Frequently Asked Questions

Here is a list of questions that we get asked about the home selling process. If you have a question that isn’t on this list, shoot us a call or a text!

How Exactly Do We Calculate Our Offers???

1) We Start With The After Repair Value

The After Repair Value or “ARV” simply means what your house would be worth if it was fixed up in excellent condition. You know the house renovation shows you see on TV…yeah, like that. Based on this value, we determine your offer!

2) We Calculate The Cost of Repairs

This is how much will it cost to have the house looking perfect and completely updated. Remember, when we sell to a homeowner everything must be perfect before the bank will lend them the money to buy it.

3) We Determine Our Selling Costs

After we renovate the house, we have to list it on the market. We pay agent fees, closing costs, property taxes, and we have holding costs like insurance etc. These are all the fees you do NOT have to pay, if you sell your house directly to NOLA Buys Houses. Our Selling Costs usually total up to 10% of the selling price.

4) We Factor In Our Minimum Profit

At NOLA Buys we love helping people but this IS a business and we do have to make a profit to STAY in business. However, we make our best offer to you for one very important reason. We want you to ACCEPT! If our offers are insultingly low then no one would accept our offers and we wouldn’t make any money!

Here Is A Cash Offer Example:

After Repair Value = $200k

Cost Of Repairs = $25k

Our Selling Cost = 10% x $200k = $20k

Sample Minimum Profit For This Purchase = $30k

[After Repair Value] – [Cost Of Repairs] – [Our Selling Costs] – [Our Minimum Profit] = [Your Offer]

Your Offer = $200k – $25k – $20k – $30k = $125k

Your Cash Offer = $125k

Our Cash Offer for your property is based strictly on the market. Once you give us the information about your house, we will come look at it to determine the cost of repair and make you an offer. We want to make our best cash offer so you’ll accept and sell us your house!

Can We Really Close In 7 Days Or Less?

Yes, we absolutely can. It all depends on you. The sooner we get the info about your house and your situation, the sooner we can come meet you and make our offer. If you accept, we will immediately deliver the offer paperwork to you and then to one of the local title attorney’s we work with who will quickly process the deal and prepare for a sale. Once the sale is prepared and ready we will schedule the soonest possible time to meet at the title attorney’s office and close the deal. We will both sign the paperwork and you will walk away free of the burden of that unwanted house and with cash in hand.

But How???

We have cash on hand ready to close deals. That is a huge benefit of working with NOLA Buys. This means that we do not require a bank or lender to close the deal. When a lender is involved, they are the ultimate decision maker…NOT THE BUYER. They will require an appraisal on the property, and this can take weeks to perform. If the property does not appraise, no deal. This also mean that there are no official inspections on the house. A lender will require official inspections before they even consider approving the deal. This also takes time to schedule the inspector, have them come out and assess the house, and then turn around and write a report for the lender to review. This can also take weeks, and at the end of the day the lender is under no obligation to approve the loan. It might be a month before you find out there is a problem and have to begin the home selling process all over again. We make our own inspection determinations, and we can usually do that the first time we meet you to look at the property.

Will you be listing my house on the MLS or actually buying it?

Great question. We are not agents, and we don’t list houses. We are professional home buyers: We buy houses all over New Orleans metro 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.

Do you pay fair prices for properties?

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!)

Are there any fees or commissions to work with you?

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 to us. We’ll make you an offer, and if it works for your then we will buy your house (and we’ll 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).

How are you different from a real estate agent?

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 months) and then take a percentage of the sale price if they find a buyer. Oftentimes, the agent’s commission is 6% of the sale price of your house (so if it’s a $100,000 house, you’ll pay $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 are not agents, we are 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 my own cash, repair the house, and market it myself to find a buyer (which is the hard part in this market).

Is there any obligation when I submit my info?

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.

What If I Need Help Moving, Or Can’t Afford to Move?

We can help! We can help with the costs of moving. Don’t let this part worry you, we will work something out to make sure you have a smooth transition to your new situation. Whether it is extra time, money to help with moving costs or deposit on a new place, or other resources to help with the process, we are ready, willing and able to help you out to make sure you are safe and protected.

Do You Really Buy Houses In Any Condition?

