Resources

While other companies that buy homes often have a list of restrictions that limit the types of houses and properties they purchase, we are interested in a very broad array of properties with no restrictions.    We buy owner-occupied and non-owner occupied properties including single-family homes, condos, and townhouses as well as multi-family duplexes and even mobile homes as long as you own the land it is located on.  We also purchase farms, cabins, and even undeveloped residential lots and acreage.   Unlike some home buying companies, we buy homes with easements, unique features as well as homes where there is an association.   And while other home-buying companies may have a home age limitation, we buy houses of any age.   In fact, one of the 1,000+ homes we have purchased was built in the 1860s, over 150 years ago!

Our business model was created for the primary purpose of purchasing homes, investing our time and money to refurbish them and ultimately resell them for a fair profit.  For that reason, we do not buy homes to rent them.  In respect to tear downs, we make every effort to avoid tearing a home down to rebuild it from ground up and most definitely prefer refurbishing and bringing them back to life.  Of the over 1,000 homes we have purchased, we have only torn down less than you can count on one hand because their extremely dilapidated condition didn’t allow us to refurbish them in a way that was safe.  In fact, Homestead Road often works with city housing abatement authorities and in the past has purchased and brought back to life dilapidated homes that were condemned by the city and soon to be torn down.

To be perfectly honest, other than getting to know our customers and providing a great customer experience, there’s nothing more we love to do than bring a home in need of some TLC back to life for the next family to own, enjoy and care for.  Depending largely on the condition of the homes when we purchase them in conjunction with the local real estate market trends, the majority of the homes we purchase receive anywhere from minor updates such as cleaning, paint, flooring, fixtures while others receive major updates that might also include improvements and updates that range from new cabinets, roofing, HVAC, electrical upgrades.

Because our streamlined process doesn’t include a full home inspection by someone on our team or a third party, we occasionally find major issues with some of our homes after we purchase them.  In those cases where the repair is too complex or costly for our construction team, we may elect to sell the home in its “as is” condition as it was purchased to a third-party investor who is in a better position to handle the major repairs.  A good example of this we have run into relates to homes with septic tanks where the city requires an inspection and the cost to repair can easily exceed $25,000.  In this type of case, we may elect to sell the property either to another investor or contractor who has interest and/or the resources to perform the septic work at a lower cost.

We often get the question “will you pay top dollar for my house?” The honest answer is, not always.  Once you factor in the costs, hassles, and time needed to sell on the open market, we think you’ll agree our offer will be fair and competitive.  If you work with us, you avoid all the time, energy, and financial resources necessary to empty the house, fix it up, clean it, and deal with all the fuss of ongoing showings.   If you are comfortable with taking on all the work and hassles, then you may not be a good fit for us and should probably consider other alternatives to earn the highest possible price. In any case, there’s no harm in calling us to set up a complimentary, no-obligation consultation so you can make an informed decision.    

As to how we calculate our offers, our goal is to get to a fair and competitive offer price that considers your needs as well as ours.  The biggest factor is the current state of the home, mainly the estimated costs of repairs and improvements needed.  We look at many other factors which include recent sales of other comparable homes in your area, costs of permits, city inspections (if required), cleanout costs including dumpster and sanitation as well as other related hard closing fees as well as holding financing costs and lastly a reasonable margin for our work.  When we present you with a purchase offer, we are very transparent and open so that you understand how we calculated the offer for you to consider.  

These terms can be vague and confusing and are commonly used by realtors and other home-buying businesses big and small who are seeking to attract home seller prospects.  We know from our customers that businesses using these phrases may often be looking to persuade you to list your home with their agency instead of buying the home as-is.  Others are simply commission-based brokers who will make an offer with the intent of finding an investor to fund the purchase which can lead to a deal that falls through leaving you empty-handed.   What we can say for sure is that we take a different approach as we choose not to use these vague “catchphrases”.     When you work with Homestead Road, know that we are the actual buyer and that if you agree to our offer, we will take ownership of the home.  We will then invest our time, effort, and resources to make the repairs and updates in order to bring it back to life, then sell it to a new family to enjoy.  There is no third party involved, you are dealing with us throughout the process.

