Selling a house without a realtor usually comes down to one thing: keeping the commission in your own pocket instead of handing a slice of the sale to an agent. On a Chicago house that slice is real money. The question is how to do it without taking on more work, cost and risk than the commission was worth.
We are Sell Home Chicago, a local cash home buyer, and we are one of the two main ways to sell without an agent. You can list the house yourself, for sale by owner, and act as your own agent. Or you can sell directly to a buyer like us, with no listing at all. This page lays out what an agent actually does, what it costs, and how selling direct compares, honestly, so you can choose with your eyes open.
Want to skip the agent and the commission? Send your address for a cash offer.
What an agent does, and what it costs
An agent’s job is to find a buyer for your house and guide the sale to closing. They price the house, list it, market it, hold showings and open houses, and negotiate on your behalf. For that, the seller customarily pays a commission, commonly quoted at around 5 to 6 percent of the sale price, and that commission is negotiable. On a house that sells for a few hundred thousand dollars, which is ordinary in Chicago, that is a large sum taken off the top.
There is nothing wrong with paying for that help when it earns its keep, on a house in good shape, in a strong market, with time to wait for the right buyer. The problem is when the house needs work, or you need to move quickly, or you simply do not want to spend months and thousands of dollars to end up where a direct sale could have taken you in a week or two.
For sale by owner compared with selling direct
If you sell for sale by owner, you take on the agent’s role yourself. You set the price, handle the marketing and the signs, field the calls, show the house, and manage the paperwork and the buyer’s lender through to closing. You save the listing side of the commission, but most for sale by owner sellers still deal with buyers who have agents, and with buyers who need a mortgage, which brings back the appraisal, the underwriting and the risk of the loan falling through.
Selling directly to us is different. There is no listing, no price to guess at, no marketing, no showings and no buyer’s loan to wait on, because we are the buyer and we pay cash. You trade the chance of a higher retail price for speed, certainty and a sale with no work and no fees.
| Sell direct to us | For sale by owner | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | None | You save the listing side, often still pay the buyer’s agent |
| Listing and marketing | None | You handle pricing, photos, signs and listings |
| Showings | None | You host showings and open houses yourself |
| The buyer | Us, with cash ready | Someone you find, often needing a mortgage |
| Certainty | Cash, no loan to fall through | A financed buyer’s loan can still be denied |
Ask for a cash offer and compare it against listing it yourself, with no pressure.
How a direct sale actually works
Selling to us is deliberately simple, with no agent in the middle at any step.
- Send us the house. Give us the address and a few details through the form or by phone. There is no listing to prepare and no cost to ask.
- Get a cash offer. We look at the house and recent nearby Chicago sales and make a fair, no obligation offer, and we show you how we reached it.
- Pick your closing date. If the offer works, you choose the day. We close at a local title company, which handles the title and the paperwork.
- Get paid. We cover the normal closing costs, and you walk away with cash and no commission taken out of it.
The title company does the work that protects you in any sale, confirming the title is clear and handling the funds, so going without an agent does not mean going without that safeguard. Our how it works page walks through the process, and our we buy houses page explains what we buy and how we operate as direct buyers.
The trade-offs, said plainly
Selling without an agent is not automatically the right move, and we will not pretend otherwise. If your house is in good condition and you have the time and patience to market it and wait for a retail buyer, listing it, with an agent or on your own, may net you more even after the commission. What a direct cash sale gives you instead is a sale with no commission, no listing, no showings and no uncertainty, closed on your date. For a house that needs work, or a seller who values speed and certainty, that trade usually comes out ahead once the commission, repairs and carrying costs are counted. Our sell my house for cash page shows how the offer and the payment work.
Get a cash offer with no agent and no commission
Send the address and a few details and we will get back to you with a fair, no obligation cash offer. There is no cost and no commission.
Whether you were planning to list it yourself or just wanted to avoid the commission, it costs nothing to see our number first. A short, free conversation gives you a real figure to compare against any other path. If more than one thing is going on with the house, our situations page can point you to the right next step.
Call or send the form for a free, no obligation cash offer on your Chicago house.
Questions people ask
Do I pay any commission if I sell to you?
No. Because we are the buyer and not an agent, there is no commission on either side and no listing fees. We also cover the normal closing costs. The cash amount we agree on is what is written up for you at the title company, with nothing taken off the top for an agent.
Is selling for sale by owner better than selling to you?
It depends on the house and your time. For sale by owner can net more on a house in good shape if you are willing to price, market and show it yourself and wait for a retail buyer, though you often still pay the buyer’s agent. Selling to us trades the chance of a higher price for speed, certainty and no work, with no commission at all.
Without an agent, who handles the paperwork?
The title company does. In any sale, the title company confirms the title is clear, prepares the closing documents and handles the funds, so you are protected whether or not an agent is involved. We close at a local title company, and you deal directly with us and with them, not with a chain of middlemen.
Will I get less by selling without a realtor?
Not necessarily. You save the commission, which is commonly around 5 to 6 percent and is negotiable. A cash offer from us is below full retail, and we say so plainly, but once you subtract the commission, the repairs and the months of carrying a listed house, a direct sale often comes out close or ahead, especially for a house that needs work.
How do I start without listing the house?
Send the address through the form or call us. There is nothing to list, photograph or prepare. We look at the house and recent nearby Chicago sales, make a fair, no obligation offer, and explain how we reached it. If the number is not right for you, you walk away and owe nothing.