When Your Property or Title Has Problems

If your property has deferred maintenance, structural issues, title complications, or ownership complexity, you may have been told it's "unsellable" or heard offers that feel insultingly low. This page explains what's actually happening in the market for problem properties and how to understand the offers you receive.

What "Unsellable" Actually Means

When people say a property is "unsellable," they usually mean it can't sell the traditional way—listed with an agent, shown to buyers who get mortgages, closing in 30-45 days with inspections and appraisals.

That's a specific type of sale. It's not the only type.

Properties with deferred maintenance, foundation issues, outdated electrical, or missing HVAC often fail FHA appraisal requirements. Lenders won't finance them. But that doesn't mean no one will buy them—it means people who need financing can't buy them.

Cash is different. Cash doesn't need the property to qualify for anything.

The question becomes: who actually wants to buy properties like this?

The Market That Wants What You Have

There's an entire buyer segment that specifically seeks properties with problems.

Wholesalers look for properties they can put under contract and assign to renovators. Fix-and-flip investors want properties they can improve and resell. Buy-and-hold investors want rental properties at discounts that make the numbers work. Each has different criteria and pays different percentages of value.

Your property's condition isn't a bug in this market—it's the feature. These buyers aren't interested in move-in-ready homes competing with retail buyers. They're interested in properties most buyers can't or won't touch.

For details on how different cash buyer types work and what they typically pay, see Cash and Wholesale Offers.

Knowing buyers exist is one thing. Understanding why their offers look the way they do is another.

Why Offers Look the Way They Do

Cash offers on problem properties follow a formula. Most investors use what's called the 70% rule: they'll pay up to 70% of the after-repair value, minus the cost of repairs.

That 30% margin covers their holding costs while they renovate (roughly 10%), transaction costs on both ends (roughly 10%), and profit (roughly 10%). It's math, not exploitation.

The formula explains why your offers might feel low—but it also explains why different buyers offer different amounts. Their repair estimates vary. Their profit targets vary. Their holding cost assumptions vary. Cash offers for the same property can differ by 15-25%.

This matters. Getting multiple offers isn't just good practice—it's how you find out what the range actually is.

For full investor pricing math and how to evaluate offers, see Cash and Wholesale Offers.

Title Problems Aren't Always Deal-Killers

Title issues stop traditional sales cold. But many have solutions—they just take time rather than offering instant resolution.

Common title problems include unpaid property taxes, mechanic's liens, judgment liens, HOA liens, unreleased old mortgages, and ownership disputes. Most have established processes for resolution.

Simple issues—like an old lien that was actually paid but never properly released—can often be cleared in 2-4 weeks by a title company working with the relevant parties. More complex issues, like disputed ownership or boundary conflicts, might require a quiet title action taking 3-6 months.

Some investors even specialize in properties with title complications. They buy at deeper discounts, accepting the timeline and risk of clearing title themselves. A title problem that seems like a dead end often just means a different buyer pool and a different timeline.

Two situations in particular can feel especially stuck: inherited property with multiple owners, and properties with significant liens.

Heir Property and Liens Have Paths Forward

Two situations feel particularly stuck: inherited property with multiple owners, and properties with significant liens.

Heir property—passed down without a will, now owned by multiple heirs—affects over 1.6 million parcels in the U.S. Twenty-three states have adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, which gives co-owners protections including first right of refusal if someone wants to sell. Options include getting heirs to agree on a sale, buying out other interests, or petitioning for partition with fair market value protections.

Liens respond to leverage. Judgment creditors holding subordinate liens often accept 25-50% of the owed amount when the alternative is getting wiped out in foreclosure. The IRS will subordinate or discount liens to facilitate sales that pay off tax debt. HOA liens have their own dynamics—some states give them partial "super-lien" priority even over first mortgages.

These situations require work and often professional help. But paths exist where "impossible" might feel like the only word.

Navigating This Market Safely

Knowing a market exists doesn't mean every participant is legitimate. Problem properties attract both serious investors and predatory operators.

Legitimate cash buyers have verifiable proof of funds—a bank statement or letter from a financial institution you can confirm. They operate through registered business entities you can look up in state databases. They give you time to think and encourage you to have contracts reviewed.

Warning signs include artificial urgency ("offer expires today"), discouraging legal review, very low earnest money deposits that signal low commitment, and vague contingencies that let them exit without penalty.

Contract terms matter. Look for reasonable earnest money (1-3% is standard), inspection periods that don't stretch indefinitely, and clarity on whether the contract might be assigned to someone else.

For a complete checklist of red flags and what legitimate operators look like, see Red Flags and Warning Signs.

With this understanding, the real question comes into focus.

The Real Question

Your property's problems—whether physical condition, title complications, or ownership complexity—do affect its market. They limit who can buy it and what they'll pay.

But "limited" isn't "zero." A market exists, and it has logic you can understand. The discount follows a formula. Title issues have resolution timelines. Liens respond to negotiation leverage.

The question isn't whether your property is sellable. It is. The question is whether the price makes sense given what it takes to deal with the problems—and whether you're talking to someone legitimate who can actually close.

Understanding how this market works lets you evaluate whether a specific offer is reasonable or lowball. It lets you compare multiple offers rather than taking the first one. It lets you recognize when someone is trying to exploit your situation versus when they're simply pricing the reality of your property.

For a complete guide to how cash and wholesale offers work, see Cash and Wholesale Offers.