Let’s discuss houses that are sitting vacant. At East Tennessee Home Buyers, we can quickly and painlessly buy houses in Knoxville in any condition–including ones that have been empty for months or years!
I received a phone call from a gentleman who was a resident at an assisted living center. This call was a little different, but it’s certainly not the first time I’ve received a call from a seller who was in an unusual situation.
(Believe it or not, I once received a call from an incarcerated gentleman who was looking to sell his home so he could post bail. After that, I am prepared for just about anything!)
After speaking with the nice man on the phone, I made an appointment to visit him at an assisted living facility. After I arrived and we exchange pleasantries, he explained that he had a stroke almost 10 months earlier and could no longer live alone in his home. The house had been sitting vacant for nearly a year at that point.
So, he signed an authorization form for me to access the property and handed me the keys. We normally keep these forms in a folder titled we buy houses Knoxville. I needed to walk through it so I could evaluate the overall condition. With the signed authorization, I had proof that I had permission to be there just in case the neighbors called the law! You just never know how people will react to someone they perceive as a stranger walking onto their neighbor’s property or going through their home.
Some Sellers Forget About Spring Cleaning Altogether..
When I stepped into the house, I instantly realized the owner was a big-time hoarder. He was never married, had no children, and almost every room was stacked to the ceiling with boxes, trash, and personal items. I could tell that cleaning and preparing this house was going to be a massive undertaking.
Be that as it may, I went back to visit the seller and asked him to name the price he had in mind for the property in its current state. I told him we would take care of cleaning all the contents out of the property and would make a note of anything we thought he might want to keep. Similarly, If he would make a list, we would be more than happy to collect those items and bring them to him.
After we discussed how we could best serve the seller’s needs, we agreed on an all-cash price. Before we closed on the home, the seller asked if we would also like to purchase his Ford pickup truck, 4-door Subaru sedan, and a riding lawnmower. All of these items had also been sitting at the house for nearly a year. After a quick inspection, I realized that East Tennessee cash home buyers could use the vehicles for company business. We agreed to purchase them and put even more money in the seller’s pocket. Very few companies who advertise we buy houses Knoxville will go the extra mile and buy personal items as well!
We moved forward with the process and purchased this property that had been sitting vacant for nearly a year. Would you believe that the power was still on!?
We signed all the closing documents at the assisted living center which made the seller very happy. Plus, the seller didn’t pay any closing costs, fees, or commissions. There was no need for him to hire a handyman to make repairs before selling and he didn’t need to worry about cleaning. The gentleman was so pleased that we were willing to purchase the property in an as-is condition.
Boxing, Sorting, Cleaning & Delivering
After the sale was complete, our East TN Home Buyers team began sorting through the contents of the home. The home was 3 stories–plus a basement–totaling over 4,000 square feet of space. We found boxes and boxes of personal effects and other miscellaneous items. We had our work cut out for us!
We carefully sorted through everything, collected the items from the list we were given, and delivered the former homeowner’s possessions to him. He was delighted to see his precious belongings again. He was also relieved that he would no longer need to worry about his home just sitting there–vacant–with the power still on. Sometimes, when a vacant home is discovered, things of value (both inside and outside the home) go missing. Luckily, that was not the case this time.
The scope of work to renovate and bring the home up to market standards was extensive, but at East Tennessee Home Buyers, we like a challenge! In addition to a full renovation of the home, we had to repave the driveway and faced an interesting swimming pool situation. Apparently, the seller had tried to fill in the pool some years back! We had tackled issues like this before, so this was just another day at the office.
To recap, we purchased a home that had been sitting vacant–for almost 10 months–in its as-is condition. The seller had suffered a stroke and moved to an assisted living center. He didn’t have to pay closing costs, real estate commissions, or fees. Most importantly, he no longer had to pay property taxes or utility bills on a house that was sitting vacant–with his personal contents and vehicles–for nearly a year!
If you have a house that’s been sitting vacant–for any length of time–and you’re wondering. “Are there cash home buyers near me?”, give East Tennessee Home Buyers a call at (865) 935-8680.