Houses that need work
Sell a house that needs repairs in West Michigan
Get your cash offer
About two minutes. No obligation, no fee, and your details stay with us.
Fire damage, a foundation that's giving way, rooms you can barely walk through: none of it needs fixing, cleaning, or explaining before you call. We buy West Michigan houses just as they stand, rough spots and all.
A local team, no obligation, and a real answer either way.
You do not need to apologize for the house
Most people with a rough house to sell start by apologizing for it. The roof, the smell, the rooms nobody has opened in years: people describe their own property the way you would confess something. You can skip that part. Houses that need serious work are a big part of what we do, and the condition is something we price, not something we judge.
Fire damage, mold, a foundation that has let go, a hoarder house packed to the ceilings, a stack of open violations from the city: none of it disqualifies the property. If we need to see the house, it is a quick look, generally under half an hour, at structure, roof, mechanicals and water, not at how it got this way. You do not have to clean, clear out, or explain anything first.
Should you repair anything before selling?
No, and we would rather you did not. A new roof on a house that is about to sell for cash almost never returns its cost, and the same math applies to foundation work, mold remediation, and nearly every other big-ticket repair, whether the house is a bungalow in Muskegon Heights or a two-story in Grand Rapids. You would be spending money you may not have on problems we have already priced in.
One caution, particularly for older homeowners: be wary of contractors who show up uninvited after a fire or a storm and press you to sign repair paperwork on the spot.
What does holding a damaged house actually cost?
Usually more than it looks like from the outside. City code enforcement fines and blight tickets do not pause while you decide what to do. They keep accruing until the ownership changes, and selling is what stops the bleed. From Muskegon to Benton Harbor, a stack of those letters on the kitchen table only ever grows.
Insurance is the quieter problem. Insurers regularly cancel or refuse to cover vacant and damaged houses, which means the longer a rough house sits, the more likely you are carrying it with thin coverage or none at all. That is general information, not legal advice, but it is the reason waiting on a house like this is riskier than it feels.
How do we price a house that needs work?
The same way we price any house: from four numbers. On a house like this, the repair estimate is the one doing the heavy lifting, and we walk you through how we got to the number. If you think we are wrong about the repairs, that is a conversation, not an argument, and sometimes you know something about the house that changes it.
We are a business and we do not pretend otherwise. If the numbers do not leave a margin, we cannot do the deal, and we will tell you that plainly rather than waste your time. That honesty may cost us some deals, and we are fine with that.
How fast can you sell a house as-is in Michigan?
As fast as the situation requires. Call (616) 300-2586 or send the short form on this page. We will look at the property only if we need to, and you will have a cash offer within 24 hours. If you accept, we can close in as little as 14 days, or on whatever date actually works for you, because not every situation is a race. We are based in Kent County, so if we do need to see a house in Holland, that can happen the same afternoon, and a drive up to Ludington or down to Kalamazoo is still just a drive.
When we're the wrong call
Some houses shouldn't come to us, and it's fairer to say that here than after you've picked up the phone. If what the house needs is fresh paint, new carpet, and a good scrubbing rather than a roof or a foundation, and it would pass an appraisal today and you can spare a couple of months, an agent will usually get you more, and that's who you should call. If the damage came from a fire or a burst pipe and your insurance covers it, talk to your insurer before you talk to any cash buyer, us included. A house put right by a claim is worth more to you than a damaged one is to anybody. We'd rather say it now than have you wish we had.
Straight answers
Needs major repairs: questions sellers bring us
Can I sell my house as-is in Michigan?
Yes. Selling as-is means the buyer takes the house in its current condition, and that is the only way we buy. You do not repair, repaint, or update anything before closing. The condition is accounted for in the number we offer rather than held against you at the door, and condition on its own is not the thing that stops us.
Do you buy fire damaged houses?
Yes, including houses with serious structural fire damage. We estimate what the remediation and rebuild will actually cost, make an offer that accounts for it, and walk you through how we got to the number. One thing worth doing first: if the fire is a covered loss, talk to your insurance company before you sell, because a settled claim can change what the house is worth to you. Either way, the damage itself does not stop a sale.
Can I sell a condemned house or one with open code violations?
Yes. Condemnation notices, blight tickets, and open code violations do not prevent a sale. What they do is keep costing you money, because fines generally keep accruing until the ownership changes, and selling is what stops that. Once we own the house, the violations and the conversations with the city are our problem, not yours. Houses in this position are exactly the kind we buy.
Do you buy hoarder houses?
Yes, and you do not need to clear out a single room first. Take the things that matter to you and leave everything else. We handle the cleanout after closing, however full the house is. If we do look at the house and parts of it are genuinely unreachable, we work from what we can see, tell you so, and price accordingly. The state of the house changes the number, not the answer.
Should I get contractor bids before calling you?
No. You do not need a single estimate in hand. We build our own repair estimate, from a short look at the house if we need one, and walk you through how we got to the number. If you already have bids, bring them; if you think we are wrong about the repairs, that is a conversation we will gladly have. Paying for inspections before a cash sale is usually money wasted.
Whatever the situation, start with the house.
Start with a call or the short form, and you'll have a number within 24 hours and a date that works for you. If a different route would serve you better, that's what you'll hear from us first.