Illustrative scene: a Black couple in their seventies walking arm in arm up the steps of their 1920s shingled house on a hillside street in Tacoma

We Buy Houses in Tacoma, WA

From the North End to the Eastside, sell your Tacoma house as it stands. One call brings a written cash offer within 24 hours, and the closing date is yours to set.

Prefer to talk it through? Call (984) 489-8269

Selling a Tacoma House for Cash, in Brief

Selling your Tacoma house starts with one phone call about its condition, moss on the roof and all.

A written cash offer follows within 24 hours, and you make no repairs, hold no showings and pay no commissions. In September 2026, homes for sale in Pierce County had a median asking price of $625,000 and had been listed a median of 55 days, by Realtor.com's count. Your cash offer is based on what you tell us about the house. If your answers reflect its real condition, the price on the contract is the price at closing. Escrow handles the closing, and you pick the date.

At a glance

One call about your home
Your written cash offer
You pick the closing date

No repairs
No commissions or showings

Selling in Tacoma

Selling Your Tacoma House, Start to Finish

Illustrative scene: a white woman in her seventies with short gray hair on the phone at her kitchen table in an older Tacoma home, a one-page letter in hand and a rain-washed garden outside

1. Tell Us About the Roof and the Rest
One call covers your Tacoma house as it is: the roof, the gutters, the yard. Nothing to repair first, and nobody tours it.
2. Your Offer in Writing
Within 24 hours a written cash offer is yours to read at your own table. No commission comes out of it.
3. Escrow Closes When You Say
A Washington escrow company handles the paperwork and pays out the sale money on the closing date you pick.
Get My Cash Offer →
Takes about a minute.
or call (984) 489-8269

Pierce County Listings Behind a Tacoma Sale, September 2026

Listing figures for Pierce County, WA.

Median asking price: $625,000; about the same as a year earlier
Median days on market: 55 days; up 8% from a year earlier
Homes for sale: 2,991; up 20% from a year earlier

Homes listed in Pierce County, WA sat a median 55 days on the market in September 2026, up from 51 a year earlier. The median asking price in Pierce County, WA was $625,000 in September 2026, about the same as a year earlier.

Tacoma-Area ZIP Codes Where Listings Moved Quickest

Lowest median days on market among ZIP codes with 20 or more homes listed, September 2026.

98418 — 33 days
98406 — 44 days
98408 — 45 days
98466 — 45 days
98404 — 50 days

Source: Realtor.com Economic Research, September 2026. Asking prices of homes listed for sale, not sale prices.

Moss, Sagging Gutters and an Older Tacoma Roof

Tacoma is wet for half the year. At the city's long-running weather station, the 1991-2020 normals show about 40.8 inches of rain a year, with measurable rain on about 156 days. November, December and January each average 19 to 20 rainy days ⁴. The City's own stormwater team puts it plainly: with shady yards and this climate, moss always finds a way to grow ⁵.

On an older composition roof, that shows up as thick moss, granules washed into the gutters, and a gutter pulling away from the fascia. The state disclosure form asks whether the roof has leaked in the last five years, and whether the property has had flooding, standing water or drainage problems ⁶.

You don't have to replace the roof, fix the gutters or scrape the moss before you call. Tell us roughly how old the roof is, when it last leaked and what was patched, and whether the downspouts drain away from the house. Your offer is based on the house as it is.

Illustrative scene: a Black man in his seventies in a rain jacket looking up at the moss-covered roof and sagging gutter of his older Tacoma house

The Old Asarco Smelter and Tacoma Soil: What a Seller Should Know

For close to 100 years, Asarco ran a copper smelter in north Tacoma. Its air pollution settled on the topsoil across more than 1,000 square miles of the Puget Sound basin, and arsenic, lead and other metals are still in that soil. The Department of Ecology also says, "In most areas, arsenic and lead pose only a very small, long-term health risk" ¹. Ecology's online Dirt Alert map shows whether a property is inside the plume and whether its soil was sampled ². Ecology's free yard sampling covers only parts of Point Ruston and Vashon-Maury Island. It isn't offered inside the older EPA study area, which was sampled heavily during the first cleanup ³.

