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How the sales representative from the HomeVestors franchise Revolution Holdings wound up at Deanna Merriman’s St. Petersburg condo in July 2020 is in dispute. Merriman, a prolific journaler, wrote at the time that he had knocked on her door to see if anyone was interested in selling a condo. She sent him on his way, but he continued to return over the next month, she wrote. Henry Dunn, 79, of Lauderhill, Florida, told The Miami Herald that he rejected the $225,000 offer that We Buy Ugly Houses® made on his three-bedroom, two-bath home, thinking it was too low. The Miami Association of Realtors says the median sales price of single-family homes in South Florida is $450,000. This comes from Mark McKellar, a former HomeVestors development agent, and owner of multiple We Buy Ugly Houses® franchises, who spoke to Franchise Business Review about his experiences with the company in its earlier days.
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The investigation also found few jurisdictions have laws or regulations to protect homeowners from aggressive tactics that fall short of outright fraud or elder abuse. One HomeVestors franchisee falsely claimed to a 72-year-old woman suffering from a hoarding problem that city code enforcement officers would take her house, according to court documents. An Arizona woman said in an interview that she was forced to live in her truck after trying unsuccessfully to cancel the sale of her home.
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HomeVestors said it encourages its franchises to only rehab one house at a time, while wholesaling other properties they buy. Its spokesperson also said the company does not target elderly homeowners, adding that people over 70 accounted for less than 20% of its sellers. In Nevada, and more than half of U.S. states, escrow offices, rather than lawyers, handle the process between the signing of a contract to sell a house and the deal closing. Escrow officers are neutral third parties who facilitate real estate transactions by ensuring no one else has a claim to the property and holding funds as the deal is executed. The escrow officer was duty-bound to freeze the process until a resolution was found for the competing contract to buy McNair’s home.
We handle the repairs.We buy houses "as is."
It did it because the escrow officer had refused to discuss the deal, noting that Black Rock wasn’t a party to the sale, he said. After ProPublica contacted Bassett about McNair’s experience with Black Rock, he called her and promised to release her from the contract. A search for lawsuits, liens and other obligations against the title that would prohibit the sale came back clear. Eager to find a buyer for the well-maintained, four-bedroom stucco house, she called a local HomeVestors of America franchise.
A professional license, such as those required for real estate agents, isn’t a guarantee against unethical behavior. But experts said licensing could require a basic education so that wholesalers know such things as real estate laws, what should be included in a contract and what disclosures homeowners are entitled to. Advocates for stronger homeowner protections agree the law should provide an efficient way to cancel a signed real estate contract within a set period under certain circumstances. Or, as an alternative, policymakers could adopt something similar to Philadelphia’s requirement that wholesalers give a homeowner three days to consider a contract before it’s signed.
‘We Buy Houses’ Companies In Phoenix AZ - Bankrate.com
‘We Buy Houses’ Companies In Phoenix AZ.
Posted: Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Inside the “We Buy Ugly Houses” Company
With eight years of editorial and operations experience, she previously managed editorial operations at Contently and content partnerships at Conde Nast. Taryn holds a bachelor's from the University of Florida College of Journalism, and she's written for GQ, Teen Vogue, Glamour, Allure, and Variety. As it turns out, Ug Lee has a great appreciation of homes that may be a little rough around the edges from firsthand experience. Once while he was seeking shelter in the rain, he stumbled upon a pile of debris that turned out to be a spacious cave. With some TLC and sprucing up, Ug Lee was able to rehab the terrain into an inhabitable shelter, a feat that greatly impressed the rest of his tribe, aptly named the Vestoreans. “We are not aware of any complaints since the removal of Cory Evans from the franchise,” the spokesperson said.
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In another era, this boomerang-shaped building might’ve made our most beautiful list. The 1928 structure started out as a hospital designed by Eastern Columbia Building architect Claud Beelman; the metalwork above the entrance and the Art Deco detailing are actually quite elegant. The creepily clean, garishly Smurf-blue stronghold always seems to have its white blinds shut and its 16-foot-tall Scientology sign illuminated; the result feels straight out of 1984.
Editorial integrity
Unbeknownst to her, she had misspelled the recipient’s name on the email. The text message was sent to the office phone number, which Bassett said doesn’t receive text messages. Smith said the CFPB’s complaint form, which is geared toward mortgages, makes it difficult to report predatory contract for deed practices. Senate committee this week that practices uncovered by ProPublica’s investigation into HomeVestors of America are “very troubling” and said the Department of Justice and state attorneys general should be made aware of such actions. Learn more about how we buy houses and why you should sell to HomeVestors. Daniel [HomeVestors franchisee] and his team made it all work easily and quickly.
“We Buy Ugly Houses” CEO Steps Down Following ProPublica Investigation
When you sell to We Buy Ugly Houses®, we buy your house “as is”—and we mean just that. We can buy your house in its current state, regardless of any damage or updates that may be needed. We’ll even remove any unwanted items in your house—just take the things you want, along with our cash in your pocket, and leave the rest for us to take care of. When the estate went to probate, Briscoe demanded money to release his claim on the property. Bonnell and her husband paid him $9,512 after selling the condo for $160,000 last year. After showing her photos of houses in Erie and getting an estimate for moving her things, the sales representative brought Merriman paperwork to sign.
On July 14, McNair closed on the sale of her home arranged by her real estate agent and is on schedule to move to Ohio by the end of the month. Simply mailing a contract to an escrow officer could be a “risky move,” he added. Depending on how enforceable the contract is, such a tactic could open up a person to claims of interfering in a business deal or slandering title by making a false claim to the property, he said. Bassett said he never received the text message or the email McNair sent formally requesting to cancel the contract.
Meanwhile, criminal investigators in Ventura County took an interest in the case. After they found a second elderly victim who was pressured by Evans into selling his house, the district attorney filed felony charges against Evans of attempted grand theft of real property and attempted theft from an elder. He pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted grand theft, dropped his lawsuit against Jimenez and served his sentence on probation.
The largest and most well-known is the “We Buy Ugly Houses” outfit. They are part of a large franchise company based in Dallas called HomeVestors of America. Their website says they have been around since 1996 and have bought more than 100,000 homes. Then an envelope appeared at the office that was handling the sale’s escrow process.
“We require our franchisees to comply with our Systems and Standards, which generally go above and beyond state regulations, and we regularly update our standards to ensure our franchisees do the right thing and act to protect consumers,” she said. We’ve got answers to your questions about getting you cash fast for your house. Keith Gereghty, the franchisee who paid her a visit, made an offer of $82,211 — a number Swanson’s daughter Sherry Nixon believed to be extremely low based on the market. By this time, Reiner could no longer walk and was confined to his bed, he told ProPublica. From the hospital, he tried to fight Hi-Land’s lawsuit by sending a handwritten document to the judge, but it was rejected because he didn’t comply with filing rules. Merriman had moved from Erie, Pennsylvania, to Florida to be closer to family.
While we strive to provide a wide range of offers, Bankrate does not include information about every financial or credit product or service. You likely won’t get full fair market value for your home when you sell to HomeVestors. But if speed or convenience is more important to you, selling this way may well be worth it to you — if that’s the case, your next step is to reach out to the company, either online or by phone.
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