After years of debating, I finally decided it was the right time to sell my house—a 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 2,200 sq. ft. home I bought back in 2012 for $350k. By January, it was valued at around $660k, and with only $225k left on the mortgage, the return looked amazing.
I decided to try Zillow’s cash offer program. After a few days, they came back with an offer of $560k. That was way lower than I expected (given the Zestimate of ~$660k), but I went ahead with their process. After inspection, they said the home needed $13k in repairs, bringing the net down to $512k. Their main reasoning for the lower price was the freeway next to my property.
I wasn’t ready to settle, so I reached out to a local realtor who was confident he could sell it higher and quickly. We listed at $595k to attract buyers. The first couple of open houses had heavy traffic but no offers—the freeway kept coming up as a deal-breaker. We dropped the price to $570k, but still no bites.
By March, things got worse with the start of COVID. Open houses stopped, and buyer interest dried up. Out of options, I called Zillow again. This time, they offered $545k. After another inspection, I realized I’d probably accept.
What I’ve learned is this: if your property has a big drawback like being next to a freeway, a quick cash offer can actually be the better route. It may not feel like top dollar, but the convenience and certainty are worth considering.