This matters when you sell. The Washington seller disclosure statement, Form 17, asks whether you know of any soil contamination, and a buyer can't waive that form if any answer in its environmental section is yes. If Ecology's Yard Program has offered to replace your soil and the work isn't done, the offer passes to the new owner when you sell ². So look your address up before you call, and tell us what you find, including any sampling letters. This is general information, not legal advice; a Washington real estate attorney can help with the form.

Get a Written Cash Number for Your Tacoma House

Enter your address to get started. One short call about your home’s condition, and your cash offer comes in writing.

Rather talk to a person? Call (984) 489-8269

See what a cash buyer would pay for your house →

Tacoma Numbers: Listing Net Versus a Cash Sale

A well-kept Tacoma house, listed in the dry months and given time, may well bring more than a cash offer. A listing costs money along the way, though: the agent's commission, the repairs a buyer's inspector asks for after looking at the roof and crawl space, and the mortgage, insurance and utility bills you keep paying until closing.

The worked example below is priced at the Pierce County median and includes Washington's excise tax, which the seller owes on any sale ⁷. Hold its net up against our written offer. A bigger listing net is worth a rainy winter on the market only if you can carry the house that long; if you can, list it.

On a $625,000 sale

Example, not a quote.

Listing with an agent

Sale price: $625,000
Agent commission (5.5% here; it varies): −$34,375
Repairs before listing (example): −$15,000
Real estate excise tax: state rate plus a 0.5% local rate: −$10,180
Owner's title policy and your share of escrow and recording fees (example; companies set their own rates): −$3,000
Three months of carrying costs (example): −$9,375
You'd walk away with: $553,070

Comparing a cash offer

In this example, listing would leave you about $553,070 before your mortgage payoff. Compare that with your cash offer, less any closing costs you'd still pay.

Your numbers depend on your house, your loan, your city or county and the escrow and title companies. Want your real numbers? Enter your address above or call (984) 489-8269.

See every cost of selling in Washington →

Foreclosure, Probate and Back Taxes: The Pierce County Side

Pierce County has its own offices and its own deadlines. Here is how a Tacoma sale works when you are also dealing with a lender, a tax bill, an estate, a divorce, tenants or a move. This is general information, not legal advice.

Facing foreclosureA trustee sells the house without a court case. Mediation can pause it.

In Pierce County, a home goes into tax foreclosure once more than $100 in property tax is three or more years delinquent. The Assessor-Treasurer starts it by filing a Certificate of Delinquency with Pierce County Superior Court ⁸. If the county has sold the parcel, there is generally no right to buy it back ⁹. A mortgage lender's foreclosure is a separate process, run through a trustee under the state rules on this page. If a notice has come, ask a Washington attorney about your options, and tell us on the call.

Inherited a houseWho can sell a Washington house after the owner dies, with or without a will.

The Pierce County Clerk's office says a probate case is needed when the person who died left more than $100,000 in assets or any real property, so a house left in the owner's name alone usually means a probate case in Pierce County Superior Court. Opening one without a lawyer takes a petition, an order, the original will if there is one, a notarized oath and the filing fee, $290 on the Clerk's page ¹⁰. If a case is already open, have its number handy when you call. A Washington probate attorney can say who signs the deed.

Behind on paymentsYour lender has to write and call before a notice of default. Use that time.

If it's the mortgage that's behind, Washington law has your lender send a letter and try to call before any notice of default on a home you live in ¹¹. If the mortgage is current but the Pierce County tax bill isn't, act before the third year. Owners 61 or older, or disabled, whose home is already in tax foreclosure are told to call the Assessor-Treasurer's Senior/Disabled Department at (253) 798-2169 about a deferral, which may take the home out of foreclosure. A household earning $64,000 or less may qualify for a one-time waiver of interest and penalties on a primary residence ⁹. Tell us what you owe on the call.

Going through a divorceWashington is a community property state. Here is what that means for the house.

Washington is a community property state, so a Tacoma house bought during the marriage usually belongs to both of you ¹². A Pierce County divorce is usually filed in Pierce County Superior Court, and the court divides the house and everything else in a way that is just and equitable. It may weigh letting the parent the children mostly live with keep the family home ¹³. Ask your attorney before either of you signs a contract. On the call, tell us who is on the deed.

Selling a rental with tenantsYour tenants don't have to move out first. Bring the lease and the deposit records to the call.

