Roof gone, foundation cracked, boiler on its last season, you know what needs to happen and you know conventional buyers can't get financing on it. I buy houses in this exact condition across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland, without requiring a single repair before closing.
You know the house needs work. You've known for years. The estimates that came back made your stomach drop, and the listing agent who walked it started talking about price reductions before they finished the tour.
Here's why retail won't work:
A house that needs major repairs, roof replacement, foundation work, full HVAC overhaul, electrical rewiring, is not a house that sells on the open market through normal channels. Retail buyers using conventional or FHA financing run into hard walls: appraisers are required to flag material defects under their respective guidelines, and lenders cannot close on a property that doesn't meet minimum property standards. The result is a deal that either falls apart after weeks of wasted time, or a seller forced to make expensive repairs they can't afford just to complete the transaction. Neither outcome is good.
The houses that need the most work are typically the ones that have been in the same family the longest, and the sellers in those situations are often the least equipped to manage a renovation before selling. Elderly owners, out-of-state heirs, landlords who deferred everything, these situations call for a buyer who can price the repairs accurately and close without conditions. That's what I do. My offer reflects a real repair cost estimate, not a guess, and there are no inspection contingencies that let me re-trade later.
A house needing major structural or mechanical work listed at retail price will get showings, maybe an offer, then the buyer switches to FHA, the appraiser flags the roof, the deal dies, and your property is now 60 days stale with a falling reputation. Retail buyers and their agents are not equipped for this situation. The days on market you burn hurt your negotiating position with the next buyer.
Sellers with major repair needs sometimes try to tackle the most visible problem, new roof, fresh HVAC, to qualify for conventional financing. The result is often a renovation that costs more than planned, takes longer than expected, and still doesn't satisfy an FHA appraiser who finds a second problem underneath the first. Partial repairs don't move the needle; only full rehabilitation does. If you're not in the renovation business, let me handle it.
Not every cash buyer is a real cash buyer. Wholesalers and some investors use an inspection period as a second negotiation: they sign at your number, then come back two weeks later with a list of "new findings" and a revised price 15% lower. By that point, you've been off market for two weeks and feel stuck. My offer is based on my own assessment of the property, I don't use an open-ended inspection contingency to walk back a number I already agreed to.
Before I give you a number, I walk the property. I'm not sending a third-party inspector who generates a report I'll use against you later, I look at the house myself and price what I see. My offer is based on my actual repair cost estimate, not a range, and the price I offer is the price I close at.
In New Jersey, a house needing major repairs most commonly loses its buyer at the appraisal stage. Conventional lenders rely on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac appraisal guidelines, which require appraisers to note conditions that represent significant physical deterioration or functional problems. An appraiser who flags a failing roof, structural concerns, or a non-functional heating system will issue a "subject-to" appraisal, conditioning value on completion of repairs, and if the seller won't make them, the loan doesn't close. FHA properties trigger the additional layer of HUD's Minimum Property Standards (24 C.F.R. Part 200), which require safe, sound, and sanitary conditions for insurance eligibility. New Jersey's older housing stock, particularly the brick row houses and Victorian frames common in Newark, Trenton, Paterson, and Elizabeth, often carries deferred maintenance that conventional buyers simply can't finance.
Pennsylvania carries the same appraisal dynamic as New Jersey: conventional and FHA buyers are stopped by lender-required repair conditions. The FHA 4150.2 appraisal inspection guidelines, which appraisers use to flag physical deficiencies, apply identically in Pennsylvania. Philadelphia's aging rowhouse stock and Pittsburgh's hillside frame construction are both prone to the kinds of structural and mechanical issues that generate required-repair conditions. Philadelphia's Department of Licenses and Inspections (L&I) also means that houses with prior violations or open permits come with a disclosure and resolution burden that conventional buyers aren't set up to handle. Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law (68 Pa. C.S. § 7301 et seq.) requires written disclosure of all known material defects, I work with sellers to complete this accurately, which protects everyone at closing.
Maryland's specific challenge for major-repair properties is lead paint. Under Maryland's Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing Act (Maryland Code, Environment Article § 6-801 et seq.) and the federal Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, pre-1978 properties trigger mandatory disclosure and, for FHA loans, a required visual inspection for deteriorating paint. An FHA appraiser who observes chipping or peeling paint on a pre-1978 Maryland home will condition the appraisal on lead-safe repair by an EPA Lead-Safe Certified contractor, and those repairs must be completed and documented before closing. Baltimore City's housing stock is overwhelmingly pre-1978, meaning virtually every FHA deal on a house with paint problems dies unless the seller handles it first. Beyond lead paint, roof and HVAC failures are the other primary deal-killers in the Maryland FHA market. I buy cash, so none of these conditions apply to my purchase.
Three fields on the form. Or a text. Address is enough to start. I'll pull the basics myself.
I call you back, walk through what I saw, and give you a real cash number. Not a range. Not a "let me get back to you."
Seven days, three weeks, ninety days, your call. We sign at a title company. You leave with a wire.
Usually not. FHA appraisers use HUD's General Acceptability Criteria under Handbook 4150.2, which requires the property to be safe, sound, and sanitary. A roof with less than three years of life expectancy, non-functioning HVAC, foundation concerns, or exposed wiring will generate a required-repair condition, and if you can't or won't make those repairs, the loan is denied. Conventional lenders apply similar standards. I use cash, so none of those standards apply.
Yes, and I want you to. New Jersey's Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Statement, Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law (68 Pa. C.S. § 7301 et seq.), and Maryland's Residential Property Disclosure Form all require written disclosure of known material defects. I price for what I know about. Full disclosure protects both of us and keeps the closing clean.
I've bought houses with full roof replacements needed, failed foundations requiring underpinning, knob-and-tube wiring throughout, no working heat source, collapsed sewer laterals, and structural walls with serious deterioration. The severity of the issue affects my number, not my willingness to buy.
It's helpful but not required. If you have contractor estimates, I'll factor them in. If you don't, I'll walk the property and price based on what I see. I'll tell you exactly what I'm pricing in and why, there are no hidden adjustments made after we've agreed on a number.
Yes. The existing mortgage gets paid off from the proceeds at closing, just like any standard sale. The title company coordinates the payoff with your lender. The only complication is if you owe more than the property is worth, that's a short sale, which I also handle, but it takes longer and requires lender approval.
Three things. Name, phone, address. That's the start.