What Does It Cost to Sell a House in Cobb County? Cash Offer vs. Listing
Deborah Morton, Managing Partner, The Agency Atlanta. RealTrends Top 1.5%.
It usually starts at the kitchen table. A postcard with a cash offer leans against the fruit bowl, last year's Cobb tax bill is somewhere under the mail, and the question in the middle of it all is a fair one: what would I actually walk away with? Your cost to sell a house in Cobb County is a short list of line items, some set by law and some you negotiate, subtracted from a sale price you can only judge once you know your home's market value. A cash offer and a listing can both be the right call, and the honest way to choose is to put both on one sheet and compare net to net.
Below, we walk through each cost, show a worked example at a real West Cobb median, and lay a cash offer and a listing side by side. Grab a coffee and a pencil. This is the fun kind of math, the kind that ends with a number you can plan around.
Selling costs in Cobb County usually include the listing and buyer-agent compensation you negotiate, Georgia's transfer tax of $1 per $1,000 of the sale price, closing attorney and title fees, prorated property taxes, your mortgage payoff, any HOA fees, and any repairs or concessions you agree to. Run your own price through the Home Sale Calculator.
The transfer tax formula is the same statewide, so the dollar amount moves only with price. The table shows it at each area's recent median.
Area | Median sale price (illustrative, as of Sep 2026) | Georgia transfer tax at that price | Median days on market (illustrative, as of Sep 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
West Cobb, 30064 | $494,855 | $494.90 | 43 |
West Cobb, 30127 (whole ZIP; includes Paulding portion) | $374,890 | $374.90 | 59 |
West Cobb, 30152 | $477,360 | $477.40 | 41 |
Kennesaw (city limits) | $369,774 | $369.80 | 35 |
Marietta (city limits) | $431,295 | $431.30 | 48 |
Illustrative medians for the three months ending Sep 2026, all home types. A median is a neighborhood snapshot, not your home's value.
Georgia's transfer tax is set by law at $1 for the first $1,000 and 10 cents for each additional $100 of the price, and your mortgage payoff is what your lender says. Agent compensation, who pays the transfer tax, repairs, seller concessions and the closing date are all negotiable in your contract.
Closing attorney and title-related fees, HOA payoff/transfer letters, and any lien releases. Get written quotes so your net sheet is accurate. You won't find dollar averages here, because an average fee is not your fee.
Related: Georgia transfer tax and intangible recording tax at a Cobb closing. The intangible recording tax follows the buyer's loan, so it is normally not a seller cost.
Start with a realistic sale price, then subtract your mortgage payoff, the agent compensation you negotiate, Georgia's transfer tax, closing attorney and title fees, prorated property taxes, and any repairs or concessions. What's left is your estimated net. The Home Sale Calculator does the math once you have a price from a home valuation.
Pretend numbers, real math.
Line | Example input | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
Sale price | $494,855 | The illustrative ZIP 30064 median from the table above. |
Mortgage payoff | $250,000 | Hypothetical round number for the example. Real figure: the owner's payoff letter. |
Listing + buyer-agent compensation | your agreed compensation (negotiable) | Negotiable. Enter the amounts you agree to in the Home Sale Calculator. |
Georgia transfer tax | $494.90 | Calculated: $1 for the first $1,000 + $0.10 per additional $100 or fraction. Assumes the seller pays; the contract may shift it. |
Closing attorney and title-related fees | [written quote] | Closing attorney quote. No average. |
Prorated Cobb property taxes | [from the tax bill] | Cobb tax bill and closing date; the closing attorney computes the proration. |
Repairs / concessions | [agreed amounts] | Inspection negotiation; Home Report Card grades can show where prep may help. |
HOA letters / other | [if any] | HOA management company. |
Estimated net | $494,855 − $250,000 − (your agreed compensation) − $494.90 − [attorney/title] − [proration] − [repairs/concessions] − [HOA/other] | Swap in your own numbers and the math does the rest. |
The Home Sale Calculator runs this same math with your figures.
Compare net to net, not headline price. A cash offer can mean speed, fewer showings and fewer repairs, but it may be lower than what the open market would pay. A listing exposes your home to more buyers. Get a written cash offer and a listing net sheet for the same home, then compare what you'd keep.
The cleanest comparison is a written cash offer and a listing net sheet for the same address, prepared the same week.
