Have you been driving anywhere in Michigan to find the ‘we buy houses’ posted on the corners of busy intersections and freeway exits? Sometimes they’re zip tied to street signs or light posts. They rarely last too long until they are torn down only for them to pop up later in a new intersection. What are these signs? Why do they put them up? Is this even a good form of marketing? Here we investigate the depths, origins, and reason you see these bandit signs all over Michigan.
Are We Buy Houses a Rip off?
It depends, like anything the answer is more of a gray area because on the surface the answer is NO, not a rip-off at all. Then again contractors and auto mechanics are legitimate professions but a few bad people in the business and it ruins it for the rest of them. In short, it depends on the situation and these are small business owners who work locally. The best thing you can do is to educate yourself and work with a credible house buyer.
Who it works for:
There are three area where home buyers/we buy houses companies stand out: the as-is offer, the speed, and the convenience of the entire process.
Homes that need work
If you have ever bough or sold a home in the traditional manner, you have probably used a bank for financing. The lender will in turn provide a home inspection. That home inspection is traditionally is very meticulous. If a lender is willing to finance a home anywhere from 50k and up, then you better believe they will want to have collateral in the event the borrower defaults on the mortgage. This is typically no problem, but for home, this is an impossibility. There are homes that would nowhere near qualify for this type of financing based upon the condition of the home. These are the types of homes that work because it bypasses traditional financing. Homeowners in these situations can receive a cash offer for their home that is sold as-is.
This can be a saving grace for many homeowners because they won’t invest into the home anymore than they should. In fact, a lot of times, it’s a budget much larger than they can afford or work they just don’t want to do the work.
Homes that need to be sold quickly
Life happens and homes need to be sold quickly. People will get new jobs and need to move out of the state in a short time or a death in the family could require a quick home sale to settle the estate. The different scenarios are endless and traditional financing can take 30-90 days to close. For some, 30-90 days is way too long. With We Buy Houses Companies, speed and convenience is name of the game. Homes sold for cash.
Sometimes its best for your investment strategy. There are times when it can be more profitable to sell a home quickly before spending more money into the property to get it up to code and up to livable standard.
Is this a good form of marketing?
Hey the 90s called and they want their bandit signs back…Yes bandit signs are a little but old school and you probably have been luck with having a website or social media ad but they do work. For many of these sign owners, bandit signs are a cheap form of marketing and as a small business owner, cheap marketing is the only way of marketing. The only thing is, you must buy a lot of these signs because they get torn down by local authorities.
Are the signs illegal?
Yes. Though a minor infraction in some municipalities, we buy houses signs are illegal and why they get torn down so much. They can be just downright tacky sometimes. A lot of people don’t like the way they are displayed in the city and think it can be distracting to drivers. If you ever speak to some of these sign holders, they will tell you they get nasty calls along with home sellers.
Should I call them?
Most of us are all about small businesses, but you should probably go with a company with a good track record. Here at Anderson Home Paths, we buy houses, but we buy houses without the signs. We work locally in the metro Detroit Area and are a veteran owned business. We have outstanding google reviews and strive for ethical business standards. If you are thinking about selling your home fast, then give us a call. We look at your situation and see if we are a good fit.