Frequently Asked Questions
Maybe you have a few questions. That’s okay; most people do. Here is a quick collection of some of the questions people ask us, along with our answers. If you still have a question, don’t hesitate to contact us anytime. We would be happy to answer it for you.
Q: Will you be listing my house on the MLS or actually buying it?
A: Great question. We’re not agents, and we don’t list houses. Here at AZ Buys Houses, we are professional home buyers: We buy houses Phoenix that meet our purchasing criteria, and we don’t use bank financing so you don’t have to worry about our ability to close on a deal. After purchasing, we may repair the house and resell it to another homeowner or keep it as a rental ourselves.
Q: How are you different from a real estate agent?
A: Real estate agents list properties and hope that someone will buy them. The agent shows the properties to prospective buyers if there are any (the average time to sell a property in many markets right now is 4-6 months) and then takes a percentage of the sale price if they find a buyer. Oftentimes, the agent’s commission is 3 to 6% of the sale price of your house. If it’s a $100,000 house, you’ll pay between $3,000 to $6,000 in commissions to an agent.
Agents provide a great service for those that can wait 4+ months to sell and who don’t mind giving up some of that sale price to pay for the commissions. But that’s where we’re different. We’re not agents, we’re home buyers. Our company buys the house directly from you. Since we pay with all cash and purchase the house from you, we can make a decision to buy your house within a couple of days (sometimes even the same day). Again, we make our living by taking the risk to buy the house with our own cash, repair the house, and market it ourselves to find a buyer.
Looking for this to be broken down further? Here’s a comparison chart to give an overview:
Selling w/ A Phoenix Agent | SOLD To AZ Buys Houses | |
---|---|---|
Commissions / Fees: | Up to 6%, paid by you, the seller | None |
Who Pays Closing Costs? | 2% on average is paid by you, the seller | Creative Financing TBD |
Inspection & Financing Contingency*: | Yes, sales can fall through. | TBD |
Appraisal Needed: | Yes, the sale is often subject to appraisal. | No, we make Term offers. |
Average Days Until Sold: | +/- 91 Days | We provide immediate offers once we know terms. |
Number of Showings: | It Depends | NA |
Closing Date: | 30-60+/- days after accepting the buyer’s offer | Subject to or Seller Finance |
Who Pays For Repairs? | Negotiated during the inspection period | This is negotiated on the specific transaction |
Q: Do you pay fair prices for properties?
A: Creative finance offers a method to acquire houses without the need for traditional means such as cash, credit, or licenses.
These houses were financed by the sellers themselves, utilizing methods like subject-to or seller finance. With these approaches, sellers provide financing without the necessity of involving a bank or showcasing credentials. Many partners acquired employing these strategies without cash, credit, or licenses.
It’s worth noting that neither people in transactions do not have W-2 jobs or incomes. We do not need to present any credentials like bank records, and not be questioned about our financial status.
Each house we purchase relies on either seller financing or subject-to investment. We consistently execute these transactions month after month.
Typically, we secure these deals without using any of our own funds. Sellers agree to finance us, meaning they own the houses outright and are willing to finance us because we offer the price they desire
Let’s see if we can come to a win-win price for both parties. Our no-obligation pricing commitment means that you don’t have to move forward with the offer we give… but it’s good to know what we’re offering!
DOWNLOAD our free guide that walks you through the Pros and Cons (plus the cost and timeline) of selling your house to a real estate investor versus the pros, cons, and costs of the other two alternatives – listing with an agent or selling it yourself.
Q: How do you determine the price to offer on my house?
A: Great question, and we’re an open book. Our process is very straightforward. We look at the location of the property, what repairs are needed, the current condition of the property, and the value of comparable houses sold in the area recently. Taking the many pieces of information into consideration, we come up with a fair price that works for us and works for you, too.
Q: Are there any fees or commissions to work with you?
A: This is what makes us stand out from the traditional method of selling your house: there are NO fees or commissions when you sell your house directly to us compared to listing fees, where up to 6% comes out of your pocket. We’ll make you an offer and, if it’s a fit, then we’ll buy your house with no hassles and no fees. We’ll often pay for the closing costs, too! We make our money after we pay for repairs on the house and sell it for a profit. We’re taking the risks here on whether we can sell it for a profit or not. Once we buy the house from you, the responsibility is ours and you walk away without the burden of the property and its payments depending on the terms agreed upon by both parties.