More reading: Should you take a cash offer or list your home? · Can I sell my house as-is in Georgia?
That postcard on the kitchen table has rules to follow. Georgia law says many unsolicited written offers to buy your home from unlicensed senders must say they are a solicitation. If the letter names a price, it must also state: “THIS OFFER MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF THE PROPERTY.” Offers below the county assessed value must say so.
Here is the exact wording the statute requires:
The monetary-offer notices have applied since May 2, 2024. This is not legal advice. Talk to your closing attorney about your situation.
More: What Georgia's solicitation disclosure law means for sellers getting cash offers · Dodge the scam mail trap.
A cash sale can make sense when speed or certainty matters more than the highest possible price: major repairs you don't want to make, an inherited or vacant home, a tight move date, or a home that's hard to show. Even then, check the cash offer against your home's market value and a listing net sheet.
See Can I sell my house as-is in Georgia? Before deciding, grade condition A-F with the Home Report Card to see which fixes might raise your grades.
Selling an inherited home in Georgia: the probate timeline explained.
The home shows well, you have time, and you want full market exposure. In other words, the kitchen is ready for its close-up.
Put both on the same sheet. For the cash offer, start with the written price and subtract any fees, closing costs and payoff. For the listing, start with a realistic price from a valuation and subtract agent compensation, prep, repairs, concessions, closing costs, payoff and carrying costs while it's on the market.
Cash offer | Listing | |
|---|---|---|
Starting number | The written offer price | A realistic list/sale price from a valuation or CMA |
Program or service fees | Any fee in the written offer | None beyond listing and buyer-agent compensation you negotiate |
Repairs and prep | Often fewer or none (offer terms say) | Seller's choice; Home Report Card grades help decide |
Showings | Few or none | Yes, while on the market |
Time on market | Closing date set by the offer | Area medians in the table above, plus the closing period in the contract |
Carrying costs while selling | Usually shorter | Mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, HOA for each month on the market (owner's own figures) |
Transfer tax, attorney fees, payoff, proration | Apply | Apply |
Price exposure | One buyer's number | Open-market exposure to more buyers |
What to compare | Net after all costs | Net after all costs |
Cobb isn't one market. Across the areas in this guide, the illustrative September 2026 medians ran from $369,774 in Kennesaw to $494,855 in ZIP 30064, and homes range from lots near Kennesaw Mountain and the Silver Comet Trail to homes by the Marietta Square and Allatoona Lake. The transfer tax formula is statewide; your price and your setting are local.
Ask the listing agent you are interviewing to prepare one for your address, and ask any cash buyer to put their offer, fees and closing date in writing so it can sit on the same sheet. At closing, the closing attorney prepares the settlement statement, the final word on your payoff, taxes, fees and net proceeds. A good net sheet should look a lot like that statement, just earlier.
How much is the Georgia transfer tax when I sell?
Georgia's real estate transfer tax is $1 for the first $1,000 of the sale price and 10 cents for each additional $100, or about $1 per $1,000. On a $500,000 sale that's $500. The seller is liable by law, but the contract can say the buyer pays.
Is real estate commission negotiable in Cobb County?
Yes. Listing and buyer-agent compensation are negotiable and set in your written agreements, not by law. Ask each agent to explain what's included, how buyer-agent compensation will be handled, and how it shows on your net sheet before you sign. Then enter the agreed amounts in the Home Sale Calculator.
Who closes a home sale in Georgia?
Your closing attorney prepares the settlement statement that shows your payoff, taxes, fees and net proceeds. Ask your closing attorney about any line you don't recognize, and get their fee quote early so your net sheet is accurate.
Is a cash offer the same as my home's market value?
Not necessarily. Georgia requires many unsolicited offers that name a price to state, "THIS OFFER MAY OR MAY NOT BE THE FAIR MARKET VALUE OF THE PROPERTY." Get a free home valuation first, then compare the cash offer's net with a listing net sheet for the same home.
How do I estimate what I'll walk away with?
Enter a realistic sale price in the Home Sale Calculator, then your mortgage payoff, the agent compensation you agree to, Georgia transfer tax and other closing costs. If you don't have a price yet, start with a free home valuation, then run the numbers in the Home Sale Calculator.
Holding a cash-offer postcard? Put it next to a free valuation and compare net to net.
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