Fees in a cash sale: what a legitimate buyer should charge you, and what you still pay

A cash buyer can agree to pay the costs of the transaction. It can’t make your own debts and tax bills disappear.

On Texas’s standard contract, releasing existing liens, including any prepayment penalty, is a seller expense, and the current year’s property taxes are prorated through the closing date.¹

A federal tax lien attaches to all of your assets, including future ones, so expect it to be paid or discharged from the property before closing. The IRS describes a “discharge” that removes the lien from specific property.²

In Florida, a new owner is jointly and severally liable with the previous owner for unpaid HOA assessments that came due before the transfer, so expect unpaid dues to be paid from your proceeds at closing.³

In New York, the base state transfer tax is paid by the seller and may not be paid by the buyer except as provided in the contract. If the seller doesn’t pay, the buyer must.⁴

Other states set their own rules, and some have no state transfer tax at all. Whatever the custom, a buyer’s promise to pay it belongs in the contract and in the buyer’s column of the settlement statement.

Offerpad lists $0 commissions and $0 concessions next to a 5% service fee and about 1% in closing costs. Repairs found after its walkthrough are handled through a credit adjustment.⁵

Opendoor says its service charge varies, is shown in your offer breakdown, and that it does not publish a fixed percentage.⁶

A wholesaler’s fee usually isn’t a line on your statement. It is the gap between your price and what the end buyer pays. No statute we read requires the wholesaler to disclose the dollar amount.

Commission is usually the biggest line. Clever Real Estate’s August 2026 survey of 434 agents put the average at 5.46%, combining the listing agent’s and buyer’s agent’s shares.⁷ Clever sells discounted listing services, so treat it as a commercial survey.

NAR’s 2025 staging survey found a median of $1,500 for a staging service.⁸

While the house is listed, you keep paying taxes, insurance, utilities and any mortgage interest.

1. Get an estimated net before you sign

   Ask the title company, escrow company or closing attorney for an estimated seller’s net sheet: price minus payoff, prorations and every cost you agreed to pay.

2. Check the price

   The sale price on the settlement statement should match your contract or the last amendment you signed.

3. Read every seller-column line

   Expect only your payoff, prorated taxes, any liens or HOA balances, and costs the contract puts on you. If the buyer agreed to pay closing costs, those lines should be $0 or shown as paid by the buyer.

4. Question any line you didn’t agree to

   A service, admin, processing, assignment or repair-credit line. Ask who receives it and where it is in the contract.

5. Match the bottom line

   The amount due to you should match your net sheet. If it doesn’t, ask before you sign.

Most all-cash sales have no federal Closing Disclosure, because that form covers consumer mortgage loans.⁹ Ask which settlement statement you will receive.

Confirm any wiring instructions by phone, using a number you looked up yourself. The consumer bureau’s advice is never to follow payment instructions sent by email.¹⁰

Cash-Match is free to use to compare available offers, and it doesn’t buy homes; the buyer you choose does. Our advertiser disclosure explains that Cash-Match may receive compensation through relationships with participating companies, such as cash buyers or other partners.