If you’ve been driving around in Chicago, chances are you’ve seen some yard signs advertising companies that buy houses.
Often times they say things like “We Buy Chicago Houses!” or “Cash For Your House”.
Are These “We Buy Houses in Chicago Companies” Credible?
How do I know if the local house buying company I am working with is an honest company.
At first glance many house buying companies will look very similar when you first start researching them so we’ll spell out some of specific areas to research before making your decision on who to work with.
A professional home buying business is definitely a legitimate and important service required of any local economy. An experienced home buying professional is able to help home sellers resolve complex problems that a retail buyer looking for a home to live in wouldn’t be able to do.
However, just like any industry there are a small number of companies in the IL market that make the rest of us look bad. Unfortunately, not everyone in the industry is focused on improving the communities in the Chicago area. They have decided to focus and prioritize money as their only objective when dealing with home sellers.
We’ll help you figure out how to know if you are working with a reputable company who is actually able to buy your house with a fair cash offer. As well as what red flags to look for when speaking with a potential unreputable home buying company.
What Reputable Chicago House Buyers Are Doing
- Helping folks improve their lives by accessing the money they need right away. People often need the cash in their house to cover unexpected medical expenses, or to relocate to be close to a relative. We can make that happen in just a few days, and we deliver peace of mind.
- Helping sellers get rid of a burdensome property without the hassle of having to list it with a broker and wait months and month for a sale.
- Creating local jobs. We hire plumbers, contractors, electricians, brokers, title reps, loan officers, administrators and many other folks along the way. The average real estate transaction involves 86 people from start to finish. Our investments help create real jobs for people around Chicago IL.
- Buying US products. We spend tons of money on materials that are made right here in the USA – that creates jobs in our timber mills, factories, supply shops, distribution centers and more. The US economy depends on steady improvement, and that requires investment from folks like us.
- Increasing the value of Chicago neighborhoods. When we improve a house, we’re helping to increase the value of the entire community. We often repair abandoned and neglected houses, turning them into beautiful homes for families. That activity strengthens Chicago.
- Increasing the tax base. When a new buyer takes over one of our properties, they’ll pay a higher tax rate based on the new and improved value. Those taxes go to pay for our schools, fire, police, libraries, streets and other valuable pieces of infrastructure. Again, improving our neighborhoods.
Pretty cool stuff, right?
Lots of people think of house-flipping as a get-rich-quick scheme. That’s fueled by silly “reality” shows that amp up the drama because the reality of what we do on a daily basis is actually pretty boring.
Most of our work is solving problems that currently exist in a house that the home seller is not able to navigate. We spend a considerable amount of time trouble shooting different repair options to make the home safe and enjoyable for a new family. We’ve found that in many cases solving these problems with a house takes significant experience to execute the resolution properly and many homeowners find the process overwhelming when trying to do it themselves.
So let’s get back to how you can use this information to find out if someone is a credible investor, and not just pulling a house buying scam.
How To Ensure You’re Working With A Reputable Local House Buyer
When you talk with a local house buyer to potentially buy your house… ask them some of the questions below to ensure they’re reputable, knowledgeable, and honest.
Ask open-ended questions like:
- How do you help your clients?
- What do you do for people?
- Can you tell me more about your services?
- What aspect of your business makes you the proudest?
- How would you describe your investment philosophy?
- How can I know that you’ll close on my house when you say you will?
Second, look for tell tale signs of tactics that those few shady operators tend to use.
- “Kitchen table closings” – If a property buyer tries to get you to sign the deed (ownership) of your house over to them at your house, rather than a professional place like a closing attorney or title company… be leery. Most reputable house buying services will perform the actual closing of the sale at a neutral 3rd party place… like a title company. This ensures everything is done right and on the up and up.
- Pressuring you into a fast closing – If a house buyer tries to pressure you into selling your house and says that you have to make the decision today, be leery. Most reputable house buying services will make you and offer and that offer will be on the table for at least 2-7 days (minimum) for you to make a decision. The reason reputable house buying services like ours at Blue Ladder Development do place deadlines on our offers is because the market changes and values can change week to week depending on other sales in the area, also… we buy multiple houses a month and when we make you an offer we’re assuring you that the cash to purchase your house is ready and we’ll reserve that cash for several days so if you do want to sell your house, we can close on your schedule. If you feel the offer isn’t a fit for you, then we’ll assign those funds to help another seller with their home sale.
Most scammers are looking for a quick score, and not an in-depth interview.
Chances are good that they’ll find excuses to get off the phone and move on to someone who doesn’t ask too many questions.
True investors who run honest and ethical Chicago house buying services, however, are building long-term businesses based on relationships and community development.
So when you’re looking at one of the “we buy houses in Chicago companies“… never be afraid to ask questions!