Is a CMA the same as an appraisal?

No. A comparative market analysis (CMA) is a licensed agent's opinion of value based on recent comparable sales, and it is free. An appraisal is a formal, licensed valuation typically ordered by a lender during a financed purchase, and it costs money. A CMA is enough to check whether a cash offer is fair.

Tarrant County · Owner Guide

Should you take that cash offer on your Fort Worth house?

By Andrew ChavisUpdated October 16, 20265 min read

The Short Answer

Get a free comparative market analysis from a licensed agent first and run the gap between that number and the cash offer in your hand. Take the three days a legitimate buyer can always survive you taking. Texas Property Code section 5.0205 requires a buyer who plans to resell your contract, not the house, to disclose that in writing before the contract changes hands. If you already signed something, stop and call a Texas real estate attorney.

Is it legal for a company to buy my house for cash in Texas?

Yes. Buying houses for cash is legal in Texas, and for some sellers a cash offer is the right call. But a lot of "we buy houses" buyers never intend to own your house. They put it under contract, then sell the contract itself to an investor for a fee, an industry practice called assignment or wholesaling. It is legal, and Texas law is blunt about the one thing it requires: under Texas Property Code section 5.0205, a buyer who means to assign or resell the contract instead of buying the property has to tell you that, in writing, before the contract changes hands. That disclosure is the difference between someone buying your house and someone selling your signature. If you believe a required disclosure was missing from something you already signed, that is a question for a Texas real estate attorney, not for us and not for the buyer.

NoteAssignment is legal. The law makes the buyer disclose it in writing before the contract is assigned. Ask on day one anyway; the answer tells you who is across the table.

How much lower is a cash offer than a normal sale?

That is arithmetic, not opinion. Take a realistic value for your house. Subtract what it would truly cost to fix the things the buyer keeps mentioning. Subtract commission and closing costs from a normal sale. What is left is roughly what an ordinary as-is listing nets you, without lifting a hammer. The distance between that number and the offer in your hand is what the speed costs. Sometimes the gap is modest and the trade is fair. Sometimes it is much larger: ProPublica's 2023 investigation into the largest "we buy houses" franchise network found homeowners on that path commonly walking away with around sixty percent of what their homes were worth, and documented reps trained to look for what the company itself called signs of desperation.

The pitch

A cash offer saves you the repairs and the commission.A cash offer prices the repairs and the commission, then keeps the difference.

The tell is always the clock

Every legitimate buyer we have ever dealt with in Fort Worth, from Saginaw and 76179 out to the Mid-Cities, can survive you taking three days to think. A comparative market analysis from a licensed agent is free, ordinary, and fast, and no honest offer collapses because you got one. So the pressure is the tell. "This offer is only good today" is not a deadline, it is a strategy. Nothing about your situation, however hard it is, gets worse in three days.

NoteThree days. A buyer who cannot survive three days is not buying a house. They are buying your hurry.

What should I do if I already signed a cash offer contract?

Three things, plainly. One: you can get a real number for free. Any licensed agent can run a comparative market analysis, which is a broker's opinion of value, not an appraisal. We do them for people who never list with us, and that is fine. Two: you do not have to fix anything to sell on the open market. As-is listings are normal; the buyer pool is smaller and the price reflects condition, but it reflects it once, in daylight, with competition. Three, and read this one first if you already signed: if you already signed something, stop reading and call a Texas real estate attorney. Not us, not the buyer, not a Facebook group. Contracts are their territory, and the sooner they see it, the more options you have.

NoteThe gap is the fee you pay for speed. Sometimes worth paying. It should never be a surprise.

Where we stand

We manage and sell houses in Tarrant County, in Fort Worth and the towns around it, so yes, we have an interest in the open market working. We are saying that out loud so you can weigh it. But the math above does not care who runs it, and the statute does not either. As of October 2026, the median closed sale for a single-family house across Tarrant and Parker counties was $377,050, across 1,102 closings (our NTREIS pull, 10/12/2026). Sixty percent of that median is about $226,000. Get the number, take the three days, and make the trade with your eyes open, whichever way you decide.

Where I standYes, I have a side. The median below carries a date and a source so you can check it without trusting me.

Common Questions

Is it legal for a company to buy my house for cash in Texas?: Yes, buying houses for cash is legal in Texas. What the law requires is disclosure: under Texas Property Code section 5.0205, a buyer who intends to assign or resell your contract instead of buying the property must tell you that in writing before the contract changes hands. If that disclosure is missing from something you already signed, that is a question for a Texas real estate attorney.
How much lower is a cash offer than a normal sale?: It varies, and it is arithmetic you can run yourself: take a realistic value, subtract true repair costs and what a normal sale's commission and closing costs would be, and compare what is left to the cash offer in hand. ProPublica's 2023 investigation into the largest "we buy houses" franchise network found homeowners commonly walking away with around sixty percent of their home's value.
What should I do if I already signed a cash offer contract?: Stop and call a Texas real estate attorney first, before doing anything else. Contracts are their territory. After that, know that you can still get a free comparative market analysis from a licensed agent, and that you never have to fix anything to sell on the open market as-is.
Is a CMA the same as an appraisal?: No. A comparative market analysis (CMA) is a licensed agent's opinion of value based on recent comparable sales, and it is free. An appraisal is a formal, licensed valuation typically ordered by a lender during a financed purchase, and it costs money. A CMA is enough to check whether a cash offer is fair.