Listing with an agent
Time to close: Often 30 to 90 days or more once you add prep, time on market, escrow, and the buyer's loan.
Repairs: You usually fix, paint, and stage to compete, and inspection findings can trigger more repairs or credits.
Showings: Open houses, lockboxes, and strangers walking through on someone else's schedule.
Commissions & fees: Commissions plus closing costs can run up to 8 percent of the sale price.
Certainty: Deals can fall through when a buyer's financing or appraisal comes up short.
Closing costs: Typically split or negotiated, and they come out of your proceeds.
Best when: The home is move-in ready and you have time to wait for the open market to bid it up.