Frequently Asked Questions
Maybe you have a few questions. That’s okay; most people do. So here’s 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 (or give us a call) and we’ll 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. We are professional home buyers:
We buy houses South Florida that meet our purchasing criteria. From there we may repair the house and resell it to another home owner or keep it as a rental ourselves.
Q: Do you pay fair prices for properties?
A: Many of the houses we purchase are below market value (we do this so we can resell it at a profit to another home owner). We are looking to get a fair discount on a property. However, in our experience, many sellers aren’t necessarily expecting a large “windfall” on the property but rather appreciate that we can offer cash, we close very quickly (no waiting for financing), and no time or effort or expense is required on your part of fix up the property or pay agent fees. If that’s what you’re looking for and you see the value in getting your house sold fast… let’s see if we can come to a fair win-win price. (Besides, our no-obligation pricing commitment means that you do not 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… plus learn the pros, cons, and costs of the other two alternatives… listing with an agent or selling it yourself. Head on over here download your free guide →]
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 values of comparable houses sold in the area recently. As you know, house values have taken a huge hit in the last 5 years and most areas still haven’t seen prices come back up. We take many pieces of information into consideration… and 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 us. We’ll make you an offer, and if it’s a fit then we’ll buy your house (and we’ll often pay for the closing costs too!). No hassle. No fees. We make our money after we pay for repairs on the house (if any) and sell it for a profit (we’re taking all of the risk 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 it’s payments… and often with cash in your hand).
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 6-12 months) and then take a percentage of the sale price if they find a buyer. Oftentimes, the agent’s commission is 3-6% of the sale price of your house (so if it’s a $100,000 house, you’ll pay between $3,000 – $6,000 in commissions to an agent). Agents provide a great service for those that can wait 6-12 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 actually buys houses. We don’t list houses. Since we’re actually the one buying the house from you, and we pay with all cash… we can make a decision to buy your house within a couple days (sometimes 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 (which is the hard part in this market).
Q: Is there any obligation when I submit my info?
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 an all-cash offer that’s fair for you and fair for us. From there, it’s 100% your decision on whether or not you’d like to sell your house to us… and we won’t hassle you, won’t harass you… it’s 100% your decision and we’ll let you decide what’s right for you.
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“They closed when they said they would close!
…nothing could have gone more smoothly or more easily, these are great people!”
-Alan R. - Weston, FL
“Certainly, you’ve gone far beyond what a realtor would do.
I’m so appreciative that you have helped us…”
-C. Jenkins - Tamarac, FL
“You’re a man to your word, each time you made an appointment you were always there.
I find Empire to be wonderful and I’d recommend anybody to work with you!”
-Zelda S. - Lauderhill, FL
How to Evaluate A Real Estate Investment Deal in South Florida (resources)
We talk with lots of people looking to buy real estate investment properties in South Florida and surrounding areas. Some of them know what they’re doing… and some of them are still in the learning process.
But, since our entire business is finding great deals… and often passing those deals onto real estate investors like you at huge discounts… I thought it would be a great idea to share with you some resources on how to effectively evaluate a real estate investment deal. This works in any market… South Florida, surrounding areas, Florida, any other states across the country.
When you really boil it down… evaluating a real estate deal is a pretty simple process. If you’re looking to buy real estate as an investment, wholesale properties, hold them for rent… whatever, one of the most important parts is buying it right (i.e. – not overpaying).
So lets dive in.
How To Evaluate A Real Estate Deal – (for single family houses)
There are just a few main elements when you’re evaluating a deal.
Cost of repairs needed to get it back up to good condition
The after repair market value of the property (what it’s worth and can sell for today once it’s fixed up)
If you’re going to buy and hold for a rental… you need to know what you can rent it out for and what your “debt service” (mortgage payment) will be. Knowing this makes sure you’re buying so the property cash-flows each month
There are other things you can (and should) look at too… but those 3 are the main important things to look at first.
Cost of Repairs
One of the things you should do when you are looking at a property is find out how much it’ll cost you to fix it up to a point where it’s in great shape. In other words, the cost of repairs. This could be a new roof if it needs it, carpet, paint, a new kitchen, yard, maybe even more.
To find a good estimate of cost of repairs, the best advice we have is to get to know a contractor or two in your area and have them walk through the properties with you the first few times… have them quote out the repair cost… and build that into your offer.
After Repair Market Value
This is simple, but many investors get stuck on this part. This is essentially what you could sell the property for today… after you repaired it and brought it up to a great condition. This is found by finding out what other similar houses in the same area are actually selling for. NOTE: Don’t look at the “Listing” price… look at what houses similar to yours have actually sold for in the past 3 months. This helps you determine how much you could actually sell that house for if you had to… right now. You never want to over pay to a point where you can’t sell it for a profit in the next 3 months.
How do you find this? There are services out there that can help you with this… but often times the best way to find out the true value of a house is to talk to a Realtor that you know… or an appraiser. Heck, if you don’t know one… call up a few today… tell them you have a property that you’re potentially going to sell in the near future… and ask them what they think it should sell for.
Buy And Hold For Rental
So, you’re going to buy and hold for rental? Great! You don’t need to worry about what it’ll sell for right away. What you need to know is if it’ll pencil out on a month to month basis. You know… cash flow.
So, talk to a mortgage broker (or a private lender) and find out what the monthly mortgage payment will be for that specific property.
Then find out what you can rent the place out for on a monthly basis.
Then, you work backwards… and find out at what purchase price your mortgage payment will be low enough so you can make the monthly cash flow you need to make on the property. Be sure to figure in other expenses too like property taxes, maintenance expenses, property management fees, and keeping money in reserves for future repairs.
So, your offer price here should be:
Monthly Mortgage – Monthly Rents – Operating Expenses – Taxes / Insurance – Monthly Cash Flow = Offer
Simple enough right?
The cool thing is, the more you’re bringing into the deal in cash… the lower your mortgage is.
Making An Offer
We’ve been talking about how to look at the numbers and analyze a real estate deal.
From there, just make an offer. Many times the properties we let you know about will already be so deeply discounted that we get multiple offers… often above our asking price.
So, if you really want a property… find out what is the bare max you could buy the property at… and offer that. Otherwise you may lose the deal because someone else is likely making an offer too.
With that said, the golden rule in real estate is to never over pay for a property. That’s why our own deal analyzing criteria is so darn strict… and why our buyers (like you) get such great deals.
I hope this little tutorial has helped you sharpen up your real estate deal analyzing skills… and we really look forward to working with you in the near future.
If you have any questions at all… don’t hesitate to contact us anytime for anything.
Happy investing!
We are a real estate solutions and investment firm that specializes in helping homeowners get rid of burdensome houses fast. We are investors and problem solvers who can buy your house fast with a fair all cash offer.
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