A company offered to buy our house instantly. Is it real money?
It's real money — priced for their convenience, not your equity. The instant-offer model works one way: start with an algorithm's number that looks respectable. Subtract a service fee that usually runs past typical agent compensation. Subtract a repair credit assessed after you're committed. Subtract their built-in resale margin too. Each line is defensible alone. Stacked, they usually land well below open-market on a normal house.
When it's genuinely the right call: you need certainty more than dollars. An estate to settle from out of state, a privacy situation, a closing date that can't move, a house you can't face showing. Certainty has a price, and sometimes it's worth paying — that's a real decision, not a scam.
How to decide like a pro: get their offer in writing. Then get a real net sheet for the open market — same house, same honesty about timeline. Compare walk-away to walk-away. I'll build the second number even if you take the first. The comparison costs nothing; skipping it can cost plenty.
I wrote this answer, and I stand behind it. I'm Chris Deutsch, a Minneapolis Realtor (MN #20382264). Twenty-five years of walking these neighborhoods, checking basements, and sitting across kitchen tables from people making exactly this call. I re-check every answer and date it — this one was last verified .
If your situation is more specific than the market, that's the one worth talking through. Email me at chris@lakesarearealty.com.