How we rate programs

The six dimensions

1. Net proceeds (weight: 30%). The dollars the seller walks away with, relative to what a traditional listing in the same market would net, measured against our standardized $525k sample transaction.
2. Fee transparency (weight: 15%). Can a median seller read the fee sheet and correctly estimate their all-in cost? Are fees disclosed prominently or buried in the PSA?
3. PSA fairness (weight: 20%). Review of contract language across the three critical sections — repair credits, carry, and waterfall. Scored against our PSA framework.
4. Execution (weight: 15%). Seller satisfaction with closing timeline, responsiveness, and process. Based on our seller interviews and published reviews.
5. Footprint & fit (weight: 10%). How many states and what seller segments the program actually serves. A 9/10 product available in 3 states scores lower than a 7/10 product available in 40 states.
6. Durability (weight: 10%). Operator stability — funding runway, regulatory posture, and likelihood of being operational in 24 months.

Scoring

Each dimension is scored 1–10 by a primary reviewer and a secondary reviewer independently. Where their scores diverge by more than 2 points, the methodology lead breaks the tie. The final rating is the weighted average, rounded to one decimal place.

The sample transaction

Our reviews reference a standardized sample: a $525,000 home in good condition, in a Sun Belt metro with 45-day median days-on-market, sold at 98% of list price. We apply each program's current fee schedule, advance rate, carry terms, and expected repair deduction to produce a net proceeds figure. This is how we get comparable numbers across programs.

The sample transaction is recalibrated every quarter to reflect current market conditions. As of April 2026 it uses prime = 8.0%, average home value assumptions from Freddie Mac's Q1 2026 estimate, and DOM from Realtor.com's March 2026 report.

What we do not score

• Marketing quality. We don't reward a program for having a slicker website.
• Brand recognition. The largest program is not automatically the best.
• Our match revenue. A program's willingness to pay us for leads is explicitly excluded from the rubric.

How ratings change

A rating is re-run any time a program changes its fee schedule, PSA template, or state footprint. We also refresh ratings every six months regardless of program changes to account for market conditions and new seller data. Rating changes greater than 0.5 are announced in the News section.

How we handle program disputes

When a program disagrees with a rating or specific claim, they contact editorial@cashoffercomparison.com. We respond within 5 business days. If the program's concern is factual (e.g., “our fee is 1.5%, not 2%”), we verify with source documents and correct immediately. If the concern is interpretive (“we don't think you've characterized our waterfall fairly”), we'll hear them out, but we won't rewrite on request. All correspondence with programs is logged; requests for material changes are archived indefinitely.

Open questions we don't yet score

There are two dimensions we'd like to score but can't yet: customer service responsiveness after second close, and the rate at which programs deny claims during the waterfall calculation. Both require access to seller data at a scale we don't currently have. We're working on it.