Ten questions to ask anyone who offers to buy your house

Including us · September 2, 2026

If you are behind on payments or settling an estate, you will get calls and letters from people who want to buy the house. Some are honest businesses. Some are not. These ten questions sort them quickly, and every one of them applies to us.

1. Are you paying a fee to get an offer? Never pay a fee to get an offer. An offer costs the buyer nothing to write. Anyone who charges for one, or for an inspection, or for a consultation, is not a buyer.
2. Is the offer in writing, with the math? A number on the phone is not an offer. Ask for the value they used, the repairs they estimated, and their margin, on paper.
3. Who is the buyer, legally? Ask for the company name and the state it is registered in, and look it up. Ask who will be on the contract.
4. Where will I sign? At a title or escrow company, with a neutral party. Never at the buyer’s office, never at your kitchen table, and never the same day the offer is made.
5. Can I have someone read this first? The answer must be yes. A lawyer, a counselor, a family member. A buyer who objects to that is telling you something.
6. What happens to my mortgage? It should be paid off at closing by the title company, from the sale proceeds, with a payoff statement from the lender. If a buyer proposes to take over your payments while the loan stays in your name, walk away.
7. Who chooses the closing date? You should. Ask what the earliest and latest dates are, and whether you can stay for a period after closing if you need to.
8. Are there any costs to me? With a direct buyer there should be no commission and no repair costs. Ask about closing costs and who pays them, and get it in the contract.
9. What if I change my mind? Ask what happens between signing and closing if you decide not to sell, and what you would owe. The honest answer is short.
10. Will you promise to save my home or stop the foreclosure? If they say yes, end the call. Washington and Oregon both regulate people who make that promise, and a real buyer does not need to make it. We buy the house; we do not rescue it.

How we answer them

No fee, ever. A written offer with the value, the repairs, and our margin on it. Real Equity Solutions, LLC, registered in Washington. You sign at a title company, never the same day. Yes, show it to anyone. Your lender is paid off at closing. You pick the date. No commission and no repair costs to you. And no, we will not promise to save your home.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Dates and rules change; confirm anything you are relying on with a counselor or an attorney.