What is this like? Why is this service useful?

Many people wonder what is the advantage of selling your house to a house buying company, is there a parallel sort of transaction that resembles this? The answer is that no, there is not a perfect like for like example, but trading a car into a dealer might be the closest.

With the dealer, when you trade in a car you know you are giving up some of the value, but what you get back is a hassle free experience and convenience. You don’t have to clean the car, fix the car, change the oil, market the car, take the calls, show the car, test drive the car, inspect the car, do the paperwork for the car, etc. Most of us are old enough to remember how that all worked. The dealer does all of that for you when you trade it in. With a car dealer offers and what I offer are: speed, certainty, and convenience.

To give more examples applied to this I will bring up a favorite activity for my daughter; story time. In each case I will discuss how the sellers got in touch with me, the problem the sellers had when they came to me, and how I solved the problem.

Case Study #1 – Creve Coeur, 63141 – The As-Is sale – Owner Retiring and Moving to Florida

How I got in touch with the owner: I met the owner at his garage/estate/moving sale.

The problem the owner had: The owner and his wife were retired and moving to a house they owned in Sandestin, Florida. They did not want to do any repairs or updates, they did not want to do any cleaning up, and they did not want to deal with the hassle of getting the house ready to sell with a real estate agent.

How I solved the problem: I made them a cash, as-is offer, which while less than what the agent was promising them, was acceptable because it solved their problem. They got to pick the closing date and got their money on the day they chose. They didn’t have to clean anything out, and even left an old car in the garage.

They didn’t care that much about the price, they were more interested in speed and convenience which is why they sold it to me instead of with the realtor.

Case Study #2 – Mehlville, 63129 – The As-Is Sale With a Twist – Owner Downsized

How I got in touch with the owner: I mailed the owner an “I Buy Houses” postcard and she called me

The problem the owner had: The owner was in her 80’s, lived alone, and had already bought a smaller one story condo to move into. The problem she had was that she did not want to do any repairs or clean out the house, but also needed to make a certain amount on the sale to pay off her existing mortgage and her new mortgage on her condo, so my cash offer did not work for her.

How I solved the problem: I helped her by brokering an as-is market listing where we specified I would have control of some of the decision making, we would do no repairs and I handled all of the work for her. I paid all of my vendors for the cleanout of the house up front, I helped pay for her moving expenses, and I paid for all of the county mandated occupancy repairs. She reimbursed me from her sale proceeds in addition to a higher fee we negotiated for me handling it all for her. We sold the house on the market as-is and she was happy.

She needed to get a certain amount of proceeds from her sale but did not have the ability to do repairs or preparation for selling the house traditionally, so I handled all of it for her for a higher fee and reimbursements.

Case Study #3 – Chesterfield, 63017 – Pending Foreclosure From Reverse Mortgage and Financial Distress

How I got in touch with the owner: They called me off of my website while I was on a cruise! Not kidding!! I called them back and explained when I would be back and we could meet.

The problem the owner had: The sellers were sisters who had been screwed by an unscrupulous and unethical house buyer. He offered them a price, then wanted to renegotiate $100k less than his original offer, all the while he lied about his intentions. Their mother had died and the house had a reverse mortgage on it, so the foreclosure proceedings had started. Between monthly fees, insurance, utilities, and storage expenses, the house was costing them $5,000 a month! Additionally one of the sisters had pressing financial needs so they really needed to sell quickly.

How I solved the problem: I showed them the steps and proceeds from both a quick sale to me and a quick as-is open market sale. Even though the as-is sale to me was $100k less than what I projected the open market sale to be, they chose that because they needed the stressful problem solved quickly and surely and could not wait. I like to be transparent though and I explained what I could do for them so they could make the best choice for them. Additionally I helped one of the sisters with a cash loan that was reimbursed at closing, and I got them 3 extra days after closing to arrange movers to get stuff out of the house.

They NEEDED a quick resolution to their problem, and even though HOA shenanigans delayed us by about 10 days, we were able to get the house closed within weeks of our contract.

Case Study #4 – Cave Creek, AZ 85331 – Squatter on Land, Code Violations from the City of Phoenix, Owner Lived in Chesterfield

How I got in touch with the owner: I knocked on his door because I couldn’t get a hold of him on the phone. We chatted and discussed his house and a piece of land in Arizona he had, and I thought that was that. Later he emailed me after a couple of days, and explained to me his situation……

The problem the owner had: This one is one of my favorites because it took creativity and problem solving and we got a great solution in the end. The owner owned this nice piece of land/acreage that was rural when he bought in 30+ years ago in Cave Creek, a suburb of Phoenix. Back then it was way out there, but today there is development all around. Mind you, the owner has not set foot in Arizona nor even seen his land in the 30+ years since he left the state. He started getting citations, summons, and litigation notices from the city for code violations because as it turned out, someone had been squatting on his land and using it as part of their gravel crushing operation. The city was citing him and he feared an adverse possession situation with the squatter.

How I solved the problem: We signed a consulting agreement and engagement letter where I stated all of the steps I would take to get his land sold. I was going to shop it to a network of private buyers then all the way to an MLS listing if needed. I then got in touch with some associates of mine in Arizona, but the offers they came up with were lower than the seller wanted. So I engaged a flat fee broker in Arizona to list it on the open market for us, while I handled all of the communications, negotiations and details of the sale. I got a drone photographer to get us photos of the land so he was able to see his property for the first time in three decades! I handled all of the in between with the city to stop their proceedings and litigation against him, and we were able to get it sold to a neighbor for a cool $1.0m within about 90 days from our first engagement.

He needed a solution to an out of state sale to help him with both squatters and the city. Through my knowledge, experience, and creativity I was able to help him get it sold.

Most houses fall into one of these categories, so if you have a question about what is the best course to take, give me a call, meet with me, let me ask you questions and guide you through the options. Then you can decide what do you want to do.

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