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Sell my house myself, or take a cash offer?
Selling it yourself has no commission in it, which is the whole point. Here is what it does have in it, and the case where doing it yourself beats every offer you will get.
The part we lose, said first
If you've sold a house before, you have two or three months, and you already know roughly what yours is worth, selling it yourself will beat an offer from Property Seller Solutions. There's no commission on your side and no discount for speed, so the money that would have gone to a brokerage or to us stays with you. That is the strongest version of the sell my house myself case, and it's the true one for a good number of people.
It's rarer than it sounds. Around 6% of homes sold in a typical year were sold by the owner without an agent, according to the National Association of Realtors' profile of home buyers and sellers, and a fair share of those were sales to somebody the owner already knew.
That last point matters more than any other on this page. If you have a buyer in hand, a neighbor, a relative, the tenant who's been in there four years, then for sale by owner is almost certainly your best outcome and you don't need a cash buyer at all. Take the contract to a title company and let them close it.
What FSBO costs when there is no buyer waiting
The costs are real, they're just not printed on a closing statement, which is why they get left out of the comparison. Put them back in and it becomes a genuine choice rather than an obvious one.
Your time. Photographs, a listing on the sites that will take one, a sign, answering calls from people who may or may not be serious, and standing in the house for every showing. Then the same again next weekend. Two to four months is a normal run.
The buyer's side commission. Selling without a listing agent doesn't always mean selling without paying one. Buyers usually come with an agent, and that agent expects 2.5% to 3%. Since 2024 that's negotiated rather than assumed, so it may be less, and occasionally nothing, but budget for it rather than being surprised by it.
Pricing. An agent's estimate can be wrong, but it starts from sales data. Priced high, the house sits, and a house that sits gets offers below what it would have fetched in week one. Priced low, you never find out.
The paperwork, and the risk in it. A purchase contract, the seller disclosures Utah expects, title work, and settlement. A title company or a real estate attorney will handle the closing itself, and you should use one, but the accuracy of what you disclose is yours. That's the piece of a sell my house myself plan that people underestimate, and it's the piece that can follow you after the money has landed.
Your buyer's lender. Most FSBO buyers borrow. Their loan can be declined in week six, and you start again with two months gone. There's more on how that plays out in cash buyer vs realtor.
Cash buyer vs FSBO, line by line.
The commission row is yours to win. Read the two rows underneath it as the price.
| Feature | Property Seller Solutions | Selling it yourself (FSBO) |
|---|---|---|
| Your time | One call, one walkthrough | Weeks of showings and paperwork |
| Buyer's agent commission | $0 | Usually 2.5% to 3%, negotiable |
| Pricing | A written offer you can check | Your own estimate, tested slowly |
| Legal exposure | Title company handles closing | Contract and disclosures are yours |
| Financing risk | None. We pay cash | Your buyer's lender |
| Typical time | 7 days, or your date | 2 to 4 months |
| Likely sale price | Below full retail | Close to retail, if it's priced right |
The concession: a seller with time, a fair asking price and the patience to answer the phone will usually net more than we can pay, and more still if the buyer is somebody they already know. If that's you, sell it yourself and use a Utah title company to close it.
What to expect on each road
The sell my house myself question comes down to how much of the work you want to do yourself, so here are both jobs described end to end.
Doing it yourself
Start with a price. Pull recent closed sales on similar houses nearby, not the asking prices, and be honest about condition. Then get the house presentable, photograph it in good light, and put it where buyers look. A sign in the yard still works better than people expect.
From there it's a job. You take the calls, you decide who's serious, and you let people into your house. Somewhere in there you'll get a low offer from an investor who found your listing, and you'll get at least one buyer who disappears.
When an offer arrives, the contract is where it gets real. Use a Utah title company for the closing, and consider having a real estate attorney read the purchase contract before you sign it. You'll be asked to complete seller disclosures about the condition of the property, and answering those carefully is both a legal duty and the thing that protects you afterwards. If the buyer is borrowing, expect an appraisal and an inspection, and expect to negotiate again over what the inspection finds. Closing costs are split by whatever the contract says, and unlike a listing there is nobody whose job it is to keep the file moving.
