Selling options
How We Calculate a Cash Offer on Your House
Every offer we write uses the same four lines. You see all of them. If you think one of our numbers is wrong, show us why and we will change it or explain it.
How we calculate an offer
Our number is not pulled from the air. Here is the formula.
Every offer starts with what the house would sell for fully renovated, then subtracts what it costs us to get it there and resell it. We put every line in writing.
- After-repair value. Recent comparable sales within about a mile, adjusted for size, lot, and condition.
- Repairs. A real scope from our contractor walk-through, not a guess to lower the price.
- Selling and holding costs. Excise tax, commissions on resale, insurance, utilities, and financing while we own it.
- Our margin. We are a business; we show it rather than hide it in a lowball.
Illustrative example only
Figures are a made-up illustration of the method, not an offer on any property. Each offer is prepared individually.
Line by line
The four numbers, explained.
1. After-repair value
What your house would sell for on the open market if it were fully updated. We pull recent sales of similar homes nearby, usually within a mile and the last six months, and adjust for square footage, lot, bedrooms, and view. We show you the comps we used. If you have a listing agent’s estimate, we want to see it.
2. Repairs
A written scope from our walk-through: roof, sewer, foundation, systems, kitchen and baths, paint and floors, permits. Real contractor pricing, not a padded number. Older Puget Sound houses often surprise everyone with side sewers and oil tanks; when something is unknown, we price a realistic middle case, not the worst.
3. Resale, holding, and closing costs
When we resell, we pay commissions, excise tax, and closing costs, plus insurance, utilities, property taxes, and financing while we own the house. That is typically 8 to 10% of the after-repair value and it is a cost that exists on the listing path too, just paid by you instead.
4. Our margin
We are a business and we take the risk that the repairs run over or the market softens. Our margin is shown as a line, not hidden inside a low first number we plan to negotiate up from. It scales with the risk: a straightforward cosmetic flip carries less than a structural rebuild.
What moves the number
Things that raise or lower your offer.
Raises it
- Strong recent comps within a few blocks.
- Newer roof, furnace, electrical, or sewer line with records.
- Clear title and no active tenancy to unwind.
- A flexible closing date that lets us plan the work.
Lowers it
- Structural, sewer, oil tank, or unpermitted work with no records.
- Condos or HOAs with special assessments or rental caps.
- Long-term below-market tenancies (we still buy them; the timeline costs money).
- Title problems: liens, judgments, missing heirs. Solvable, but priced.
Illustrative figures on this page are examples of the method only. Every offer is prepared individually from the specific property, and the same worksheet is what you receive in writing.
See your offer. Then decide.
A written cash offer within 24 hours, the math shown, no obligation. If listing would net you more, we will say so.
Sound Home Offer is a professional home-buying company, not a real estate brokerage, attorney, or financial advisor, and we do not act as your agent or in a fiduciary capacity. We may purchase your property directly, purchase and resell it, or, where disclosed in writing, assign our purchase contract to another buyer. An investor offer is typically below full retail market value in exchange for speed, certainty, and buying as-is. Selling to us is one option among several; you are encouraged to seek independent legal, tax, and financial advice before signing anything. Read our full disclosures.