I sold my house in Fremont last summer to John Buys Bay Area Houses, and the experience was excellent.
I reached out to three direct home buyers and three local realtors. The offers from the direct buyers were all in the same range, slightly lower than what the realtors thought they could get. But when factoring in agent commissions, the net profit would have been about the same either way. For me, it was absolutely worth skipping the hassle of staging, open houses, and showings.
I chose John Buys Bay Area Houses specifically because they were so easy to work with. They were flexible with my timeline, and since I was leaving the country, they even handled hauling away and donating the belongings I left behind. That level of service made the whole process stress-free.