Done well, on the right house, you keep money that would otherwise have gone to somebody else. That's a good outcome and we won't pretend otherwise.
Selling to us
One phone call, two minutes: the address, the condition, when you need to be out. One walkthrough, and the state of the house doesn't change how the conversation goes. A written offer inside 24 hours, with the three figures behind it set out so you can test them.
No listing, no photographs, no strangers in the house at weekends, no buyer's agent to pay, and no lender who can withdraw in week six. We pay the closing costs on your side and there's no commission and no fee at any point. The title company settles any mortgage, lien or unpaid property taxes out of the price and wires you the rest on your date. What's in the paperwork is set out on cash offer, and the timeline is on sell my house fast.
What you give up is the last few percent. That's the trade, and it's the only one.
Is this you?
A cash sale is usually the better road when one of these is true:
- The house needs work you'd rather not explain to forty strangers
- You've had it listed by owner for a while and the calls have stopped
- You're out of state, or too far away to show it
- There's a deadline: a foreclosure date, a closing on the next house, a court date in a probate case
- Somebody is living in it who won't be leaving for showings
- The idea of handling the contract and the disclosures yourself keeps you awake
If none of that fits, sell it yourself. If you want to know how a for sale by owner sale compares with the third option, an agent, that's on cash buyer vs realtor, and the questions worth asking any cash buyer are on companies that buy houses. We've bought 1,300+ houses in Utah since 2016, hold an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, and average 4.9 across 520 Google reviews. Someone answers at (385) 503-4333 from 8am to 7pm, seven days a week. If you'd rather have a written number in hand before you decide, get your cash offer and we'll call you back within one business day.
Sellers who tried it themselves first.
Real reviews, left on Google, by Utah homeowners who sold us their houses.
“One of the smoothest deals I've been part of. Communication was prompt, clear and collaborative the whole way through.”
“Fast and efficient. They made a fair, generous offer and we closed in five days.”
“I inherited my mother's house and had no idea where to start. They made it simple, respectful and stress-free.”
“You can tell they genuinely care about helping sellers. Responsive, and they handled everything with compassion.”
Questions sellers ask about selling it themselves.
If I sell FSBO, do I still have to pay a buyer's agent?
Not automatically, but plan for it. Most buyers are working with an agent, and that agent is paid something, commonly 2.5% to 3%. Since 2024 buyers agree that fee with their own agent rather than assuming the seller covers it, so it's genuinely negotiable and some sellers pay nothing. The practical version: decide before you list what you're willing to contribute, put it in writing, and treat it as part of your price rather than a surprise at closing.
What paperwork does a Utah FSBO sale need?
At minimum a written purchase contract, the seller disclosures about the condition of the property, title work, and a settlement at closing. A Utah title company will handle the escrow, the title search and the transfer, and they do this every day. What they won't do is give you legal advice or write your contract for you, so a real estate attorney reading the contract before you sign is money well spent. Disclosure is the part to take seriously: answer fully and in writing, and keep a copy.
If I sell my house myself, how long does it usually take?
Two to four months is a fair expectation, from the day the sign goes up to the day the money lands, and longer if the price starts high or the house needs work. Add 30 to 45 days on the end if your buyer is borrowing, since their lender sets that pace, not you. If the date is the thing you can't move, that's the whole argument for a cash sale, and 7 days is a real timeline rather than a marketing one.
I already have a buyer. Should I still get an offer from you?
Probably not, and we'd rather say so. If you have a neighbor, a relative or a tenant who wants the house and you've agreed a price you're happy with, you don't need us and you don't need an agent. Take it to a Utah title company, have an attorney look at the contract, and close it. Call us if that buyer falls through, or if the price they're offering is well under what the house is worth in its condition. Asking costs nothing either way.
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