the inspection, you’ll receive a final, adjusted cash offer that accounts for any repairs the iBuyer will have to make before reselling the home. If you’re happy with the revised price, you’ll sign the purchase agreement and choose your closing date.

4. Close the deal. iBuyers can prepare the necessary paperwork and close a sale in as little as two weeks. You’ll receive your funds within days of closing — sometimes on the same day. 

Top iBuyers

» MORE: Top 3 iBuyer Companies in 2022 

Also consider: Buy-before-you-sell services

If you need to sell your house fast in order to close on a new home, home trade-in companies like Knock and Orchard offer a convenient solution: buy before you sell. 

Unlike iBuyers, which purchase properties outright to resell them for a profit, home trade-in companies don’t actually aim to buy your home. Instead, they front you the money to make an upfront cash offer on a new home, then help you list and sell your old home on the open market once you move.

While the overall process takes longer than simply selling to an iBuyer, you don’t need to wait until your home sells to move. Instead, you can move into your new house right away and let an agent take care of prepping, marketing, showing, and selling your old one. 

In addition to being able to make competitive cash offers based on the equity you’ve built up in your current home, you’ll probably also get a lot more money when you sell — especially considering that home trade-in services usually provide the funds for repairs and cosmetic improvements before you list. 

While iBuyer Opendoor has begun offering trade-in services, Knock and Orchard are our two top picks for homeowners interested in exploring the option to buy before you sell.

When you need to sell fast, finding an agent with a proven track record of helping people through situations like yours can make a huge difference in the outcome.

» JUMP: Back to top

Option 3: Speed up your home sale with a top agent

If you need to sell fast but don’t want to give away your home value to do it, consider listing with a top local agent. 

In addition to doing a lot of the heavy lifting around pricing, marketing, and negotiations, agents sell homes for more money. In 2021, homes sold with an agent went for a median sale price of $318,000, while homes listed by the owner sold for a median of $260,000.

Although a real estate agent can’t predict exactly when your home will sell, the most experienced know how to price and market homes to attract offers quickly.

Agents can help you to sell your home faster by:

• Providing an estimate of its fair market value based on comparable sales
• Helping you set a competitive asking price
• Recommending what repairs and upgrades are needed, if any
• Staging your home to showcase its potential
• Listing your home on the MLS (where it has the greatest chance of being seen)
• Sharing your listing with local buyers’ agents and investors in their network
• Using print, radio and other market tools to attract attention locally and nationally
• Negotiating with prospective buyers to get you the best possible offer

Most home sellers pay their agent a 5–6% listing commission, about half of which goes to the buyer’s agent — but you can secure a top real estate agent for much less. 

Our friends at Clever Real Estate can connect you to top-performing agents across the U.S. who offer full-service representation for pre-negotiated listings fees of just 1% or $3,000. Clever’s free agent matching service allows you to screen and interview as many agents as you like until you find the right fit for your needs.

With Clever, sellers save an average of $9,000 on real estate commissions while getting the highest standards of service from a top-performing agent in their area.

What to look for in an agent

There are an estimated 3 million real estate agents in the U.S., offering vastly different levels of experience, expertise, and professionalism. To move a home fast, you’ll want a full-service provider with a reputation as a top selling agent in your area. 

Here’s what to look for:

Apart from a strong history of recent, comparable sales in your area, you want to find an agent with a hustle mentality — someone who comes in with a clear plan and goes beyond the MLS to market your home.

» MORE: How to Choose a Realtor: Expert Secrets

👉 Realtors’ tips for how to sell your house fast

To write this piece, we asked more than a dozen real estate agents to share their winning strategies for helping clients sell homes fast. Here’s some of their best advice.

🔍 Get a home inspection before you list

Failed inspections are among the top reasons that home sales fall through. To counter this risk, Baron Christopher Hanson of Coldwell Banker suggests spending a few hundred dollars getting an owner’s inspection and making the information readily available to buyers and their realtors. 

Chances are, a home buyer’s inspection will reveal the same flaws. So, says Baron, “instead of keeping your property’s secrets under wraps, be fully upfront and transparent about your home’s physical condition.” That way, you can price the home “as is” and avoid the back-and-forth negotiations that can cost precious time, or worse, result in the buyer backing out of the sale. Know what’s worth fixing (and what’s not)

“If a home is in poor shape, it may be better to price it based on the condition rather than sinking time and money into costly repairs,” suggests Jennifer Murtland, a real estate agent who leads the Synergi Team in Cincinnati, OH.

“Sometimes,” says Jennifer, “fresh paint and new carpet have the opposite effect of what’s intended — making everything else look old by contrast. As the seller, you could end up paying for repairs that won’t add any additional value.”

If your house is outdated or in need of major repairs, Jennifer advises getting an expert opinion on the scope of work needed, as well as the costs and potential return on your investment.  

“Some sellers will try to complete only a few of the many projects that are needed,” explains Jennifer. “They end up throwing good money out, because it makes the rest of the house look worse.”

In the end, skipping repairs and adjusting the price lower could actually be better for your bottom line.

🧹 Focus your home prep on deep cleaning, decluttering, and painting

Realtor Cheryl Cardamon recommends putting your effort into high-impact touch-ups as opposed to major renovations or upgrades. 

She recalls working with a seller that was relocating and needed to move quickly to secure their new home in an aggressive real estate market. The family had three small children and a dog, so there was lots to do!

