Need a cash home buyer in New Orleans? Bertucci Investment Group buys houses across Orleans and Jefferson Parish. 131 five-star reviews, BBB A+, close on the date you choose. Call (504) 920-4747 or request your cash offer now.
By Andrew Rodriguez & Tony Bertucci
If you want to sell your house fast in New Orleans without hiring a real estate agent, you have three real options: sell direct to a cash home buyer in New Orleans, hire a Louisiana real estate attorney, or list it yourself for sale by owner. Each path saves you the standard 5 to 6 percent realtor commission. Each one moves the workload of pricing, marketing, disclosures, and closing paperwork onto you or a different service provider. This guide walks the three options from a Greater New Orleans angle, then covers the local mechanics: Act of Sale, title work with a Louisiana notary, occupancy after closing, and the disclosure your buyer will expect.
Option 1: Sell your house fast in New Orleans to a cash home buyer
The fastest path is a direct sale to a cash home buyer. A local buyer like Bertucci Investment Group makes a written offer on the property as it sits, closes at a Louisiana title company or attorney, and pays cash at the Act of Sale. No lender, no appraisal contingency, no repair addendum. Most Orleans and Jefferson Parish sellers we close with land somewhere between seven and twenty one days from first contact to funded.
What you get: speed, certainty, and no out of pocket. What you trade: the cash offer is below what a fully renovated, agent listed comp would clear on the open market, because the buyer is absorbing repair risk, holding cost, and closing expense. For a property that needs work, sits vacant, or comes with a probate or divorce timeline, that trade usually pencils out.
- Speed: Close in 7 to 21 days. No mortgage approval, no appraisal, no financing contingency.
- As-is: Roof, plumbing, foundation, deferred maintenance, tenants in place, unpermitted work: we underwrite around it.
- Zero fees: No commissions, no listing fees. We cover standard seller closing costs.
- Trade off: Offer runs below open market retail. Priced for certainty, not top of market.
Option 2: Hire a Louisiana real estate attorney
If you already have a buyer lined up (a family member, a neighbor, a tenant, an investor you found on your own) an attorney handles the legal side without the commission. Louisiana is one of the few states where the Act of Sale is typically closed by a notary or attorney rather than an escrow company. A real estate attorney will draft the purchase agreement, order the title work, resolve liens or heirship issues, and prepare the Act of Sale itself.
Fees generally run $800 to $2,000 depending on complexity. That is a fraction of a full commission, but the attorney does not find you a buyer, negotiate price, or market the home. This path only makes sense once a buyer is already at the table.
Option 3: List it FSBO in Orleans or Jefferson Parish
For Sale By Owner puts you in charge of pricing, photos, listing exposure, showings, offer review, and closing coordination. The typical FSBO seller saves the listing side commission (roughly 2.5 to 3 percent) but pays the buyer side (2 to 3 percent) to keep agent traffic in the door.
Realistic time to closed on a well priced Orleans Parish FSBO in current conditions runs 60 to 120 days. Flat fee MLS services (typically $99 to $499) put your listing on the New Orleans Metropolitan Association of Realtors MLS and syndicate to Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com. Without MLS exposure a FSBO relies on Zillow FSBO, Facebook Marketplace, yard sign, and word of mouth, and the timeline stretches.
What Louisiana disclosure looks like
Louisiana requires sellers of residential property (with limited exceptions) to deliver a Property Disclosure Document to the buyer before the purchase agreement is signed. The form is set by the Louisiana Real Estate Commission and covers land, structural, water and drainage, mechanical, and known defects. FSBO sellers are on the hook to fill it out honestly and hand it over. Cash buyers who purchase as-is still expect the disclosure, but material defects on it will not blow up a Bertucci offer, because we already underwrote to the actual condition.
Federal lead based paint disclosure applies to any home built before 1978, which is most of Orleans Parish and a large share of Jefferson Parish inventory. That form is separate and mandatory.
How the Act of Sale actually closes in New Orleans
Once the purchase agreement is signed, title work begins. A New Orleans title attorney or notary runs a 30 year title chain search in the Orleans Parish Clerk of Court records (or Jefferson Parish Clerk in Metairie, Kenner, Marrero, Westwego, and the rest of Jefferson) and pulls conveyance and mortgage records to confirm clean title. Common issues we see: unreleased mortgages from 15 years back, succession never opened after a parent died, judicial mortgages from old debts, and boundary questions on split lots.
Occupancy after the Act of Sale is negotiable. Some sellers move out the day of closing. Some need a 30 to 60 day post occupancy leaseback while they line up their next place. On a cash sale with Bertucci Group, a reasonable leaseback is usually fine as long as it is written into the purchase agreement.
When each option makes sense
- Cash buyer: House needs work, inherited property, divorce timeline, tax or code enforcement pressure, tired landlord ready to exit, insurance renewal problem post storm.
- Attorney only: Buyer already found, both sides agree on price, just need clean paperwork and title.
- FSBO: Move in ready home, willing to hold 60 to 120 days, comfortable doing showings and negotiating with agents and buyers directly.
If you want a straight cash number on your Greater New Orleans property before you decide which lane to take, call Bertucci Investment Group at (504) 920-4747. We buy across Orleans Parish, Jefferson Parish, and the surrounding parishes: Metairie, Kenner, Algiers, Marrero, Harvey, Gretna, Westwego, and up the Northshore. Written offer, no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I really sell my house without a Realtor in New Orleans?
Yes. Louisiana law does not require a licensed Realtor to sell residential real estate. You can sell direct to a cash home buyer, list it yourself for sale by owner, or hire a Louisiana real estate attorney to close a private sale. All three paths are legal statewide.
How fast can a cash home buyer close in New Orleans?
Most of our Orleans and Jefferson Parish closings run 7 to 21 days from signed purchase agreement to funded Act of Sale. Timing depends on title work. A clean title with no succession or unreleased mortgages can close in a week. A property with heirship issues or old liens takes longer while the attorney clears them.
Do I have to pay closing costs when I sell to a cash buyer?
When you sell to Bertucci Investment Group, we cover standard seller closing costs: title work, notary fees, and the Act of Sale. You pay your own outstanding mortgage balance, unpaid property taxes, and any liens against the property, which come out of your proceeds at closing.
Does Louisiana require a seller disclosure on FSBO sales?
Yes. Louisiana requires most residential sellers to deliver the state Property Disclosure Document to the buyer before the purchase agreement is signed. Homes built before 1978 also require the federal lead based paint disclosure. FSBO sellers are personally responsible for delivering both.
Can I stay in the house after closing?
Usually yes if it is written into the purchase agreement. Post occupancy leasebacks of 30 to 60 days are common when the seller needs time to find their next place. On a cash sale we can structure this at the offer stage.
What if my house has fire, storm, or water damage?
Damaged property is our lane. We buy homes with Hurricane Ida damage, roof and interior water damage, active mold, fire damage, and open insurance claims. You do not repair anything before closing. Call (504) 920-4747 and describe what happened.
Do I need to clean the house or remove belongings before selling?
No. Take what you want, leave the rest. We handle cleanout after the Act of Sale. Sellers dealing with an inherited property or a hoarder situation often take us up on this specifically.