We Buy Houses Business

Ever wonder about those We Buy Houses Companies?  There are thousands of companies around the country that call themselves “We Buy Houses”, “We Buy Homes” or “I Buy Houses”.

The We Buy Houses Dilemma

We Buy Houses and other similar terms are used by many companies to describe what they do (purchase homes) and are not necessarily their incorporated or company name.  This makes it very difficult to determine if you are dealing with a legitimate “we buy houses” business, or some shyster, scam artist, or get-rich-quick student fresh out of a “buy homes for no money down” seminar.

If you want to sell your house quickly to a We Buy Houses company, it is critical that you do your research and ensure they are reputable, legitimate and have the experience and resources to help with your situation.

We Buy Houses: Trust, but Verify

Here are a few ways to ensure the We Buy Houses company you are dealing with is legitimate:

• Don’t call “We Buy Houses” Signs! - Those yellow or white signs on telephone poles and the side of the road cost $1 each to put up.  Most legitimate real estate investors can afford to do real marketing and not violate local city codes with cheap signs.
• Check the News. Most reputable companies will at least occasionally be mentioned by the local press.  One great example is 1-800-CashOffer, a company that is regularly covered by local and national media.  If there is NO news coverage, beware.
• Beware FAKE press.  We’ve seen a number of We Buy Houses companies that will send out a press release (Cost: $0) announcing how great they are.  ALL press releases automatically get indexed on news sites such as CNN, FOX News, CNBC and Forbes.  These unscrupulous companies point to the press release posted on the news site as if the news organization actually covered their company or wrote a story about them.  They’ll post the logos of these news organizations all over their sites, without links to a real interview about them.  If you see this, run away fast – you can be sure you are dealing with a we buy houses company that has very poor ethics.
• Who are they? You should be able to reach a live person that owns or is an employee of the company easily.  We Buy Houses companies that hide behind answering services, don’t have an address on their web site, don’t have a phone number on their web site or otherwise hide who they are – may have something to hide.  If you are running a legitimate we buy houses business, you want to make it EASY for people to find you.  Any company should be able to tell you who the owner is, how long they’ve been in business, where they buy homes, how many they buy each year, and other basic information that will help you make an informed decision on whether you should work with them.
• Do They Buy Houses? Surprisingly, many companies advertising “I Buy Houses!”, “We Buy Homes”, “Cash for Houses” don’t actually purchase ANY real estate.  They will try to put your house under contract, and then sell that contract to the highest bidder.  If they can’t sell it, guess who is left holding the bag?  ALWAYS ask any real estate investor you work with if THEY will be buying the property, or if the are assigning the contract to a third party.

Hopefully these tips will help you as you search for a “we buy houses” company!  Just like any profession (lawyers, real estate agents, stock advisors, etc.) there are great reputable companies out there – and there are a few scam artists that give everyone else in the industry a bad name.

If you do your research and take some time, you can avoid being taken advantage of by a we buy houses type company, and ensure you home is sold quickly and easily to a qualified, experienced real estate investor.