Local cash home buyer
We Buy Houses in Houston, TX: Any Condition, Any Situation
Foundation problems, fire damage, liens, tenants, probate or a house that is just too far gone to fix. Tell us about it and get a written cash offer with no obligation.
Get Your Cash Offer
Enter the property address to start.
- We buy as-is, with no repairs and no cleaning
- No agent fees and no showings
- A plain written offer you can take or leave
- Close on the date that works for you
We buy houses other buyers turn down
Most Houston homeowners who find us have already hit a wall. An agent said the house needs to be repaired before it can be listed. A buyer's inspector wrote up a five-page list. A contractor's quote came back higher than the house is worth. At that point the usual path, fix it up and list it, stops looking possible.
We start from the other end. The house is what it is, so we price it that way. We buy houses across Houston and the surrounding counties in rough shape, in complicated legal situations and in places where a normal buyer would walk away. Below are the problems we see most, and what each one means for a sale.
Problems and situations we handle
You do not have to fix any of this first. Here is how each one plays out in a sale to us.
Foundation and flood damage
Houston clay soil shifts and storms put water in living rooms. We buy houses with cracked slabs, sagging floors and flood history, and we price the repair so you do not have to.
Fire damage
Smoke, char and burned framing scare off mortgage buyers and many insurers. We look at fire-damaged houses as they stand.
Hoarder or trashed houses
Packed rooms, damaged floors and years of wear are fine. You do not have to clean anything out first.
Code violations
Open city citations for overgrown yards, unsafe structures or unpermitted work get resolved at closing, not before.
Tax liens and back taxes
Delinquent property taxes keep growing with penalties and interest. A sale can pay them off from the proceeds.
Probate and inherited houses
You inherited a house you did not plan on. We work with the executor and the estate attorney, and you skip the cleanout.
Divorce
When two people own one house and want out, a clean cash sale gives you a clear number and a clear date.
Tenant-occupied
Rentals with a lease, a month-to-month tenant or a tenant who stopped paying. We can buy it with the tenant in place.
Vacant houses
An empty house still costs money every month and invites break-ins and city notices. We take them off your hands.
Pre-foreclosure
If you have fallen behind on the mortgage, a sale can pay off the loan before the auction date.
Mold and roof damage
A leaking roof and the mold that follows are expensive and slow to fix. We buy them as they are.
Title problems
Missing heirs, old liens and unclear ownership make a normal sale hard. We work with the title company to sort them out.
How it works
Three steps. You can stop at any point.
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Tell us about the house
Enter the address and answer a few questions about the property, the condition and what is going on. It takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing.
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We review it and send an offer
We look at the property, recent sales nearby and the repairs it needs, then send you a written cash offer. You decide if it works.
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You choose the closing date
If you accept, a title company handles the paperwork and holds the funds. You pick a date that fits your plans and get paid at closing.
As-is sale vs. fixing it up yourself
When a house needs real work, the question is not just the price. It is what you spend, how long it takes and what can go wrong.
| Feature | Fix It and List It | We Buy Houses Houston TX |
|---|---|---|
| Repair costs | You pay up front, often before you know the sale price | None. We buy it as it stands |
| Permits and inspections | You may need permits and have to pass inspections | None on your side |
| Contractors | You find, schedule and supervise them | None |
| Time | Months of repairs, then listing time, then closing | You choose a closing date |
| Risk | Costs run over, the market shifts, the buyer's loan falls through | Cash purchase with a written contract |
| Cleaning and staging | Expected before showings | Not needed |
| Agent commission | Taken from your sale price | None |
| Net to you | Can be higher on a house that is cheap to repair | Lower sale price, but you skip repairs, fees and carrying costs |
What a house in bad shape is really worth to you
A lot of sellers compare our offer to the price of a perfect house down the street. That is the wrong comparison. The right one is what you would actually end up with after you fix the house, wait for a buyer and pay the costs along the way.
Say a house would sell for a good price if it were fully repaired. Before it gets there, you pay for a new roof, a slab repair, new flooring, paint, kitchen work, and probably an extra round of fixes the first inspection turns up. You carry the mortgage, taxes, insurance and utilities for every month that takes. Then you pay a real estate agent. Then the buyer's lender appraises the house, and if the appraisal comes in low, the deal can fall apart in the last week.
