Write down seven lines for every offer
Take a sheet of paper and give every offer the same seven lines: purchase price, service or program fee, which closing costs the buyer pays, which closing costs you pay, any repair credit or holdback, any outstanding liens or payoffs handled at closing, and days to close. Subtract everything below the price from the price. That final figure is your net proceeds, and it is the only number worth comparing.
This sounds obvious and almost nobody does it. Sellers compare the two prices, pick the bigger one, and find out at the closing table that the winner deducted a 6 percent program fee and a $9,000 repair credit while the other buyer was paying all closing costs and taking the house as-is.
If a buyer will not give you every one of those seven lines in writing before you sign, that is your answer about the buyer.
| # | Line to get in writing | Why it moves the number |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purchase price | The only figure most sellers compare, and the least reliable on its own |
| 2 | Service or program fee | iBuyers commonly deduct 5 to 10 percent; most local investors charge none |
| 3 | Closing costs the buyer pays | Several thousand dollars on a $250,000 sale, and entirely negotiable |
| 4 | Closing costs you pay | Ask which specific line items, in writing, not “it’s standard” |
| 5 | Repair credit or holdback | Where a strong offer quietly becomes a weaker one after inspection |
| 6 | Liens or payoffs handled at closing | Changes what actually reaches your account |
| 7 | Days to close | Carrying costs commonly run $400 to $1,200 a month while you wait |
Subtract lines 2 through 6 from line 1. That figure, not the purchase price, is what you compare between offers.
The fee line is where the categories diverge
iBuyers charge a service fee deducted from your proceeds, commonly 5 percent at Opendoor and 6 to 10 percent at Offerpad depending on market and property. That fee is the price of a near-retail offer on a house in good condition, and it is disclosed up front.
Local investors and franchise buyers like HomeVestors generally charge no fee at all. Their compensation is baked into a lower purchase price, typically 50 to 80 percent of after-repair value depending on the buyer and the condition of the house. Neither structure is more honest than the other. They just put the money in different places, which is exactly why comparing headline prices across the two categories is meaningless.
Closing costs are not standard, and they are worth thousands
In a cash sale, who pays title insurance, escrow or closing fees, transfer taxes, recording fees, and any HOA transfer fee is entirely a matter of what the contract says and what is customary in your state. On a $250,000 sale the total can run several thousand dollars, and a buyer who pays all of it is effectively offering you that much more than one who splits it.
Ask one direct question of every buyer: which line items do you pay and which do I pay. Then put the answer on the worksheet. Any buyer who answers vaguely, or says it is standard, should be asked again in writing.
Read the inspection or due diligence clause before anything else
This clause is how a strong offer becomes a weaker one two weeks after you sign. It gives the buyer a window to inspect and then renegotiate or cancel based on what they find. The iBuyers build it into their process explicitly. Many local investors use a 7 to 14 day due diligence period for the same purpose.
A due diligence clause is not a red flag on its own, because no serious buyer commits sight-unseen. What matters is the length of the window and how tightly the renegotiation right is written. A 7 day inspection with a defined repair threshold is normal. A 30 day window that lets the buyer cancel for any reason is an option on your house, not a sale, and it costs you a month of selling time if they walk.
Check the earnest money, because it prices their seriousness
Earnest money goes into escrow at the title company and is credited to you at closing, or forfeited if the buyer walks without cause. The common standard is roughly 1 percent of the purchase price, often landing between $1,000 and $5,000.
An offer backed by $100 or $500 of earnest money is not really an offer. It is a free option to walk away, and if they exercise it you have lost three weeks of selling time and gained almost nothing. When two offers are close on net proceeds, the one with real earnest money is the better deal, because it is more likely to actually close.
Find out whether the buyer intends to close or to assign
Some buyers sign your contract planning to assign it to another investor before closing rather than buying the house themselves. This is legal and extremely common, and done honestly it can still get you a fine result. Done dishonestly, it means the buyer shops your contract, and if nobody takes it at their markup, they walk.
Ask directly: are you closing on this yourself, or assigning it. Then look for the assignment clause in the contract and see whether the answer matches. A buyer who closes with their own funds will tell you so plainly and will not object to proof of funds. If a contract is assignable and the earnest money is tiny, you are carrying almost all of the risk.
Days to close is a real number, not a detail
If you are carrying a mortgage, insurance, utilities, and taxes on a house you are trying to leave, every extra week costs actual money, frequently $400 to $1,200 a month all in. An offer that closes in 10 days versus one that closes in 45 is worth more than the price difference on a lot of houses.
The same math runs the other direction. If you need 60 days to find your next place, a buyer who gives you a flexible move-out date is worth paying for, and that is exactly what a company like Offerpad is selling with its longer close window.
The comparison only works if you have something to compare
All of this is worthless with one offer in hand. A single number cannot be evaluated, only accepted or refused, which is precisely why nearly every company in this industry is built to be the only offer you get.
Get two or three. It costs nothing, no legitimate buyer will pull their offer because you compared it, and the spread between the first offer and the best offer on the same house in the same week is routinely five figures. Run the seven lines on each, then sign the one that pays you the most and is most likely to close.