Hi, I’m Jay and I started Jay Buys Houses in 1998 and we buy houses for cash.
When I first started, I had no idea that this business of buying and selling houses, isn’t about money. It’s not even about properties. It’s about people and relationships, period. The general idea is to treat others as you want to be treated. I don’t want some jerk calling me or mailing me a letter offering 30 cents on the dollar for my home. Because of this, I don’t do that. You could talk to any of the many hundreds of homeowners I’ve talked to and worked with.
“He said: ‘Can you buy my house and actually pay me Cash?'”
(seller from Ottumwa, IA)
I explained to the seller who asked me that, yes and no. Yes, I can get you up to $500.00 today to secure our agreement. Then, I detailed the entire process and that the largest portion of what he’d receive, is a check or wire transfer. Back to the amount of “new people” that have entered this business. No one wants to get some low-ball offer on their property. Sadly, the business I’m in is full of uneducated, disrespectful people chasing the almighty dollar. A lot of the other people who buy houses in Des Moines call me when they “land a deal”. They talk some seller into an offer, then they call me to see if I want the deal. That’s ok, it happens more than you might think. 9 times out of 10 though, the guy or gal who has called me, has paid too much.
It’s not that I fear competition, I fear the damage to the reputation of our industry. Many of the new investors just got done watching some YouTube videos. As a result, they think they know the business and end up pissing people off!
When we buy houses for cash, it eliminates the hassles of “tradition”.
What does that mean Jay?
A traditional or “conventional” transaction, someone gets a loan to buy your home. You most likely did the same thing when you bought the house you’re considering selling. Remember THAT process? The endless amount of paperwork just to get approved. Remember the process and the time it took to stay on-top of it all so it didn’t fall apart? Remember submitting even MORE documents when you were about to close on the house? The time to close can double when a loan is involved. Working with a cash buyer for properties eliminates the headaches for all involved.
Using Cash when we buy houses improves the success of the deal by 400%!
I would like to discuss the process now.
The process to buy a house in Iowa is a bit different than some other states.
Here’s why: Iowa is still an “abstract” state. Abstract? Yes, the abstract is a big stack of legal-sized documents that contain the details of the history of that property. This packet of paperwork and documents commonly gets misplaced, lost, etc.. The cost to replace the abstract can cost upwards of $1500. Once you have the abstract, it needs updated.
Why does it need “updated”?
The abstract contains not only the history of the property itself, but the owners. Think about that. So, if an owner of the house had filed divorce at anytime, that information is part of the abstract. Crazy huh?
Are you looking for yours to see what’s all in it? Lol. I did too, this is how I learned what’s all in them.
Who updates them? Title Companies. Abstract companies. Attorneys sometimes have staff that does “abstracting”. At this point, an Attorney (typically the Buyer’s counsel) will prepare a Title Opinion. What’s a “Title Opinion”? It’s the Attorney’s requirements regarding items that need to be “cleared-up” so that the Seller transfers “clear title” to the Buyer. When a Buyer pays cash, clear title means the house will be free and clear after closing. They pay the property taxes. Any 2nd mortgages get paid….you get the picture.
It’s Time to Close!
Closing day can be stressful. When we buy houses, we actually handle 99% of the work required to get the deal to that point. This is the part I really enjoy and have become quite skilled at. Back between 2008 and 2012, I was the #1 short sale negotiator in town. Doing short sales teaches you a LOT about real estate. I had to clear lots of title issues, including 2nd and 3rd mortgages. Federal tax liens, court judgments and child support liens.
For you, closing should be the most exciting day. The way we do it now is, you go into the attorney’s office whenever you have time. They will have everything ready for you. Bring yourself and your ID, unless there’s some document I need you to bring. That’s it. You will leave the closing with copies of what you sign and your check. Congratulations! Now, the problem that brings us together, is now solved.
We are actively buying houses for cash right up to the day you see this article.
20 years ago, I made personal and business VOWS. These are promises to you, the homeowner or seller. I encourage you to go read them (takes 40 seconds) at My Vows to You.
Before you leave the site, please do check out My Vows to You at that link above this line. Would you be opposed to taking 60 seconds to fill-out the form on the Home page? You can tell me about the house you want to sell and we’ll go from there. Sound fair?
I appreciate you. Take care, talk soon.
~Jay & Amy 515.809.2274