We Buy Houses – Companies in the Philadelphia Area

We buy houses in Philly

You have seen the advertisements for “We Buy Houses”, maybe you have received letters or postcards or even got a phone call. What exactly do “we buy houses” companies in the Philadelphia area do? 

We would like to clear the air about exactly what and who is behind the We Buy Houses industry to make the best possible decision for the sale of your property. First and most importantly almost all We Buy Houses advertisements are going to position themselves as buyers of properties. This is not always the case. In 90% or more cases these advertisers are looking to put your property under contract and then assign the contract to receive a finder’s fee to an actual cash buyer investor. This industry is more accurately known as wholesaling. And when done right and disclosed to the seller it is entirely legal and can be beneficial for the seller, wholesaler, and buyer alike. Recently, legislation has been passed to ensure this is disclosed but some bad actors are still flying under the radar without disclosing their strategy. 

Potential Problems with Wholesalers

When this is not disclosed it can lead to all types of problems. For one, wholesalers inherently have no skin in the game other than some of their time. Numerous clauses for inspections and financing with little or no deposit make it easy to cancel your contract. They are much more likely to put a property under contract for too high an agreed price that will not work in the open marketplace. This will result in the wholesaler coming back to the seller to continue to ask for reductions or need to cancel the deal. Further many times the wholesaler will need to openly advertise and show your property to other investors who will actually buy the property. This may have been something you’d wanted to avoid. 

When wholesalers don’t disclose their intentions, it can create numerous issues:

  • Lack of commitment: Wholesalers often have no significant investment other than their time. Their contracts typically include clauses for inspections and financing with minimal or no deposit, making it easy for them to back out.
  • Unrealistic pricing: Wholesalers may agree to a price that’s too high for the market, leading to renegotiations or cancellations.
  • Public exposure: Many wholesalers openly advertise and show your property to other investors, which might be something you wanted to avoid.

Benefits of Working with Wholesalers

There can be benefits however to working with a wholesaler though, if the property needs substantial work to where only investors will buy the property, real estate agents are generally not as experienced in these all-cash sales, they are also often valued lower than regular retail sales so commissions are lower and this lowers agents motivation to sell your property. 

What has come down to is acquiring new properties has almost become its own business separate from actual systems and processes of renovating and managing a real estate company. Real investors who are running large scale renovations and buying and selling many houses are not always willing to go to the lengths to constantly be advertising to people with properties to sell, look at all the properties, follow up and close on the acquisition. It is sometimes easier for investors to pay more in the form of a finder fee to a wholesaler than to have an entire department and budget allocated to finding new properties. 

Why Choose Liberty Bell Investments?

At Liberty Bell Investments, we are in the small percentage of “We Buy Houses” Companies who will actually be the end buyer at the settlement table buying your property. This means we can pay you the full value of the house without trying to undercut you to make a finder fee as a wholesaler needs to do to make a profit. Furthermore, we are licensed and insured general contractors and renovate the properties ourselves with our own crews, this saves us up to 20% or more on construction. These savings on construction make it easier for us to spend more on the acquisitions, or the price we pay to sellers. 

If you’d like to get a cash offer from Liberty Bel us, call us or fill out the form on our website. Thanks for reading!