Can I get to FIRE? Debt, mortgage, home selling process

The amount of money being discussed here warrants some careful consideration and time to ensure you're making the right choice. I would at least interview a number of agents to get an idea for 'market price' and compare that to the off market price and make sure you're an informed seller. If you hop on the bigger pockets forums you'll see a lot of investors aiming for 20-30% discount off the market price, if a realtor is going to cost 5-6% then you're saving 14-24% of the value of your home by dealing with the hassle. The national average is over $400k these days so that's a $60-100k decision.

If you happen to have an owner occupant buyer lined up and you're just saving on realtor/marketing fees then absolutely worth considering, but an investor is looking for a very large discount, otherwise why would they do it. The 'cash offer' is usually backed by expensive hard money, often followed by a vacancy period and comes with risk. It's a lot cheaper for an owner occupant to buy your house so they are happier with a smaller discount.

You should put the "lengthy hassle" in perspective. Are you giving up potentially a $20,000 difference just because you might have to spend a couple hours each week getting the house ready for showing and doing a little paper work?

If you had to work months at your current job to make that amount of money, would that be less of a hassle?

Makes sense. The companies and people who advertise and make it frictionless are also expecting a big discount. If the market is great in your area, consider a for sale by owner and “as is.” You can talk to a title company about what they can do to make the paperwork easy. Zillow has FSBO on their listings so that might be a good way to get visibility. Consider hosting an open house and decline any showings before that. That allows you to have one very busy day, plus clean up instead of multiple days of showing. This doesn’t eliminate the hassle factor because now you are the realtor, but it does maximize the return. Auction may be another option. Most in my area charge the buyer a premium but not the seller and the selling prices seem good/high. Good luck!

Hello, I recommend focusing on the long term goal of getting to FI rather than the short term goal of being debt free. My first question is, are you selling just to be debt free? Are there any other reasons? You will still need to live somewhere. Will your new living arrangement be cheaper per month? As you know, buying and selling a home cost money and hassle. You have already done the work to buy a home. Unless there are other reasons, I’d stay where you are, especially if you have a low rate.

Everyone has hassles or work that they will give up money to avoid. Yours is not a cheap one, so I’d try to limit it. Good luck!