What selling your house for cash actually costs in Maryland

Selling your house to a cash buyer in Maryland should cost you nothing out of pocket. A legitimate buyer charges no commission and no fees, and pays the standard closing costs. The real cost is the discount from full market value, usually 10 to 25 percent depending on condition. Here’s the honest math, line by line.

Almost no company in this business publishes numbers. We’d rather you see them before you call anyone, including us. These figures come from our own closings around Silver Spring and the rest of central Maryland, and from what the principals here see as licensed Maryland agents on the listing side.

The two ways to sell, side by side

On the tax line, the numbers are set by law, not by the buyer. Maryland’s state transfer tax is 0.5 percent of the price under Tax-Property §13-203, and each county stacks its own transfer and recordation taxes on top. In Montgomery County the combined bill often lands between 2 and 3 percent of the price, customarily split between buyer and seller. Those taxes get collected when the deed records at the circuit court, a process the Maryland Courts land records guide explains well. In our purchases, we cover the standard seller side of that bill.

Where the offer number comes from

Our offer starts at what your house would sell for fixed up, based on real neighborhood comps. From that we subtract three things: the actual repair budget, our costs to carry and resell the property (those same transfer taxes and utility bills now land on us, along with a resale commission), and our margin. What remains is the offer, and we show every line of it in writing. The full walkthrough is on our how it works page.

Run an example. A house near Sligo Creek might be worth $560,000 renovated. If it needs $80,000 of work and our costs plus margin come to $85,000, the offer lands around $395,000. A seller netting that in three weeks, having paid nothing to sell, often comes out within shouting distance of a listed sale that took four months and $40,000 of prep. Sometimes they come out behind, and we’ll say so when they do.

What moves the number up or down

1. Repair scope.Cosmetics barely move an offer. Roofs, foundations, main systems, and mold or fire damage move it a lot, because they’re what we actually pay to fix.
2. Location and demand. Silver Spring, Takoma Park, and close-in Montgomery County resell fast, so we can pay tighter. Slower blocks carry more risk and price accordingly.
3. Occupancy.Vacant is simplest. Tenant-occupied still works, but the lease terms and the tenant’s status get priced in.
4. Title and liens.Back taxes, code fines, and open probate don’t kill a deal, but clearing them costs time and money that shows up in the number.
5. Your timeline. Flexibility helps. A closing date that lets us schedule work in advance is worth real dollars to us, and we pass some of that back.

Fees you should never pay a cash buyer

No honest cash buyer in Maryland charges the seller anything. If you hear the words processing fee or application fee, or you get an offer that shrinks at the closing table, walk away. Since October 2025, Maryland law also requires a wholesale buyer to disclose in writing, before you sign, if they may assign your contract to someone else, and it gives you the right to rescind if that disclosure never shows up. Your rights are spelled out on our FAQ page.

When listing beats a cash sale

If your house is in good shape and you can wait a few months, listing usually nets more, even after commissions. The cash route wins when the house needs work nobody wants to fund, when a foreclosure or tax sale puts a clock on you, or when an estate just needs to be settled. The principals of Old Line Home Buyers are licensed Maryland agents, so when we quote a cash price for your house in Silver Spring or anywhere in our area, we put the listing math right next to it. If the listing math wins, we tell you, and it costs you nothing to find out.