How Much Is My House Worth? Picking the Number You Actually Act On

The Three Numbers You'll Collect

An online estimate pulls public records and recent sales with no inspection. An agent's comparative market analysis adds a human who has seen the property, or at least real photos of it, and knows what is moving nearby right now. A licensed appraisal is the most rigorous of the three and the one a lender requires before funding a mortgage. None of them is the value of your house; market value is only what a real buyer actually pays in a real sale.

Why Most Sellers Still Bring in an Agent

Ninety-one percent of home sellers used a real estate agent in the past year, matching the highest share the National Association of Realtors has ever recorded, while only 5 percent sold for sale by owner, an all-time low. That tells you most sellers decide the sorting-out work, pricing strategy, negotiation, paperwork, is worth paying for rather than doing alone with a website's number.

That does not mean an agent is the only path. It means most sellers who tried to answer this question with a free estimate alone eventually brought in more help to actually act on it.

When You Don't Need to Sort It Out at All

If you are not trying to negotiate a listing price or defend a number to a lender, the sorting-out step is optional. A direct review skips the estimate-versus-CMA-versus-appraisal question entirely and gives you one number tied to your actual house instead of three to reconcile yourself.

Skip the Sorting, Get One Number

You do not have to reconcile three different numbers on your own. Step 1: Cash Flow Deals reviews your address and your house's condition, usually within one business day of you reaching out. You compare the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, with the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. You choose. Step 2: the number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens. That could include foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring or cast-iron drain failure. We disclose what we know at offer time. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. With Premium, only what the buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with repair costs settled from the sale proceeds, from our share. With Fast Cash, you sell as-is without making repairs. Step 3: you help pick the closing date.

You can compare both offers against your actual house and decide which fits. If the Premium buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number alongside your Premium Cash Offer choice. Cash Flow Deals buys your house on the Fast Cash path; on Premium, your buyer signs directly with you and title passes directly from you to that buyer.