YES! It really does not matter what sort of condition your house is in. Damage from a fire or a storm, inherited property that has been sitting vacant for years, overgrown yard etc. Whatever situation you are facing we promise you we have seen a house in worse condition…and bought it! Don’t let the condition of your house worry you. As shown in the example above, its all based on numbers and we can find a formula that works for your house.

What If I Need More Than 7 Days?

Again it all depends on you. Some people need to sell immediately and we are able to make that happen. Other people need time to clear out a house or find another place to live etc. We are certainly not in the business of rushing people, and If you need more time that is no problem at all. We close on YOUR schedule, not ours.

What info will you need from me?

When you contact NOLA Buys for help selling your house, you can expect a friendly and helpful conversation. We will ask you for some basic information about your property and your needs, and then we will offer our guidance and recommendations. We want to help you sell your home as quickly and easily as possible, even if that means directing you to another resource. You can always count on us for honest and professional advice.

How Long Does It Take To Receive My Offer?

Once we get to meet you and see the property in person we will be able to prepare an offer that we can turn around to you within 24 hours. We understand your urgency and promise to serve your needs with the utmost expedience.

Can I get my cash offer right away on the phone?

Unfortunately not, we need to come see the property to determine our offer. We can usually give you a ballpark range though and we pretty much work 24/7/365 so rest assured we will be quick to answer your call!

Other “We Buy Houses” companies give an offer right away over the phone, why not NOLA Buys?

You should be VERY WARY of that. Companies that operate in that manner usually have the intention to give you an offer that sounds great, only to come back later and try renegotiate the price down for one reason or another. There are a lot of people out there doing just that. We work hard to give you our best offer the first time, a REAL offer that we can stand behind. How can anyone make a real offer without seeing a house in person. Ask yourself this, would you make a firm offer on ANYTHING that you have never seen before???

That’s why… 

When you call NOLA Buys, we will just get the basic info from you, to make sure that working with us really makes sense for you. If so, we’ll schedule an offer appointment (usually same day or next day). Before the appointment, we will do in-depth research on the property so that we can give you our highest and best cash offer!

What Does The Offer Entail?

We know that simplicity is important to you, and our offers are just that…simple. No 10 page purchase agreements here. Our purchase agreements are 1.5 pages of simple English with no fine print and no legalese. Only the nuts and bolts of the deal spelled out clearly. Who is buying and who is selling. The agreed upon price. The agreed upon closing date. That we are paying cash and covering all fees. That we are buying the property as-is. Boom…simple.

NO LOWBALL OFFERS!

So, how do you know that we won’t make a lowball offer? It’s simple, really. Our business model depends on making you a fair and reasonable offer that you will be happy with. If we were to make a ridiculously low offer, there is no way you would accept it – and if you don’t accept our offer, then we can’t buy your house. It’s in our best interest to make sure that the offer we make is one that makes sense for both parties involved.

Furthermore, keep in mind that we have different options when it comes to the type of offer we can make. If you choose to go with a fast cash option for your home, our offer will be lower than what the house is actually worth on the market. However, we pride ourselves on being an efficient company that is able to make higher cash offers than other home buyers! In the end, you can rest assured knowing that we will not make a lowball offer because it’s simply not good for business. We want to ensure that you are getting a fair deal – after all, that’s how we stay in business. Thanks for considering us as your home buyer!

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Some of our other options do allow us to offer you even more than full market value, but these offers will not be a “sell my house fast for cash” type offer. Give us a call at 504 264 1407 or contact us through the online form to learn about the other options we can offer you.

Do you provide other options or only cash offers? 

Great question. We have been in business for over 20 years and have helped over 1000 families sell their property. During that time we have literally dealt with every possible situation that comes along in the house buying business…successfully! The answer is that it depends on your situation but we have do have other ways to construct offers and deals that may suit your needs better. Either way, there is still never any obligation to accept anything we present to you.

Is the process really that simple???

For you, absolutely it is. For us there is much more involved. Running a business is not easy. We work way more than 40 hours a week, sometimes almost double that. Also, we are taking on a lot of risk. What if we find the repairs are much higher than we expected? Profit can go right out the window. What if the market shifts, or there is another pandemic? Property values will decline and again, profit goes right out the window. You wanna talk about sleepless nights?!?

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