This is a fair question, and one more homeowners should ask upfront before they get deep into a conversation with any buyer. The honest answer is that legitimate cash buyers typically do not charge a direct fee, though the word “typically” is doing some real work in that sentence, so let us break down what that actually means.
How We Actually Make Money
We buy a property below its full potential resale value, then either renovate and resell it or hold it as a rental, and our profit comes from that spread, not from a fee charged to the homeowner selling to us. This is fundamentally different from how a real estate agent gets paid, since an agent earns a commission calculated as a percentage of the sale price, typically five to six percent split between both sides.
There is no line item on our end that says “buyer fee.” The discount built into our offer, relative to a full market price, is effectively how we get compensated for taking on the property, the repair risk, and the resale timeline ourselves.
Where Some Buyers Quietly Add Fees
Not every cash buyer operates the way we do. Some charge a service fee on top of their offer, similar to how an iBuyer often works, sometimes five to seven percent tacked on separately from the repair deductions already built into the number. This is not inherently dishonest, but it needs to be disclosed clearly, and we have heard from homeowners who did not realize a fee existed until they saw the final settlement statement.
Always ask a buyer directly whether any separate fee applies beyond the offer number itself. A straightforward answer, one way or the other, tells you a lot about how transparent that buyer actually is.
What You Are Actually Paying For at Closing
Standard closing costs still apply in a cash sale, title fees, recording fees, and any prorated property taxes covering your portion of ownership up to the closing date. These are not buyer fees. They are standard transaction costs that apply regardless of who you sell to, cash buyer or traditional buyer.
We often cover some or all of these closing costs as part of our offer, which is worth asking about directly, since it can meaningfully change your actual net proceeds compared to a buyer who does not.
Requesting an Offer Itself Costs Nothing
Reaching out, sharing details about your property, and getting a number back should never cost you anything upfront. If a buyer asks for payment just to evaluate your property or provide an offer, that is a serious red flag worth walking away from immediately.
How much does it cost to get an offer covers this exact question in more detail, since we think it deserves its own full answer rather than a quick aside here.
Comparing Us Against What a Traditional Sale Actually Costs
A traditional sale carries real costs that add up fast, agent commission, staging, repairs to satisfy a buyer’s inspection, months of carrying costs while the home sits listed. Our offer already accounts for the property’s condition upfront, which means there is no separate repair bill waiting for you after the fact, and no commission coming out of your proceeds at closing.
We are not saying a cash sale is automatically cheaper in every situation, since it depends on your specific property and market. We are saying the comparison deserves an honest look at true net proceeds from each path, not just the headline number either side quotes first.
The Bottom Line
No hidden fee on our end, ever. What you see in the offer is what gets discussed, and any standard closing costs get laid out clearly before you sign anything. If a buyer you are talking to cannot answer a direct question about fees with a direct answer, that alone tells you something worth paying attention to.
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