With the compressed timeline, there were no home stagers who could help on such short notice. However, she gathered her team and went to work making small repairs, painting the interior, and giving the home a top-to-bottom scrub down, including walls, carpets, and windows. 

Even without professional staging, the home looked move-in ready and the family accepted a solid offer on their home after just four days on the market.

“Buyers want to see clean and ready-to-go homes,” said Cheryl. “Sellers should focus on cleaning, decluttering, fixing minor repairs, and freshening up the interior with paint.”   

👀 Inspire interest before the home goes on the market

Sue LaGree, a licensed RE/MAX agent based in Clearwater, FL, recalls working with an older client whose health suddenly declined. Her family helped her find an assisted living facility, but she needed the proceeds from the sale of her home in order to afford it.

Since time was of the essence, Sue immediately got to work getting the house ready for showings, including taking video to go with the listing. She then focused on getting the word out using a combination of social media, realtor referral sites, personal networking, and the MLS.

While completing the prep work, Sue reached out to dozens of buyers she had been actively working with, plus more than 100 agents in her office, to tell them that the home was coming soon. She had multiple offers within the first few days of listing — including some in cash.

To get a home sold quickly, suggests Sue, “use a real estate agent from a large, reputable firm. They have access to thousands of more realtors, web pages, and publicity tools to get the home sold quickly and for the best price.”

💰 Think of your list price as a marketing tool

“With the chaotic state of the housing market, many homeowners are preparing to list their homes at premium prices,” says Nicky Taveras of DNT Home Buyers in New Jersey. “While almost all properties are being sold above asking price, I would caution against inflating the price too much. The reason is that you want to attract potential homebuyers with a competitive asking price.”

Realtor Jennifer Murtland agrees. “Many homeowners make the mistake of pricing their home too high, thinking that they’ll be able to negotiate down to a lower price later,” says Jennifer. “However, this usually just results in their home sitting on the market for longer than it needs to. When this happens the buyers feel like something is wrong with the house.”

Jennifer recommends pricing a home at or slightly below market value to generate interest, encourage multiple offers, and get buyers through the door. “This may seem like a risky move,” she says, “but it’s often the best way to sell a home fast and for the highest amount.” 

🗓 Pick the right time to list

John Gluch, a top real estate agent in Scottsdale, AZ, suggests that Thursday is the best day to list a home. “Web traffic on large home listing sites peaks on Thursdays, as buyers begin looking in earnest for homes they might want to see over the weekend. We almost always list homes on Thursdays before noon to capitalize on the mid-afternoon and evening spike in traffic.” 

Listing on a Thursday also sets you up for a three-day timeline, enabling you to start showings on Friday, get offers in on Saturday, and execute a purchase contract on Sunday.

👓 Review offers closely

When you’re tight on time, the highest offer might not always be the best. JC Young, who has more than a decade of experience selling real estate in North Texas, suggests looking at a range of factors:

• Option period: the amount of time a buyer has to back out without penalty — shorter is generally better. Imagine being under contract for a week, only to have to start the process all over again if the buyer gets cold feet! 
• Earnest money: the cash deposit a buyer puts down on a house to take it off the market — a larger deposit is generally better insurance against a sunken deal.
• Contingencies: conditions written into home purchase contracts. They might include a buyer’s right to back out of a contract if they find an issue during an inspection or can’t obtain financing. In some cases, buyers waive contingencies to remove red tape and make their offer stand out.
• Lender reputation: whether they are known and vetted. When reviewing offers with lender financing attached, agents might steer you toward lenders known for getting deals closed quickly and reliably.
• Financing: a buyer who pays cash or is already underwritten by their lender can close within three weeks after signing the purchase agreement — much faster than the 30–45 day average.

In multiple offer situations, JC uses a spreadsheet that helps her clients review these factors side-by-side. That way, they can compare apples to apples and see which offer best matches their priorities.

If you need to sell your home fast, you have options

There’s more than one way to sell a home fast — the best strategy for you depends on your situation. If your home needs too much work to sell quickly through a traditional sale, selling “as is” to a cash buyer may be the best method. Similarly, an iBuyer is good for a quick, guaranteed sale when you have a fairly cookie-cutter home and want to avoid showings and negotiations. 

That said, we recommend talking to an agent who can walk you through your options. They’ll be able to provide you with an estimate of your home’s fair market value so you can compare it against various offers. They’ll also be able to advise you on the best strategy for meeting your timeline without sacrificing your bottom line. 

No matter which option you choose, you can rest assured that you’re making an informed decision.

FAQs about selling a home fast

Related Reading

Companies that Buy Houses for cash in 2022. We Buy Houses companies and iBuyers both promise the convenience of a guaranteed, all-cash sale. Learn the pros, cons, and TRUE costs of selling to each! 

Are “We Buy Houses” Companies a Ripoff? Companies that advertise “we buy houses” promise an all-cash offer and fast closing. But is the promise of fast cash too good to be true? 

The Top 6 iBuyer Companies to Know: We vetted the top six leading iBuyer companies to help home sellers choose the best fit.

The Best Discount Real Estate Brokers for Every Budget: Using a discount real estate broker is a great way to save money when you sell. But you have to make sure you’re not sacrificing quality and service. Read this guide to learn which companies offer great rates AND stellar service.