How a Cash Offer Is Calculated in the Tri-Cities

The first question almost every seller asks us is the most honest one: “How much will you give me for my house?” The second is usually the quieter worry behind it — “and how do I know I’m not getting lowballed?” Both are fair. So instead of dodging, here’s exactly how a cash offer on a Tri-Cities house gets calculated — the real math, no mystery.

The simple formula behind a cash offer

Nearly every legitimate cash buyer uses some version of the same equation:

After-Repair Value − Cost of Repairs − Holding & Selling Costs − A Fair Profit = Your Cash Offer

It looks cold written out, but each piece is straightforward once you see what goes into it.

After-Repair Value (ARV). What your house would sell for fully fixed up, in today’s market. We figure it from recent sales of comparable homes near you — a renovated rambler off Clearwater in Kennewick, a fixed-up place in West Pasco, an updated home in Richland’s Meadow Springs. Same neighborhood, similar size and age, sold recently. The ARV is the ceiling everything else works back from.
Cost of Repairs. What it takes to bring the house to that after-repair value — roof, foundation, HVAC, kitchen, bath, flooring, paint, whatever it needs. This is where being a real local renovator matters: we price repairs off what our crews actually charge here in the Tri-Cities, not a guess.
Holding & Selling Costs. While we own and renovate the home, we pay property taxes, insurance, utilities, and loan costs. Then to resell it we pay agent commissions, closing costs, and title fees — the same costs you’d pay selling retail. Real dollars that come out of the math.
A Fair Profit. We’re a business, so yes, there’s a margin built in — that’s how we keep the lights on, pay our crews, and take the risk if a renovation runs over. A straight buyer won’t hide this. Anyone who pretends there’s no profit isn’t being honest.

What’s left after all that is your cash offer.

Why a cash offer is less than full retail — and what you’re trading for

Here’s the honest part: a cash, as-is offer won’t match what a fully renovated home fetches on the open market. It’s not supposed to. You’re trading some of that top-dollar price for things that have real value of their own:

No repairs — you fix nothing and spend nothing.
No agent commissions and no fees coming out of your proceeds.
No showings, no staging, no strangers walking through.
No financing falling through at the last minute.
A closing date you choose — fast if you need it, or weeks out if that’s easier.

For a lot of folks — an inherited house full of stuff, a rental they’re done with, or a place that needs more work than they can take on — that certainty and speed is worth more than chasing the last few thousand dollars through months on the market.

What makes our offer different

A lot of “we buy houses” outfits are national lead brokers — they collect your information online and sell it to whoever pays the most, and you never deal with the same person twice. We’re the opposite. We’re a local, family-owned buyer that’s worked in the Tri-Cities since 1992, and we genuinely renovate the homes we buy — you can see real before-and-afters of houses we’ve transformed. Because we’re local and do the work ourselves, we can show you the comps and the repair math behind your number, face to face. And if selling to us isn’t your best move, we’ll tell you so.

Questions worth asking any cash buyer before you sign

Whether you work with us or someone else, these protect you — and a straight buyer answers all of them without flinching:

Do you actually buy and renovate houses yourself, or do you assign (resell) the contract?
Can you show me real, local projects you’ve completed?
Is your offer contingent on anything, or is it firm?
Are there any fees or costs taken out of my proceeds at closing?
Can you walk me through how you got to this number?

If a buyer dodges those, that tells you something.

If you’ve got a Tri-Cities house and want a straight answer on what it’s worth as-is — with the math behind it, not just a number — we’re happy to give you a free, no-obligation cash offer and walk you through exactly how we got there.

📞 Get Your Free Cash Offer — (509) 824-6600

Weighing your options? See our side-by-side comparison: a cash offer vs. listing with an agent vs. a national buyer.

Frequently asked questions

How do you decide what to offer?
We start from what the home would be worth fully fixed up (based on recent comparable sales), then subtract the repairs it needs and our costs to do the project. We’re happy to walk you through the comps behind the number.

Why is a cash offer less than the full market price?
Because you’re getting speed, certainty, and a sale with no repairs, no showings, and no agent fees or commissions. The offer reflects the home’s as-is condition and the work we take on.

Is your offer firm, or does the price drop later?
It’s firm. We don’t make a high offer to lock you in and then chip away at it after a walkthrough – the number we give you is the number.