Not every property fits a category.
Title problems, a code violation, a tax sale notice, a house nobody wants to clear out. Each one has a route to a sale. Some of them are shorter than you would expect.
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A one-page plan within one business day: the next three things to do, who to call, and the dates that matter in your state. Written by a person, for your situation.
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The short version.
Title problems are the most common thing that stops a sale, and the least understood. A missing heir, an old lien, a deed that was never recorded, a name that changed decades ago. None of it is fatal. It does mean the title company has to clear it before anyone closes, and that takes weeks rather than days.
Code enforcement runs on its own clock. In DC a vacant or blighted property can be taxed at a much higher rate than an occupied one, and unpaid fines become liens against the property. The notice is worth answering even if you plan to sell, because the balance comes off the proceeds at closing either way.
A tax sale notice is not the same as losing the property. In DC, Maryland, and Virginia the owner usually keeps a window to pay the balance and redeem. Selling before the deadline is often the cleaner way out, and it has to start earlier than most people expect.
Then there is the house itself. Forty years of belongings, a garage nobody has opened since 1998. You can sell it exactly as it stands. Take what matters to you and leave the rest where it is.
How this usually unfolds.
The sequence depends on which of these you are dealing with. This is the shape of it, not a schedule for your property.
- Step 01
The problem is identified
A title search, a code notice, a tax record, or a walkthrough tells us what we are dealing with.
- Step 02
The cost goes on paper
What it takes to clear the title, settle the fines, or redeem the tax balance, and who pays for it.
- Step 03
The route is chosen
Clear it and sell, sell as-is with the problem still in place, or hold the property while it gets resolved.
- Step 04
Closing
Liens, fines, and back taxes are settled out of the proceeds by the title company, and you receive the rest.
If you have a notice in front of you, send us a photo of it. It usually takes ten minutes to tell you what it means and when the deadline falls.
Every path, with the trade-offs.
Four routes, and the right one depends on how much time is left. The deadline usually decides it, more than the price.
Sell as-is with the problem in place
Sell the property as it stands, with the lien, the violation, or the contents still there.
- Nothing to fix and nothing to clear out
- The problem becomes our problem at closing
- The offer reflects the cost of resolving it
- Some defects have to be cleared before any sale can close
Clear the title, then sell
Work with a title company or an attorney to resolve the defect, then sell on the open market.
- The widest buyer pool, and usually the strongest price
- Once it is clean, the property is saleable to anyone
- Takes weeks or months, and the clock may not allow it
- Legal and filing costs come before any money arrives
Redeem a tax sale
Pay the balance and the fees to bring the property back before the redemption window closes.
- You keep the property and any equity in it
- Stops the interest and the fees from growing
- Requires cash, and the window is fixed
- Miss it, and the property can be lost for a fraction of its value
Empty it and sell it empty
Have the house cleared out first, then sell it as a vacant property.
- Easier to show, and easier for a buyer to price
- You decide what stays in the family before anything moves
- Cleanout costs money and time, and usually takes longer than expected
- A vacant house still carries taxes, insurance, and code risk while it sits
What we do.
We buy houses with title defects, open violations, and tax balances against them. None of it is new to us, and none of it has to be solved before you call.
- A title search and a plain-English summary of what is recorded against the property.
- An as-is number that accounts for the liens, the fines, and the condition, with the deductions written down.
- A read on whether the deadline allows a listing, or whether a direct sale is the only route that fits.
- A closing date you choose, with no repairs and nothing cleared out first.
The homeowner letter
One email a month: what's changing in DC, Maryland, and Northern Virginia, and what it means if you own a house here. No sales pitch, and one click to unsubscribe.
We'll call once. If you tell us you're not interested, that's the end of it.
We reply the same day, usually within a couple of hours.
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Send us the notice. We'll tell you what it means.
A free 20-minute call, and an as-is number within 48 hours if it's useful to you.
Every path, priced for your property.
No call required. Tell us about the property and we'll do the work in writing.
Get your numbers- What turning your equity into cash would pay, in writing
- What listing with an agent would likely net you, after commissions, repairs, and holding costs
- What keeping it would cost
- Your timeline, with the dates that matter in DC, Maryland, or Virginia
Prepared by hand, not generated. Free, and yours to keep whether or not you ever sell to us.
This information is educational and not legal or financial advice. For legal questions, consult an attorney or a HUD-approved housing counselor.