List with an agent or take a cash offer? The honest answer depends on your house — not on who talks loudest. Here's the real side-by-side.
Buys as-is. Closes in 7 days. Contract price = closing price.
Lists to the market. 60–90+ days. ~6% + closing costs.
InterNACHI Inspector #21032009Contract price = closing priceSelling to a cash buyer means one written, as-is offer that can close in about 7 days with no agent commission, no repairs, and no financing or appraisal contingencies — you trade some top-line price for speed and certainty. Listing with a realtor markets your home to retail buyers over 60-90+ days and usually nets more on a retail-ready home, but costs roughly 6% commission plus 2-4% in closing costs and concessions, requires showings and repairs, and can fall through on the buyer's financing, appraisal, or inspection.
In the Lehigh Valley, the inspector-owned option (ABE Homes) adds one safeguard a typical cash buyer can't: owner Mike Sup is an InterNACHI Certified Home Inspector, so his walkthrough is the inspection and the contract price is the closing price — no post-contract renegotiation. A traditional listing is usually the right call for a retail-ready home when you can wait; a cash sale wins when speed, certainty, condition, or fees matter more than squeezing the last dollar.
Answered by Mike Sup, InterNACHI #21032009 — verified Pennsylvania cash home buyer since 2010
Percentages are typical PA market averages, not ABE figures. We don't post offer amounts because every house is different.
If your house is retail-ready and you can wait, an agent usually nets more. If you need speed, certainty, or you're selling as-is, an inspector-owned cash buyer trades a little top-line price for a no-fee, no-repair close where the contract price is the closing price.
The real number
The list price isn't what you take home. Here's what comes off each side.
Ask any agent for their projected net — not the list price. Then compare.
The list price isn't what you take home. Subtract: ~6% commission (seller's agent + buyer's agent), 2-4% in closing costs and concessions buyers ask for, the repairs the buyer's inspector flags, and 2-3 months of carrying costs (mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities) while it sells. On a retail-ready home in a good neighborhood, that still usually nets more than a cash sale. On a home that needs work, those deductions eat the difference.
An as-is cash offer is one number, with no buyer-side costs: no commission, no buyer closing costs, no repairs, no concessions. You pick the closing date — as fast as 7 days or whenever suits you. No showings, no financing that falls through, no appraisal that kills the deal. The trade-off is real: the gross number is usually a bit lower than a successful retail listing. We say that plainly — we don't outbid retail offers.
This is the part no other Lehigh Valley cash buyer matches. Most cash buyers sign a contract and *then* send a third-party inspector to find problems — and use those 'findings' to chip the offer down before closing. With ABE, Mike IS the inspector (InterNACHI Certified #21032009 since 2010). His upfront walkthrough is the inspection. The contract price is the closing price. No second renegotiation, no last-minute surprise. That turns a cash offer from 'let's see if it really closes at that number' into 'the number I signed is the number I get.'
Skip the showing. Skip the repairs. Just cash.
List with an agent if: your home is retail-ready or needs only light repairs, you can wait 60-90+ days, you can tolerate showings, and you want the highest possible retail price. Sell for cash if: you're facing a deadline (foreclosure, sheriff sale, divorce close), you inherited a house you don't want to fix, you have problem tenants or code violations, or you simply value certainty over squeezing the last dollar. Plenty of sellers do both: get a cash offer as a floor and weigh it against what an agent projects you'd net after fees. That's exactly the right move.
Ask an agent for their projected net — not the list price — after commission, closing costs, concessions, repairs, and months of carrying costs. Ask for a written cash offer that states the closing date and confirms the contract price is the closing price. Now you're comparing apples to apples: money in your pocket, and time to close. With ABE, that written offer is honest because Mike's inspection backs it — not a guess number that changes later.
Usually the top-line price is a bit lower, but you keep more of it. A traditional sale loses ~6% agent commission plus 2-4% in closing costs and concessions, on top of repairs and 2-3 months of carrying costs. A no-fee, as-is cash sale removes all of those. On a home that needs work, the net is often close.
No. With ABE there's no agent commission and no buyer-side fees. The number in the written offer is what you net at closing, minus the payoff of your own mortgage or any liens.
Owner Mike Sup is an InterNACHI Certified Home Inspector (InterNACHI is the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, the largest non-profit home-inspector body in North America). His walkthrough IS the inspection, so the contract price is the closing price — no third-party inspector 'finding issues' after you sign to chip the offer down.
If your house is retail-ready and you can wait 60-90 days through showings, a financed buyer, and an appraisal, a traditional listing usually nets the highest price. We tell you that on the first call.
Written by
Mike SupInterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector · #21032009 · speaks English & Spanish
Ready When You Are
Whether you're ready to sell today or just exploring your options, we're here to help. Get a free, no-obligation cash offer and decide on your own timeline.
What you get with ABE Homes:
Mike was straightforward from the start. No pressure, just a fair offer. We closed on our timeline and it was exactly what we needed.
Sarah T., Bethlehem
Talk to Mike
Owner & Certified Inspector
(484) 895-1352
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