CloseCenter

Selling path

List for market price with a written floor underneath it

You list normally. Before the sign goes up, a backstop offer is put in writing at a price below market. If the house does not sell in the agreed window, you can take the backstop. Read the terms — the floor is not the market price and the conditions matter.

Term sheet

How this compares to the alternatives

Same four questions for every path. Read the row you care about across all three columns.

This page

Guaranteed Sold Program

Right for you if
you need to buy next and cannot risk being stuck with two payments.
What it costs you
Standard commission if it sells on market. If you use the backstop, expect a below-market price similar to a cash offer.
Realistic timeline
Agreed window on market, then the backstop typically closes within about 2 weeks, depending on title work or issues.
What can go wrong
The guarantee is only as good as its conditions: price, condition requirements, and the window. A weak backstop is marketing, not protection.
You are here

Compare

Find your Realtor

Right for you if
your house is in condition to list and you want the highest realistic price.
What it costs you
Standard local commission, paid at closing. CloseCenter costs you nothing — the agent pays us a referral fee out of their own commission, only when the home closes.
Realistic timeline
Time on market varies with price and condition, then closing usually runs a few weeks once you are under contract.
What can go wrong
The house sits. Price was wrong, condition was wrong, or the agent went quiet. That is what the 30-day review exists to catch.
Read about find your realtor →

Compare

Cash offer

Right for you if
certainty and speed are worth more to you than the last dollar of price.
What it costs you
No commission and no repairs, but the offer comes in at a discount to open-market price. How big depends on condition and location, and we put the number in front of you.
Realistic timeline
Usually closes within about 2 weeks, depending on title work or issues that turn up. You usually pick the date.
What can go wrong
Retrading — the buyer lowers the price after inspection. Ask for proof of funds and a hard, non-refundable deposit before you take the property off market.
Read about cash offer →

Ranges are general and depend on your market, condition, and lender. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice.

At a glance

All six paths, side by side

Net proceeds, speed, certainty of closing, and what you pay.

Levels and day ranges are general and depend on your market, condition, and lender. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice.

  • Find your Realtor
    Net proceeds
    Find your Realtor Net proceeds: High
    Speed
    Find your Realtor Speed: Low
    Certainty of closing
    Find your Realtor Certainty of closing: Medium
    What the seller pays
    Commission at closing
  • Cash offer
    Net proceeds
    Cash offer Net proceeds: Low
    Speed
    Cash offer Speed: High
    Certainty of closing
    Cash offer Certainty of closing: High
    What the seller pays
    No commission, lower price
  • Creative selling
    Net proceeds
    Creative selling Net proceeds: High
    Speed
    Creative selling Speed: Medium
    Certainty of closing
    Creative selling Certainty of closing: Low
    What the seller pays
    Paid over time, not at closing
  • Guaranteed Sold ProgramYou are here
    Net proceeds
    Guaranteed Sold Program Net proceeds: Medium
    Speed
    Guaranteed Sold Program Speed: Medium
    Certainty of closing
    Guaranteed Sold Program Certainty of closing: High
    What the seller pays
    Commission, plus the backstop terms
  • Avoid foreclosure
    Net proceeds
    Avoid foreclosure Net proceeds: Medium
    Speed
    Avoid foreclosure Speed: High
    Certainty of closing
    Avoid foreclosure Certainty of closing: Medium
    What the seller pays
    Depends on equity and lender approval
  • Sell your land
    Net proceeds
    Sell your land Net proceeds: Medium
    Speed
    Sell your land Speed: Low
    Certainty of closing
    Sell your land Certainty of closing: Medium
    What the seller pays
    Commission, often a higher rate

Typical days from first call to close

Typical days from your first call to the closing table. Levels and day ranges are general and depend on your market, condition, and lender. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice.
PathTypical days from first call to close
Find your Realtor

60–150 days

Cash offer

10–21 days

Creative selling

21–75 days

Guaranteed Sold Program

30–120 days

Avoid foreclosure

14–60 days

Sell your land

60–210 days

What the seller pays under each path

Find your Realtor

  • Agent commission, paid at closing
  • Repairs or credits you agree to after inspection
  • Normal seller closing costs and prorations
  • Preparation: cleaning, photography, any staging you choose

