How it works
The whole process, including the parts that other companies leave out.
The four steps
Step 1: Tell us about the property
The address and a rough sense of its condition is enough to start. You do not need documents, photographs, or a tidy house.
Step 2: We look at it and we talk
We review recent sales nearby and what the property is likely to need. Usually there is one visit, arranged when it suits you.
Step 3: You receive a written offer, with no obligation
In writing, with the figures behind it explained. You can take it to an agent or an attorney for a second opinion. Saying no costs you nothing.
Step 4: You choose the closing date
Closing happens at an independent title company or closing attorney. Anything owed against the property is paid from the proceeds.
Who actually handles the closing
Not us. Closing is handled by an independent title company or a closing attorney. They are a neutral third party, and you are free to choose your own rather than accept a suggestion from us.
What they do:
- Search the title, so that any mortgage, lien, judgment or unpaid tax attached to the property is found before closing rather than after.
- Hold the earnest money in escrow. It is never held by us.
- Prepare the settlement statement, which lists every dollar in and out, including the payoff of anything owed.
- Handle the signing and record the deed with the jurisdiction.
What the contract contains
A purchase agreement sets out the price, the closing date, the amount of earnest money and where it is held, who pays which closing costs, the condition the property is sold in, and the circumstances in which either side can walk away.
It will also state whether we may assign the contract to another buyer. Read that clause. If anything in the document is unclear, that is a reason to ask, not a reason to sign and hope.
You can take your time
Nobody should ask you to sign a contract on your doorstep or on a phone call. You are entitled to read it, to take it away, and to have an attorney or a real estate agent look at it first. We would rather you did.
What assignment means, in plain language
When you sign a purchase agreement with us, you are agreeing to sell the property at a stated price on a stated date. That agreement is a contract, and a contract is something that can, in certain circumstances, be transferred to someone else.
Sometimes we complete the purchase ourselves. Sometimes we transfer, or assign, our side of the contract to another investor, who then buys the property in our place. That investor pays us a fee for the contract. The property still sells at the price you agreed, on the date you agreed, through the same title company.
What changes for you is the name of the buyer on the closing documents. What does not change is your price, your date, or your right to walk away under the terms of the contract.
If we intend to assign, it is disclosed in writing before you sign. If a buyer does not tell you this, ask them directly whether they intend to complete the purchase themselves.
What we will not do
- Ask you to sign anything at your door or under time pressure.
- Ask you to transfer your deed outside of a normal closing.
- Tell you not to speak to an attorney, an agent, or your family.
- Publish your property, your name or your situation anywhere.
If a direct sale is not right for you, compare it honestly against listing with an agent.
Tell us about the property
It takes a couple of minutes, it commits you to nothing, and you will get a straight answer about whether a direct sale makes sense for you.