"Sell my house fast" means something different to everybody who types it. For some people it means this month. For others it means before the trustee sale on the 14th. The right answer depends entirely on which one you are.
Here are your actual options in the Phoenix market, what each one nets, and how to tell whether the cash offer on your kitchen table is fair or insulting.
Your four real options
1. List it on the MLS with an agent
Speed: 45–90+ days from listing to funded, assuming it goes under contract quickly. Nets you: the most money, in most cases — minus 5–6% commission, 1–3% seller closing costs, and whatever repairs the inspection turns up.
This is the right answer more often than investors like to admit. If your house is in decent shape and you can wait two to three months, listing almost always wins on net proceeds.
2. Sell to a cash buyer or investor
Speed: 7–30 days, sometimes less. Nets you: a lower gross price, but with no commission, no closing costs, no repairs, and no financing risk.
This wins when speed, certainty, or condition matter more than squeezing out the last dollar. Foreclosure timelines, inherited properties in another state, major repairs you can't fund, tenants you don't want to evict.
3. Sell with creative terms (Subject-To or seller financing)
Speed: 14–45 days. Nets you: potentially more than a cash offer, paid over time rather than all at once.
Underused and widely misunderstood. If you have little equity but a low interest rate on your existing mortgage, that low rate is worth real money to the right buyer. More on how that works here.
4. iBuyer
Speed: 14–45 days. Nets you: a cash-style price minus a service fee, typically 5–8%, plus deductions after their inspection.
Convenient and predictable. But read the fee schedule and the post-inspection adjustment carefully — the number in the first email is rarely the number at closing.
How a real cash offer is calculated
Any honest investor is running the same formula. If someone won't show you theirs, that tells you something.
Offer = ARV − Repairs − Holding & Closing Costs − Profit
ARV (After Repair Value) is what the house sells for once it's fixed, based on sold comps in your neighborhood — not active listings, not a Zestimate.
Repairs is the real renovation budget, including the things nobody wants to put in the estimate: permits, the surprise behind the drywall, the second dumpster.
Holding and closing costs covers taxes, insurance, utilities, financing, and closing on both ends while the property is owned. Usually 8–12% of ARV combined.
Profit is what the investor takes for the risk. On a typical Phoenix single-family flip that's $30K–$50K. Anyone claiming they'll do it for $10K is either new, lying, or planning to assign your contract to someone else.
Run it yourself
Say your house would sell for $400,000 fixed up, and needs $60,000 of work:
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| ARV | $400,000 |
| Repairs | −$60,000 |
| Holding + closing (10%) | −$40,000 |
| Investor profit | −$40,000 |
| Realistic cash offer | $260,000 |
If someone offers you $190,000 on that house, the gap isn't market conditions. That's a lowball, and you should say so.
If someone offers you $340,000, be equally suspicious — that number doesn't work for anyone, which usually means they intend to tie up your property and then renegotiate right before closing, once you've already moved on emotionally and logistically. That tactic has a name in this business, and it's not a compliment.
Six ways to spot a lowball
- They won't show you the math. A fair offer survives scrutiny. An unfair one needs you not to look.
- The ARV is suspiciously low. Ask which comps they used. Then check them against sold data in your neighborhood, not the city.
- The repair estimate is wild. $120,000 to renovate a 1,400 sq ft house that needs paint, flooring, and a roof is not a repair estimate. It's a negotiating position.
- Urgency theater. "This offer expires at midnight" on an asset you've owned for fifteen years is a pressure tactic, not a business constraint.
- They won't close at a title company. Non-negotiable. Ever.
- They're not actually the buyer. If they're planning to assign your contract, you deserve to know that before you sign, not after.
What I'd actually tell you to do
Get two numbers before you decide anything.
Number one: a real CMA showing what your house would list for and what you'd net after commission, closing costs, and likely repairs.
Number two: a cash offer with the math shown.
Put them side by side. If the listing net is meaningfully higher and you can wait — list it. That's the honest answer, even though it means no deal for the investor telling you.
I give people both numbers because I'm licensed on both sides. Sometimes that costs me the deal. It's also why people call me back two years later.
When speed genuinely wins
There are situations where the cash number is the right number even though it's lower:
- A foreclosure date is on the calendar. Equity you can't access before the trustee sale is equity you lose entirely. Your options here.
- The repairs exceed what you can fund. You can't list a house with a failed roof and no money to fix it.
- The property is occupied by someone you'd have to evict. Arizona eviction timelines will eat any premium you'd gain from listing.
- You've inherited a property in another state. Carrying costs, travel, and coordination from 1,200 miles away are real expenses even when they don't show up on a settlement statement.
- The certainty itself is worth money to you. Sometimes a definite number on a definite date beats a bigger maybe.
Want both numbers on your Phoenix house? Get a cash offer with the math shown — I'll include what listing would likely net you too, so you can compare honestly.
Questions about your specific situation? Call or text me at (602) 902-8400, or send me a message. I answer these myself.
This post is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Arizona real estate law and lending guidelines change. Confirm anything time-sensitive with your own attorney, CPA, or lender before acting on it.