None of those costs are in the headline price. Add them up before you decide, and ask whoever gives you an offer, including us, to show their math. If you have the money, the time and the patience, fixing and listing can bring more. If you do not, an as-is sale is often the better choice for the money you keep.
Is "We Buy Houses" a legit company? How to check any cash buyer
It is worth checking before you sign. The business model is legal and common. Plenty of local investors buy houses with their own money. But the same phrase is used by wholesalers who tie up your house and shop the contract, and by a few operators who collect fees and disappear. You can tell the difference with five checks.
- Proof of funds. A real cash buyer can show a bank statement or a lender letter that covers the purchase. If they dodge the question, ask why.
- A title company or attorney. Closing should run through a neutral third party that searches the title, holds the money and records the deed. Never wire money or sign over a deed outside of that.
- A written contract. A number on the phone is not an offer. You need price, closing date, who pays closing costs and any contingencies in writing.
- Reviews and a real presence. Look up the company name, the address and what people say about them on sites you trust. A buyer with no footprint at all is a warning.
- No upfront fees. You should never pay for an offer, an inspection or processing. The buyer pays you.
We wrote a longer seven-point version with the red flags for Houston sellers: Is We Buy Houses a legit company? 7 checks before you accept any cash offer in Houston. Read it before you talk to any buyer, including us.
Why Houston houses get complicated
Houston is a big, flat, fast-growing city built on Gulf Coast clay and crossed by bayous. That shapes the houses people try to sell here.
The ground moves
Clay soil swells when it is wet and shrinks when it is dry. Over the years that pushes on slab foundations. Doors that stick, cracks over windows and floors that slope are common, and a foundation repair estimate can be a shock. Some buyers back out the moment an inspector mentions the slab. We do not.
Water is a fact of life
Houston has flooded more than once, and plenty of houses carry a water history. Texas sellers have to disclose flooding on the seller's disclosure notice, which can scare off buyers using a mortgage. Some houses were repaired well after a storm and some were patched. Either way, we can look at the house as it is and make you an offer without you having to explain it away.
Old and new at the same time
Inside the Loop and along the Ship Channel, a lot of the housing stock is decades old, with original plumbing, wiring and roofs. Farther out in the suburbs, newer builds in HOA communities have their own issues, such as HOA liens, fines and deferred maintenance. We buy in both, and our suburb pages explain what each area looks like.
Heat, storms and age on the roof
Texas sun is hard on roofs. A roof that is past its life, or that took hail or wind damage, makes insurance and mortgage approval harder for the next owner. Selling as-is takes that off the table.
Life gets in the way
Not every house we buy is damaged. Some are in decent shape but come with a stressful situation: an estate with several heirs, a divorce, a rental that has become a second job, a move for work, or a stack of unpaid taxes. Fixing the house is not the problem. Finding a simple way out is.
The kinds of property we buy
Condition is only one part of it. We buy different kinds of property, and each has its own wrinkles.
- Single family houses. The bulk of what we see, from small brick ranches to two-story family homes.
- Duplexes and small rentals. Including ones with tenants, late rent or deferred maintenance.
- Townhomes and condos. We check HOA dues, special assessments and any liens before we make an offer.
- Vacant houses and lots of inherited property. Empty for months or years, with the utilities off and the yard overgrown.
- Mobile and manufactured homes. Tell us whether it sits on land you own or in a park, and what the title looks like.
- Houses listed and not selling. If your listing has expired or you want out of it, we can still make an offer, but check your listing agreement first.
If you are not sure whether your property fits, send it anyway. The whole point of this site is that the house does not have to be easy.
What happens after you accept
If our offer works for you, we sign a purchase agreement that spells out the price, the closing date and who pays for what. A title company or closing attorney searches the title, finds any liens or taxes that need to be paid, and prepares the paperwork. If there is a mortgage, the payoff comes out of your proceeds at closing. If there are back taxes or an HOA lien, those are paid from the proceeds too, so you do not have to find money for them in advance.
