Mistaken For: An Agent
Agents list property and are paid a commission out of the sale. That is a different transaction from ours in every respect that matters to you.
We buy the property ourselves. Nothing comes out of the price to us and there is no commission, because there is no listing. The corollary is that you do not get an agent's marketing either, and on a house in strong condition that marketing is frequently worth more than our speed.
So Should I Use an Agent Instead?
Mistaken For: A Public Adjuster
A public adjuster works on your insurance claim, for a fee out of the settlement. We do not touch your claim and would be the wrong people to.
Our interest in your settlement figure is opposed to yours, because a larger settlement makes keeping the property more attractive and a sale less likely. That is a plain conflict and it is why we offer no view on whether an adjuster's number is fair. A contractor or a public adjuster is the right source.
Mistaken For: A Wholesaler
The most consequential confusion in this market. A wholesaler signs a contract to buy and then sells that contract to somebody else before closing, so the deal depends on a third party you never meet.
We buy as principal, in our own entity, with our own funds, and we take title. The contract is not assigned and nobody else is introduced to your property between signature and closing.
How Would I Verify That About Anyone?
Mistaken For: A Contractor
We do not repair houses for owners. Where we buy, we arrange the work afterwards for ourselves, which is not the same thing and carries none of the obligations a contractor has to you.
It matters because a contractor and a buyer look at the same damaged house with opposite incentives. A contractor's interest is in the work being extensive; ours is in it being cheap. Neither is a neutral source and you should treat both accordingly.
Mistaken For: The Land Bank
The one specific to this state. A county land reutilization corporation acquires property through the expedited foreclosure process, and section 323.78 contemplates parcels being deeded directly to such a body where it has requested title.
We are not that and have no relationship with it. We are a private buyer, we pay for what we acquire, and the entire point of speaking to somebody like us is that a sale delivers you something where an expedited transfer delivers nothing. The mechanism is set out on our page covering losing the house without selling it.
What We Actually Are
A private buyer of fire-damaged residential property across Columbus and Franklin County, in any condition from smoke to cleared lot, inside the city and out through the suburbs and townships. Claims open, settled, denied and uninsured. Owner-occupied, tenanted, vacant and inherited.
We make money on the gap between what we pay and what the finished property is worth, less the cost of getting there. Nothing is charged to you at any stage, including for a figure or for declining one.
Beyond this county the picture changes and we would be the wrong buyer.
To start, send an address through any form here. Before you do, read the three notices on our page about how the process actually runs, and the questions on our page about how to tell local cash buyers apart.