Q: Is there any obligation when I submit my information?
A: There is absolutely zero obligation for you. Once you tell us a bit about your property, we’ll take a look at things, maybe set up a call with you to find out a bit more, and make you and see if this fair for both parties.. From there, it’s 100% your decision on whether or not you’d like to sell your house to us. We’ll let you decide what’s right for you.
Here are the the most common Objections we hear from clients about ‘’Subject to”
Q: What is Subject to?
A: A subject to real estate deal is when you buy or sell a property with an existing mortgage. Under a subject to deal, the buyer takes over the property, but the seller retains the mortgage. The buyer makes mortgage payments for the seller, and the lender is not informed that the property has been transferred.
Q: Is ‘Subject to’ LEGAL?
A: Absolutely! It has been done thousands of times all over the nation. Also it’s so legal the TITLE COMPANY will issue insurance on the transaction to solidify its legal purpose.
Q: Can I buy another house?
A: Absolutely you can buy another property! We adjust the DEBT TO INCOME (DTI) on the DTI declaration page.
Q: What about the DUE ON SALE?
A: Due on sale clause is something to be aware of, but the due on sale is something very rarely happens and we have ways to protect you against it.
A subject to real estate deal is when you buy or sell a property with an existing mortgage. Under a subject to deal, the buyer takes over the property, but the seller retains the mortgage.
The buyer makes mortgage payments for the seller, and the lender is not informed that the property has been transferred. The good news is that most lenders never enforce this clause (probably because they don’t want to go through the hassle and expense of foreclosing on a property).
Generally, lenders will only enforce this clause if they feel like they’re at risk of losing money on the loan or if their security is at risk.
If payments are getting made on-time, then you probably have nothing to worry about. But it’s still important to be aware of.
Q: When are you going to refinance my mortgage?
A: Never going to refinance you out. Because I am not buying your house on the value of the purchase price, I am buying your house based on the value of the existing mortgage.
You may ask: Why is the mortgage still in my name?
If the seller asking for too high of a number and I am willing to come up to that number as long as I get TERMS and the only way I can get terms is by keeping the mortgage in your name.
Q: What if the economy crashes?
A: Well that would be great, because if the economy crashes I didn’t buy your property based on the value of the purchase price. I bought your house based on the value it presents in cash flow and when the economy falls apart, more and more people rent, the rent rate actually goes up, therefore, I am actually in a more secure position. So I do not mind where the economy crashes or doesn’t crash. I will make sure this mortgage is paid.
Q: What if we stop making payments?
A: So I was like to say, what if I get abducted by aliens what happens next? Lol
Well #1, we set up Servicing. Also, we have a Performance Deed and the performance deed states, if I don’t perform you get the house back. So any down payment, you get, any payments
I have made along the way, closing costs and all things I pay for, any renovation I’ve paid for all of those things the seller would keep everything and give the house back.
As the sellers are put in a better position, and we get you caught up on the mortgage through the performance deed.
Q: Describe seller Financing?
A: We consistently execute these transactions month after month.
Typically, we secure these deals without using any of our own funds. Sellers agree to finance us, meaning they own the houses outright and are willing to finance us because we offer the price they desire.
Let me illustrate this further with my recent community mentor, Pace Morby’s well-known F-150 story. A few years ago, when he owned a construction company, his F150 truck reached 320,000 miles and began experiencing issues. Checking Kelley Blue Book, he found its value to be a mere $5,000 due to its high mileage.
Selling it for $5,000 wouldn’t fetch him that amount; potential buyers would haggle down to $4,000 or even $3,500, citing cash payment. Realizing the truck meant more to him, he listed it on Craigslist for $10,000. However, after months of no interest, his wife suggested selling it through payments.
Updating the Craigslist ad to accept payments, he was inundated with responses and eventually sold it for $12,500 to Jose and his family, with monthly payments over several years.
He sold his truck for two and a half times what it was actually worth because I was willing to seller finance and Jose terms or payments.
That’s what seller finance is.
This illustrates seller financing, where the seller offers terms instead of a lump sum. We often employ this method, utilizing creative transactions around 40-50% of the time, to secure houses without upfront cash, credit, or credentials, meeting the seller’s desired price.
What’s exciting is that I acquire these properties without outright purchase. The essence lies in accumulating real estate through creative finance to help out both parties involved by creating TERMS.
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