The Mensah house
John and Sarah Mensah owned a Baltimore house that had quietly gotten away from them. Repairs had been postponed for years, the way repairs are when there is always something more urgent. Then an income disappeared. In their own words, “Every corner echoed of touch ups needed… the budget after losing an income wasn’t an option.”
They were sitting in the trap conventional real estate has no answer for. They could not list it, because a house in that condition gets priced for its condition, and after the repairs a buyer would demand and the commission at the end, there was nothing left to walk away with. They could not fix it, because the money was gone. And the cash offers they were shown were exactly what you would expect: low, and lower again for the condition.
Zero equity is what makes this genuinely hard. When there is equity, a discount hurts but you survive it. When there is none, a discount is not a haircut, it is the sale not happening at all. That situation has its own page at selling with little or no equity.
What we did instead
We funded the repairs. Our contractors did the work, on our schedule and our money. Before any of it started, we agreed in writing on what the house would sell for, and that agreed number was above what the house was worth in the condition it was in. The Mensahs paid nothing up front and nothing at closing.
They did not manage the job. They did not take contractor calls, front material deposits, or carry the risk when a wall came open and there was something ugly behind it. That is the whole point of the arrangement, and the mechanics of it are set out on the renovation partnership page.
Why there are no dollar figures on this story
You will notice we have not told you what the house sold for, what the repairs cost, or what the Mensahs walked away with. That is deliberate. Those figures were never published, and we are not going to invent them so this page reads better. A case study built on numbers you cannot verify is a brochure with a photograph on it.
What we can tell you is the structure, because the structure is what we would do for you. Repairs funded by us. Price agreed in writing before work begins. set above current value. Nothing out of your pocket at either end. If you want to test that against your own house, get your valuation and ask us what the partnership version of the number would look like.
What four Baltimore sellers said
These are reviews from people who sold to us. We have not rewritten their situations and we have not added any we do not have.
Isaac H., facing foreclosure after a job loss
I was facing foreclosure and did not know where to turn. They came through with a quick and fair cash offer, and walked me through the whole process. The sale was fast and hassle free, and it gave me the peace of mind I desperately needed.
Foreclosure is the situation where the calendar does all the arguing. What matters is not how good an offer is in the abstract, it is whether the money lands before the sale date. Most people in that position have more time than they believe they do, but the window is real and it does close. If that is you, start with what to do when you are facing foreclosure in Baltimore rather than with this page.
Sarah R., an inherited house that needed work
After inheriting a property I did not know how to handle it. It was an older home that needed a lot of work and I did not have the time or the resources. They made a fast cash offer and we closed in a few weeks.
This is the most common story we hear. A house comes to you along with a legal process, a set of siblings, and a to do list you did not choose, often from several states away. Nothing about it is a reflection on you. The route through it is on selling an inherited Baltimore house.
James P., needed to sell fast
I needed to sell fast for personal reasons. Within days I had a cash offer that was fair. No repairs, no dealing with banks. I was able to move on without any stress.
Note the two things he did not have to do: repairs, and lender paperwork. Those are the two clocks that make a normal sale unpredictable. Remove the loan and you remove the appraisal, the underwriting file, and the most common reason a deal collapses in week five. On the repair question specifically, the short answer is on whether you have to make repairs before selling.
Michael S., lowballed elsewhere
Michael S. came to us after other buyers had made him offers he read as lowball. That is the situation recorded in his review, and it is the single most common reason people find this page.
We do not have a longer quote from him to publish, so we are not going to write one. What we will say is what we say to anyone in that position. Bring us the written offer. We will beat it or we will tell you to take it. If you want to understand why the first number you were shown felt insulting, the arithmetic behind almost every cash offer is pulled apart on whether cash buyers pay market value.
What is missing from this page
Five stories is not many, and you should hear that from us rather than work it out yourself. We are adding more as sellers agree to let us publish them, with their names and their situations as they describe them.
What we are not doing is padding this page with invented customers, stock photographs of people who never sold us a house, or round numbers with no receipt behind them. That is easy to do and most of this industry does it. More will show up here when they are real.
Our Google rating is 5.0. We would rather point you at the profile than quote a review count at you, because you looking is worth more than us claiming. Our address is 881 W Lombard St, Baltimore, MD 21201, and you can find it on a map.
How to check any buyer, including this one
- Ask for proof of funds in writing. A real buyer has it ready. Anyone who stalls is worth a second look.
- Look for a local address you can find. A mailbox in another state is not the same thing as an office in your city.
- Read the assignment clause. If the contract lets the buyer hand it to an unnamed third party, they may be planning to sell your contract rather than buy your house.
- Ask what happens to the number after the walkthrough. The oldest move in this business is a high offer to lock you up and a cut once you have mentally moved on. Get the answer in writing.
We wrote the unflattering version of all this on whether we buy houses companies are a scam, including the criticisms of the category that are fair.
If your house is the one that needs work
Condition is the thing people apologise for and the thing we care about least. A failed roof, a gutted kitchen, thirty years of belongings, a letter from the city: normal Tuesday. Start at selling a Baltimore house that needs work, or read the wider picture on selling a Baltimore house fast.
If you would rather know who you are dealing with first, that is on our about page, and every way to reach us is on the contact page. We answer 24 hours, which mostly matters at 2am.
Before you act on this
This page is general information about how these processes work in Maryland. It is not
legal, tax, or financial advice, and your situation may turn on details this page cannot
know. Talk to a Maryland attorney or a licensed tax professional before you make a decision
you cannot reverse. If you are facing foreclosure, you can also speak with a HUD approved
housing counselor at no cost.
Questions people ask
Why does the Mensah story have no dollar figures in it?
Because none were ever published. We could estimate them and nobody would check, but a number you cannot verify is worth nothing to you. The structure is the part that transfers to your house: repairs funded by us, price agreed in writing beforehand, above current value, nothing out of your pocket.
Are these reviews real people?
Yes. Isaac H., Sarah R., James P., and Michael S. are sellers who left reviews about working with us, and John and Sarah Mensah are the renovation partnership case study. We have not invented customers or written quotes for anyone, which is why this page is shorter than most.
Why are there only a handful of stories here?
Because we only publish the ones we actually have and have permission for. More are being added as sellers agree to let us use their names and situations. We would rather this page be short and true than long and decorated with people who never existed.
How do I check that you are a real buyer?
Ask for proof of funds in writing, look up our address at 881 W Lombard St in Baltimore, read the assignment clause in any contract you are handed, and ask what happens to the offer after the walkthrough. Do that with every buyer you talk to, including us.
What if I already have an offer from another buyer?
Bring it in writing. We will beat it or we will tell you to take it. That second half is real. If somebody has already offered you more than the house supports, the useful thing we can do is say so rather than talk you into a worse deal with us.