You sign, hand over the keys and get paid. If you need a little extra time to move, tell us. We can often build that into the agreement. And if you want your own attorney to read the contract first, do it. We would rather you sign something you understand.
What to have ready
You do not need to prepare the house. It helps to know the address, whether anyone lives there, roughly what condition it is in and whether there is a mortgage or lien. If the house is part of an estate, it also helps to know who has the legal authority to sign. If you do not know some of this, tell us what you do know and we will sort out the rest together.
What we will not do
We will not ask you for money. We will not push you to decide on the first call. We will not tell you the house is worthless, and we will not promise a number we cannot back up. If selling to us is not your best option, we will say so. Sometimes the right answer is a call to an attorney, a housing counselor or a good agent.
Houston suburbs we buy in
We buy across Harris County and the counties around it. These nine communities have their own pages with what we see in each one.
A local buyer, not a call center
We Buy Houses Houston TX is a local homebuying company. When you send us an address, a person looks at the property and your situation. Our job is to give you a direct, honest cash option for a house other buyers will not touch. Read more about us, see the full process, or browse the areas we serve.
What sellers say about working with us
If you want to sell your house, these are the guys to work with. Excellent communication and attention to detail throughout the entire process. They made what could have been a stressful experience smooth and seamless.
Definitely recommend if you need money fast! They were fair on the pricing.
Always answered all my questions and sold our house at a fair price to us. We would recommend there services.
I had a smooth, speedy experience. Service was always courteous and understanding of my particular situation.
Been really good at handling all my questions and giving me a fair deal.
I had a great experience. Everything went smoothly and I had someone with me every step of the way.
Very professional!
We went through them and just finalized, there was an issue with the Notary but everybody worked diligently to make sure everything went through as agreed upon. Thank you!
Frequently asked questions
Will you buy my house if it needs major repairs?
Yes. Roof, plumbing, electrical, foundation, kitchens and baths can all be in bad shape and we still make an offer. We price the repairs into the number so you do not have to fix anything, get contractor quotes, or pass an inspection.
Do you buy houses with foundation, flood or fire damage?
Yes. Houston soil moves, storms flood streets and kitchens catch fire. Foundation cracks, water lines in the drywall, mold and smoke damage are all things we look at. Tell us what happened and whether insurance paid anything, and we go from there.
Can you buy a house with tenants still living in it?
Yes. We can buy a rental with the tenant in place, on a month-to-month or a fixed lease. Tell us the rent, the lease end date and the condition of the unit. We honor the lease or work out a move-out date with you.
What if I inherited the house and probate is not finished?
We can often work with that. The person with legal authority to sell, usually the executor or administrator named by the court, signs the contract. Your probate attorney should review the paperwork, and we are happy to work around the court timeline.
Do you buy houses with code violations or liens?
Yes. Open city citations, unpaid property taxes, HOA liens and mechanic's liens do not stop us from making an offer. They get paid from the sale proceeds at closing through the title company, so you do not need to clear them first.
Is We Buy Houses a legit company, and how do I verify one?
Some are and some are not. Ask for proof of funds, get the offer in writing, confirm a title company or attorney will close, check for a real local presence and never pay anything up front. Our blog has a full seven-point checklist for Houston sellers.
Do I need to clean out the house?
No. Furniture, clothes, boxes and trash can stay. Take what matters to you and we handle the cleanout after closing. A house packed to the ceiling is not a problem for us.
How do you decide your offer on a house in poor condition?
We start with what comparable houses nearby sell for after repairs, subtract the estimated cost of the work, and leave room for the time and risk of doing it. We show you how we got to the number if you ask.
Is selling for cash a good idea compared to an agent listing?
It depends on the house and your timeline. A clean, updated house with no deadline often nets more on the open market. A house that needs work, has legal tangles or is costing you money every month is where a cash sale makes sense. Our blog breaks down the real numbers.
What if I owe more than the house is worth?
Tell us the payoff amount and we will look at it honestly. If the offer covers what you owe, the title company pays the lender at closing. If it does not, you may need to talk to your lender about a short sale. We will not pretend the math works when it does not.
Ready to see your cash offer?
Tell us about the house. No obligation, no fees, no pressure.