Tenants can keep living in the Tacoma house while it sells. At the sale, the deposits you hold move into the new owner's trust account, and the new owner tells the tenants where the money is now ¹⁴. If any utility account is in your name, Tacoma Public Utilities handles stopping or moving it ¹⁵. Bring the leases to the call.

Moving to care or downsizingMoving into care or a smaller home? Here is what happens to your senior tax exemption.

If you are leaving a Tacoma house to downsize or move near family, plan the closing date around your move. If you have the senior property tax exemption and go into care first, you keep it while the house sits empty or is rented to pay for that care ¹⁶. If the state's senior deferral program has been paying part of your property tax, the deferred amount is due when the house sells ¹⁷. Escrow pays it out of the price at closing. Ask the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer for the figure first.

Tacoma Neighborhoods We Buy In, North Slope to Salishan

Tacoma is the third-largest city in Washington and the urban core of Pierce County ¹⁸. The City has eight neighborhood councils: Central Tacoma, Eastside, New Tacoma, North End, Northeast, South End, South Tacoma and West End ¹⁹. We buy houses in every one of them. If your street isn't below, call anyway.

North End, West End and the Ruston Edge

North Slope
Proctor
Old Town
Stadium District
West End
Point Ruston area

Hilltop and Central Tacoma

Hilltop
Central Tacoma
New Tacoma

South End and South Tacoma

Lincoln District
Fern Hill
South Tacoma Way area
Manitou
Oakland-Madrona

Eastside and Northeast Tacoma

Eastside
Salishan
McKinley Hill
Northeast Tacoma

Tacoma Postal Codes We Cover

98404
98406
98408
98418
98466

What Tacoma Owners Ask Us

Prefer to talk it through?

Call (984) 489-8269

Can I have the soil in my Tacoma yard tested before I put the house up for sale?

It depends on where the house is. Ecology's free yard sampling covers only parts of Point Ruston and Vashon-Maury Island, and you sign up through the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department or Ecology. Ecology also says, "We do not offer soil sampling inside the EPA study area," because that ground was sampled heavily during the first cleanup ³. In most areas, Ecology adds, the health risk from arsenic and lead is very small and long-term ¹. The Health Department's Dirt Alert line is 253-649-1853 ²⁰.

Does the Washington disclosure form ask whether my Tacoma house sits in a lahar zone?

Not by name. The form has no question about lahars or volcanoes; it asks about flooding, standing water and drainage problems, and about floodplains ⁶. Mount Rainier's lahars are real history: the USGS counts at least nine large ones in the last 5,600 years that reached the Puget Lowland. Its lahar warnings go to people in the Puyallup and Nisqually River valleys, and its sirens run from Orting to the Port of Tacoma ²¹. If you're unsure what to write, ask a Washington real estate attorney.

How do I shut off Tacoma Public Utilities power and water when I move out?

Stop service through TPU's MyAccount, or call Customer Services at 253-502-8600 at least one business day ahead. Have the shutoff date ready and a mailing address for the final bill ¹⁵. Pick a date after you've moved your things out, so the lights stay on for your last day in the house.

Which work on a North Slope house needs a review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission?

Mainly work on the outside of the house. In a local historic district, exterior work on a contributing property that can be seen from the street generally needs design review by the Landmarks Preservation Commission, and interior remodeling is exempt. North Slope is one of the largest historic districts in the country, with more than 950 properties ²². Tell us if the house is in a district; you don't have to restore anything first. We can't give legal advice, so for your own address, check with the City's Historic Preservation Office.

Should I have the moss scraped off my Tacoma roof before you look at the numbers?

No need. If you do clean it later, the City prefers scrubbing or pressure washing to chemicals. If you spray a moss killer, it asks you to disconnect the downspouts first, because many connect to the storm drains, and zinc products harm fish and other life in the streams ⁵.

Can I time the Tacoma closing around my move or a tenant's lease?

Yes. You choose the date once you've accepted our written offer, and escrow works toward it. A later date can make sense if you're waiting on a new place, an open probate case or the end of a lease. Tell us the timing on the call.

Do you buy houses near Tacoma?

Yes. We also buy houses in Ruston, Fircrest, University Place, Fife, Lakewood, Steilacoom, Gig Harbor and Puyallup ¹⁸. If you're not sure, call us.

Your Tacoma House, Your Closing Date