Paid to CloseCenter: $0

Cash offer

  • No agent commission
  • No repairs and no preparation
  • The discount to open-market price — the real cost of this path
  • Closing costs, usually covered by the buyer (confirm in the contract)

Paid to CloseCenter: $0

Creative selling

  • Commission, if an agent writes and markets the deal
  • Most of your proceeds arrive over years, not on closing day
  • Servicing, bookkeeping, and legal drafting of the terms
  • The cost of enforcement if the buyer stops paying

Paid to CloseCenter: $0

Guaranteed Sold Program

  • Agent commission on the sale that actually happens
  • The backstop price, which sits below the list price
  • Whatever conditions the guarantee attaches — get them in writing
  • Normal seller closing costs

Paid to CloseCenter: $0

Avoid foreclosure

  • Reinstatement, payoff, and any legal fees your lender has added
  • Commission, if the property is listed rather than sold for cash
  • A short sale needs lender approval, which sets its own terms
  • Speed usually costs price — that trade is the decision here

Paid to CloseCenter: $0

Sell your land

  • Land commission rates commonly run higher than house rates
  • Survey, access, or soil work a buyer asks for
  • Property taxes while the parcel sits
  • Normal seller closing costs

Paid to CloseCenter: $0

Levels and day ranges are general and depend on your market, condition, and lender. Nothing here is legal, tax, or financial advice.

This fits you if

  • You are buying another property and need certainty
  • You cannot carry two mortgages
  • The house is in listable condition
  • You want market upside without open-ended risk

Look elsewhere if

  • You have no deadline
  • The property needs major repair before it can be listed
  • You want the absolute highest net and nothing else

What we hold the agent to

The accountability layer

Four standards, in writing, the same on every referral. Not a service promise — a set of conditions the agent keeps or loses the referral.

01

Full-time agents only

Real estate has to be the agent's primary income. We do not screen on closing counts — a low-volume full-time agent beats a high-volume part-timer on responsiveness.

If it slips: the referral moves to another agent in the area. Coverage is not exclusive.

02

Contact within 4 hours

The agent calls you within 4 hours of receiving the referral, same business day. Not a text blast, not an automated drip — a call from the person who will handle the file.

If it slips: tell us. We reassign, and we tell you we did.

03

30-day listing review

At day 30 the agent sits down with you and reviews their own numbers: showings, feedback, days on market, price position. No spin, no new photos as a substitute for a decision.

If it slips: we run the review ourselves and put the numbers in front of you.

04

On the file through closing

One person at CloseCenter owns your outcome from the first call to the closing table. You are not handed off to a queue.

If it slips: you have a direct line and a name, not a support inbox.

Process

What happens, in order

No mystery steps. If a step slips, you hear it from us before you notice it yourself.

  1. 1

    Valuation and floor

    The agent prices the listing and a backstop buyer sets the floor. Both numbers are in writing before you list.

  2. 2

    Read the conditions

    We walk you through what voids the guarantee. This is where these programs usually fail people.

  3. 3

    List and market

    Normal listing, normal exposure, normal chance at market price.

  4. 4

    Day 30 review

    Numbers on the table. Adjust price or hold.

  5. 5

    Sell or exercise

    If the window closes without a contract, you can take the backstop and close on a set date.

Florida Panhandle

A beach market's clock does not run at one speed

Showing traffic, the buyer pool, and the amount of competing inventory are not the same in a coastal market in February as they are at the height of the season. So a days-on-market figure averaged across a whole year describes almost nothing about the specific window you are listing in, and a guarantee built on that average can set a deadline the off-season was never going to meet.

Ask which months the numbers behind the guarantee came from. If the answer is an annual average, ask what the same figure looks like for the season you are actually listing in.

Then make the agreement say what it means: the exact price the backstop pays and how it is calculated, the length of the listing window and the date the clock starts, the condition and access the property has to be kept in, what happens to the clock if you turn down showings, and whether anything changes if the window runs through the shoulder season.

If the property is rented, showings compete with bookings. Decide up front how that is handled, because a guarantee that assumes open access and a calendar that does not allow it is a dispute waiting to happen.

BestExit by CloseCenter

Not sure which path fits? Find your BestExit.

About 2 minutes. We'll show you the two best ways to sell your property.

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FAQ

Questions people actually ask

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Guides and calculators for every way to sell, in one place.

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