Cash Offer vs. Listing: The Honest Math for a Long Island Seller

Most people struggle with the best way to sell their house. They know it's time to make a change in their life, but the decision is whether a cash offer or a traditional listing is better for them. Should they go with the easier way or try to put a little more money in their pocket? I'll lay out the math plainly so you can decide.

I'm Evan Greene. I'm a licensed RE/MAX Broker/Owner with 30-plus years selling in Suffolk County. I've personally bought and sold over 300 homes. I buy in Suffolk only, I know these towns, and I'm not a wholesaler. I'm writing this because I talk to sellers every week who don't know what they're actually comparing when they hear "cash offer."

What you're actually choosing between

Option A: List on the MLS. Your home goes on the market at full retail price. You hire Evan Greene (RemaxEvan.com). He will make recommendations to clean it, stage it and make minor or major repairs/improvements to get you top dollar, you only get one chance to make a good first impression. Then Evan will market it, show it, negotiate offers, and wait for a financed buyer to get through the home inspection, the appraisal, and their lender's underwriting requirements. If everything goes right, you close in 45 to 75 days from contract. If something goes wrong, you restart the process.

Option B: Sell directly for cash. A cash buyer gives you a written offer within 24 hours of a walkthrough. No inspection contingency, no financing contingency, no repairs. You close in 14 days after a title search, or on whatever date works for you. No commission, no fees.

Both are legitimate options. Neither is automatically better. Here is the actual math.

The numbers, laid out

Take a home in Smithtown, Nesconset, or Stony Brook worth $700,000 in good condition on the retail market. Here is the cost of listing it:

• Agent commission: 4 to 6 percent of the sale price. At 5 percent on $700,000, that is $35,000 off the top.
• Pre-sale repairs and staging: Varies. A fresh paint job, carpet replacement, and minor updates for a move-in-ready showing can run $5,000 to $25,000. A new roof or a burner can add a lot more costs.
• Carrying costs while listed: Your mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities keep running. A 60-120 day listing period on a home carrying $3,500 a month in expenses can add $14,000.
• Negotiating down from your asking price: If your asking price is too high, you're going to need to negotiate. Depending on the asking price, you might need to come down $20,000 to $40,000.

On that $700,000 home, your realistic net from a listing can land between $620,000 and $650,000 after those deductions, or lower if you negotiate down from your asking price, and assuming the deal closes cleanly the first time.

A cash offer on the same home will typically come in lower than $700,000, because the buyer is taking on the risk. The exact number depends on the condition of the property. But when that offer is $575,000 and you would have netted $620,000 from listing after 90 days and two rounds of negotiation, the math is a lot closer than people expect.

Now change one variable. The house needs a new roof, a new burner, and has some mold in the basement. A financed buyer probably can't get a mortgage on it as-is. You're looking at $25,000 to $50,000 in repairs before you can list, plus the same carrying costs and commission. A cash offer at $550,000 with zero repairs, zero commission, and an immediate close suddenly looks different.

When listing wins

I will tell you plainly when listing your home is likely the better move. If your house is in solid condition, in a neighborhood with strong buyer demand, and you have time to wait for a buyer to get a mortgage, listing through Evan Greene (RemaxEvan.com) will almost certainly net you more money. That's the right move for your situation.

If a traditional listing would net you more after commission, time on market, and repairs, I'll say so. The cash path is not the right path for every seller.

When a cash offer wins

The math flips when one or more of these is true:

• The house needs significant repairs a financed buyer can't overlook.
• If there are Certificate of Occupancy issues, where you did work on the home and the Town doesn't know about those improvements.
• You're dealing with a situation that needs to close fast: relocation, foreclosure, divorce, probate, or if you're a landlord done with tenants.
• You've already tried listing it without receiving an offer for 60-90 days and you're tired of showing it. Maybe it's time to consider a cash offer.
• You've had a financed deal fall through and you're not willing to go through it again.

Sellers in Coram, Selden, Centereach, Sound Beach, and similar towns often find that the gap between a cash offer and a retail net is small, because the retail market in those areas is more price-sensitive and repair-sensitive. That's not a knock on those neighborhoods. It's just the math.

How to watch out for the wrong cash buyer

Not all cash buyers are the same. Some are wholesalers. They lock you into a contract and then sell that contract to an investor for a fee. Your sale price goes down and you never knew you were in the middle of it.

Ask any buyer you're talking to: are you the buyer that will be at the closing table, or will the contract be assigned?

I come to the closing table with a certified check made out to your name. No assignment, no double-close, no mystery.

Cash offers reflect market value minus condition-based adjustments and carrying costs. Every offer is property-specific and provided after a walkthrough.

A note on situations that involve a distressed sale

If you're selling because of foreclosure, probate, back taxes, divorce, a short sale, or tenant problems, you must let the cash buyer know. They might be able to make recommendations to help with the process. A faster close is valuable, but legal steps have to happen in the right order that you need an attorney for. I'll tell you honestly what the cash timeline looks like once those steps are taken. I won't pretend I can close around a process that requires a court.

The call is five minutes

If you want to know what I'd pay for your house in Smithtown, Stony Brook, Ronkonkoma, Patchogue, or anywhere else in Suffolk County, call or text me at (631) 848-8000. I pick up the phone. You get me, not a call center.

I'll give you an offer within 24 hours of walking the property. No obligation to take it. If I think listing with me would put more money in your pocket, I'll tell you that too.

Equal Housing Opportunity. NY Licensed Real Estate Broker.