How Much Do You Save on Commissions and Closing Costs When Selling to a Cash Buyer Like Homeinc?

When you sell a house the traditional way in Florida or Georgia, the price on the contract is rarely the amount you actually walk away with. Between realtor commissions, closing costs, repair credits, staging, and the months of carrying costs you pay while your home sits on the market, the gap between the sticker price and your net check can be staggering. If you’re a homeowner trying to figure out the fastest, cleanest way to move on, knowing exactly what a traditional sale costs — and what a cash sale to Homeinc eliminates — can save you tens of thousands of dollars.

Realtor Commissions: The Biggest Single Cost in a Traditional Sale

In a typical Florida or Georgia home sale, the seller pays a real estate commission of 5% to 6% of the sale price. That fee is split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. On a $350,000 home, that’s $17,500 to $21,000 — gone before you even see the wire from closing. According to the National Association of Realtors research data, commissions remain one of the largest single expenses in any residential transaction.

When you sell to Homeinc, there are no agents involved. You don’t pay a listing commission, and you don’t pay a buyer’s agent fee. We are the buyer. That alone can put $15,000 to $25,000 back in your pocket on an average-priced home. If you’re comparing options, our cash buyer vs. realtor breakdown for Florida walks through the math side-by-side, and we have a similar resource for sellers in Georgia in our cash buyer vs. realtor guide for Georgia.

Closing Costs: The Hidden Fees That Add Up Fast

Even after commissions, sellers in a traditional transaction typically face another 1% to 3% in closing costs. Those include title insurance, escrow fees, transfer taxes (called documentary stamp taxes in Florida), recording fees, prorated property taxes, HOA estoppel fees, settlement charges, and attorney costs in counties that require them. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s homeowner resources outline how these fees stack up at the closing table.

On that same $350,000 home, expect another $3,500 to $10,500 in closing costs. When you sell to Homeinc, we pay all standard closing costs. There are no junk fees, no surprises on the settlement statement, and no last-minute repair credits negotiated against you. The number we agree on is the number you receive. If you want to see exactly how the process unfolds, take a look at how our cash offers work step by step.

Repairs, Inspections, and Buyer Credits

Most traditional buyers in Florida and Georgia bring an inspector through the home before closing. Whatever that inspector flags — a soft roof, an aging HVAC, plumbing issues, code questions, termite history — becomes a renegotiation. Sellers either pay for repairs out of pocket before closing or hand over a credit at the settlement table. On older Florida homes especially, it is not unusual for a seller to lose another $5,000 to $20,000 in repair concessions, and that’s before insurance carriers start pushing back on roof age or 4-point inspections.

Homeinc buys homes as-is. Outdated kitchen? Fine. Roof past its prime? Not a problem. Water damage, foundation cracks, code violations, hoarder-condition interior — we handle all of that on our end. You don’t fix, clean, paint, replace, or repair anything. You take what you want, leave what you don’t, and we take the property exactly as it stands.

Staging, Showings, and the Cost of Getting Your House “Market Ready”

Listing a home traditionally usually means professional cleaning, painting, decluttering, and often staging. Stagers in Florida and Georgia commonly charge $1,500 to $4,000 for an initial consultation and rented furniture package, and that’s before monthly fees if your home sits longer than expected. Add professional photography, drone shots, pre-listing inspections, lawn touch-ups, and the cost of vacating during showings, and many sellers spend $3,000 to $7,000 just to list the property.

None of that applies when you sell to Homeinc. No showings. No open houses. No stagers walking through your bedroom. No strangers in your home on Saturday afternoons. One walkthrough, one offer, one closing date you choose.

Carrying Costs: What You Pay While Your House Sits on the Market

This is the cost most homeowners forget to calculate, and it’s often the most painful. The average days-on-market for a traditionally listed home in Florida and Georgia ranges from 60 to 120 days before closing, sometimes longer for homes that need work or sit in slower micro-markets. During every one of those months, you are still paying:

• Your mortgage principal and interest
• Property taxes (prorated daily)
• Homeowners insurance — which in Florida has climbed dramatically in recent years
• Utilities, lawn care, and pool service to keep the home showable
• HOA or condo dues

On a typical Florida home with a $1,800 mortgage payment, $400 in taxes and insurance, and $200 in utilities and yard service, that’s $2,400 a month — roughly $7,200 over a 90-day listing period. If your home doesn’t sell on the first contract and you go through a second buyer, that figure can easily double.

Homeinc closes in as little as 7 to 14 days. The day you stop owning the house is the day you stop paying for it. For a clear picture of the timeline, see how Homeinc’s simple 3-step process works.

Putting It All Together: A Real-World Comparison

On a $350,000 Florida home sold the traditional way, a homeowner typically pays:

• $17,500 – $21,000 in commissions
• $3,500 – $10,500 in closing costs
• $5,000 – $20,000 in repairs and buyer credits
• $3,000 – $7,000 in staging, photography, and prep
• $5,000 – $10,000 in carrying costs during the listing period

That’s a total cost of $34,000 to $68,500 — money that comes directly out of what you thought you were getting. When you sell to Homeinc, those line items disappear. The offer we hand you is what funds at closing, minus only any existing mortgage payoff or liens against the property. If you want to compare us directly to other cash players, our Homeinc vs. Opendoor comparison and our Homeinc vs. We Buy Ugly Houses breakdown show exactly where the dollars land.

Ready to See What You Could Save?

If you’ve been quietly doing the math on what a traditional sale would actually net you — after commissions, closing costs, repairs, prep, and months of carrying costs — and the number is smaller than you hoped, you are not alone. Thousands of Florida and Georgia homeowners have chosen the cash route specifically because the math finally makes sense. Call Homeinc today or request your free, no-obligation cash offer online. There’s no pressure, no fees, and no commitment — just a real number you can compare to everything else on the table.

Get Your Free Cash Offer →