Now let’s get one thing straight, most of the time when you see an ad that says ‘We Buy Houses’, it’s rare that the person or company that placed the ad actually buys your property. Most of the time, your phone number and phone conversation are recorded, stored, and marketed to tens or hundreds of other people looking to get a good deal. This is what happens when you interact with a marketing or list building company. Once you make your first call, people will continue to call you daily or weekly for months or years afterward, even when you sell your property. You’re going to want to avoid this outfit or if you call them, wear a disposable number.

The next variety of entity is what we will call an intermediary. These are typically people who have recently attended a boot camp, class, or seminar on how to get rich in real estate. In many cases, these people conduct business for two or four months and then stop completely without helping anyone. You can usually spot these folks with their handmade bandit roadside signs, cheap posted brochures, or printed business cards. Their ads range in terms from ‘BUY HOUSES’ to ‘Sell your house fast for cash’. If you contact this person, you will notice that they sound nervous, unsure of themselves and completely ignorant of all things property buying. If you end up working with this person ninety-nine times out of 100, you’ll be wasting time and not even signing a contract. Especially in this particular business, if you are facing prior foreclosure, time is of the essence and you need to work with someone who understands what they are doing. What they are trying to accomplish is to write a contract for the property and resell the contract before closing the deal. There are very few people available on the market who know how to do this successfully. She can tell the novice from the experts by what they know and how confident they sound on the phone and when and if she knows them personally.

Next on the list are real estate mutual funds, also called REITs or hedge funds. The chances of you running into this type of group or someone representing them are slim to none. They usually deal with experienced wholesalers and people who buy properties at a deep discount and resell them very quickly. They typically pay between 85 and 100 percent of the real value of the property in its condition. These sets aim to buy and hold for the long term. It would probably be better to deal with this entity because they buy for cash, they are very easy to deal with and they are serious buyers. Unfortunately, they are extremely difficult to find and you will need to trust the people who actually market shopping services in order to benefit from their activities.

In addition to everything I have listed above, we are now going to visit construction companies or real estate development companies. Depending on the market, these people may pay a premium for their property, but in most cases it would be greatly reduced. They are primarily interested in properties that need to be completely renovated, lots that have potential for development, or properties that will need to be destroyed. These Real Estate builders are easy to deal with, but they are also in business to make money and will never offer the full retail value of your property. These entities are also hard to find but they are not that hard to find in the mutual fund.

Lastly, we have individual cash buyers. Some individual cash buyers like to market properties and will actually buy a property for cash, but it must make sense to them as many are in the business to make a profit as well. There are others who are people who simply want to buy a property for themselves and their families and have the money to do it. It’s rare to find someone like that, but when they come and offer something for your property, it’s best to take them seriously. When you were talking to an individual cash buyer, you will know because the same person you are talking to is the same person who will see the house and buy it from you. This would be an ideal situation and you should learn to spot these individual cash buyers.