If you’re thinking about listing your Maryland house with an agent, you’ve probably already heard the number people throw around: commission eats into your proceeds. But nobody tells you exactly how, or what else gets pulled out of your check at closing. You’re left guessing, and that’s a bad place to make a decision from.
We’re not agents. We buy houses directly, for cash. But we talk to homeowners every week who are trying to figure out whether listing or selling to us makes more sense for their situation. So we want to walk you through what a realtor actually costs, honestly, without any spin. Sometimes listing is the better move. We’ll tell you when.
Where the Money Actually Goes When You List
When people say “realtor fees,” they usually mean the commission split between the listing agent and the buyer’s agent. That commission is negotiated between you and your agent, and it’s paid out of the proceeds at closing, not out of pocket upfront. The exact percentage varies by agent, by market, and by negotiation, so there’s no single number we can hand you that applies to your house.
But commission isn’t the only cost. Selling a house through a listing usually comes with several other line items:
Closing costs. Sellers typically cover a portion of the transfer taxes, title fees, and sometimes a share of the buyer’s closing costs if that’s part of the negotiation.
Repairs and prep. Most buyers touring a listed home expect it to show well. That can mean paint, cleaning, landscaping, or fixing things an inspector will flag. If your house needs real work, foundation issues, an old roof, outdated systems, that’s money you spend before you even get an offer.
Staging and photography. Not required, but common, especially if you want your listing to compete with others in your price range.
Holding costs. This is the one people forget. Every month your house sits on the market, you’re still paying the mortgage, utilities, insurance, and property taxes. If your house takes a while to sell, or if the buyer’s financing falls through and you have to relist, those months add up.
Concessions. Sometimes a buyer’s inspection turns up something and you agree to knock money off the price or pay for a repair to keep the deal together.
None of this means listing is a bad choice. For a lot of houses, especially ones in good condition in a desirable neighborhood, listing with a good agent gets you the highest possible price, even after all these costs come out. That’s just the truth. We’re not going to tell you otherwise to try to win your business.
When Listing Is Genuinely Your Best Option
We’d rather tell you this upfront than have you find out later that you left money on the table. Listing tends to make the most sense when:
- Your house is in good, move-in-ready condition, or close to it
- You’re not under real time pressure and can wait out a normal selling timeline
- You have the cash reserves to handle a few months of holding costs if the sale takes longer than expected
- Your local market has strong buyer demand for houses like yours
If that’s you, talk to a good local agent and get a real listing presentation. Ask them to walk you through their commission structure and give you an honest estimate of your net proceeds after everything is accounted for. A good agent will do this math with you, not around you.
When the Math Looks Different
The commission and fees aren’t the problem for everyone. The problem is usually timing, condition, or both.
If your house needs work you can’t afford to do, and a lender-backed buyer’s inspection is going to surface it anyway, you’re looking at either fixing it now or negotiating a lower price later. If you’ve inherited a house and you’re juggling probate, taxes, and a property sitting empty, the holding costs alone can eat into any commission savings you were hoping to get from a lower listing price. If you’re behind on payments and a few more months on the market puts you at real risk of foreclosure, the calendar matters more than the top-line sale price. If you’re going through a divorce and just need this decided and done, the emotional cost of a long drawn-out sale is real too, even if it’s harder to put a number on.
In situations like these, a cash sale can end up putting more usable money in your pocket sooner, even though the sale price itself is typically lower than a full retail listing price. That’s because you’re not paying commission, you’re not doing repairs, and you’re not carrying the house for months while it sits on the market.
What a Cash Sale With Us Actually Looks Like
We want to be specific here, because “we buy houses” gets thrown around a lot and it doesn’t mean the same thing from every buyer.
When you sell to Deep Roots REI, there’s no real estate commission involved. You’re not paying us or paying an agent a percentage of the sale. In most cases, we cover the closing costs too, so what we offer is close to what you actually walk away with. We buy houses as-is, which means you don’t fix anything, clean anything, or stage anything. If the roof leaks, the carpet’s from the 90s, or there’s a room full of stuff you haven’t dealt with yet, none of that is your problem to solve before we buy it.
On timeline, we typically close in 30 days, often faster, depending on your situation and what works for you. If you need more time to move, we can usually work with that too.
The tradeoff, and we want to be upfront about it, is that our offer will usually be lower than what you might get listing on the open market in good condition. We’re taking on the repair costs, the holding costs, and the risk. That’s built into the number. For someone who needs speed and certainty more than they need top dollar, that tradeoff makes sense. For someone with time, a house in decent shape, and no urgent pressure, it might not.
How to Actually Decide
Here’s the simplest way to think about it. Get a real number from an agent: what would your house likely list for, what’s their commission, and what do they estimate for closing costs and any repairs a buyer would ask for. Then get a cash offer from us. Put the two numbers next to each other, along with your actual timeline and what you can realistically handle between now and closing. The right answer is usually pretty clear once you see both sides side by side.
Talk It Through With Us
If you’re trying to figure out whether listing or a cash sale makes more sense for your house, we’re happy to walk through it with you, no pressure, no obligation. Reach out to Deep Roots REI and we’ll give you a straight answer, even if that answer is “talk to an agent first.”