Once we meet at your home, we’ll follow up with a transparent offer within 24 hours and also explain to you how we derived the offer.  Unlike other companies that buy and pay cash for houses, the reason we prefer to take 24 hours versus making an offer on the spot is twofold.  First, after meeting with you and viewing the property, we want to have the time to do our homework in order to get you our best offer for your house in its present “as is” condition.  Second, even if we were to make an offer at the initial meeting, because this is a big decision we don’t want to add pressure on you and would not want you to sign on the spot.  Instead, we want you to take the time to not only get you our best offer but allow you to carefully consider your options and make the right choice for you, especially since selling a home is a big decision.   While this is our preferred process, if you are looking to sell your house very quickly, we can accommodate your needs by accelerating our offer process.  Just let your home sales advisor know this before the consultation.   Either way, if you choose to work with us, know that you will never get any pressure during our promise…that’s who we are and in fact our guarantee.

There are no fees or commissions to pay when you work with us.  After your complimentary, no-obligation appointment, you’ll receive a purchase offer within 24 hours.  If you agree, at closing you will receive your sales proceeds in the amount of the purchase price less any outstanding loans and property taxes due.  Proceeds can be by check or by wire transfer (subject to bank wire fees) upon request.  It’s straightforward, there are no games or hidden costs.   

Unlike a traditional real estate deal, we do not require a third-party inspection.  However, in some situations, the local municipality will require a city inspection for health and safety review.  In our process, while most homes are evaluated by our home sales advisors who will meet with you, on occasion we may have our construction manager visit the home if there are major repairs or issues to estimate.

With the current COVID-19 related health crisis, we fully understand there may be heightened concerns regarding having strangers in your home.  For this situation, we would accelerate our usual, streamlined “low contact” process to minimize the time in the home.  Upon request, we can also do an independent walk through in less than 15 minutes in order to take photos then handle everything else by phone.   It’s not only easy, it’s much safer than selling through a real estate agent where you will likely have multiple meetings with the agent, contractors making repairs or updates, cleaners, photographers, stagers and that’s only to get the home listed on the market.  Once the home is on the market, then you will have strangers entering your home for showings and open houses.  Finally, please know that we follow CDC guidelines and want to respect your health concerns.  

You don’t have to lift a finger if you don’t want to.   There’s no need to pay to hire labor to do the heavy lifting or a need to pay for a dumpster.  It’s simple, you take any belongings from the home you desire and leave everything else to us.  We will recycle or donate items left behind. 

We prefer to obtain the keys to the property at closing, however, because we want our customers to choose the closing date that works best for you based on their schedule and needs, this is seldom a problem.  Of course, we can be flexible and understanding with the move out timing when there are special circumstances where you may need more time.

Absolutely, we work with people in a wide array of situations from probate to bankruptcy, foreclosures, divorce situations to others just looking to downsize or relocate without all the hassles and stress.  No matter what your situation, we are here to advise and help you move forward, faster with the greatest understanding and respect.  

Yes, we often work with homeowners who are looking to sell their house quickly due to a bankruptcy, short sale or foreclosure.

While these situations can be complicated, the general answer is yes, as long as both parties in the divorce agree on the sale or the sale follows the terms of the divorce decree or court order.

While we make purchase offers on most homes, sometimes we do have situations where there is not a good fit for both parties.  Our offers are simple, quick, and easy and it never hurts to get a second opinion so you can make an informed decision.    

Our standard process is streamlined and often requires only one visit from one of our home sales advisors.  Occasionally there might be a need to have a second visit by our construction manager to assess major repairs.  We do our best work when we have a chance to meet with our customers.  We prefer face to face so we can get to know you, understand your situation and needs.   Bottom line is that while we prefer to meet in person and have a chance to review the property, in some circumstances we are able to make an offer without meeting or seeing the property firsthand.

We may not be a good fit for your situation if your house is not in need of many repairs and in very good condition.  Because we offer a complimentary, no-obligation consultation, it certainly doesn’t hurt to contact us for an evaluation.  In the end, we have your best interest in mind so if we think listing your home with an agent is the better option for you, we will let you know.  In fact, we would extend the resources and knowledge we have to help you because we are a customer-focused, values-based company that strives every day to do the right thing.