What actually happens after you ask us to look at your house

I have noticed something about this business. The people who call me are not usually the ones who were hardest to convince. They are the ones who finally understood what the next five days would look like.

That makes sense to me. Not knowing what happens next is worse than not knowing the number. So let us talk about the whole sequence, start to finish, including the exits.

YOU ARE NOT COMMITTING TO ANYTHING BY ASKING

This is the piece I want to get out of the way first, because it is where most people stall. Sending me your address does not start a contract. It does not make me your agent. It does not obligate you to take any offer I bring you, or to sell at all.

It starts a conversation. That is the entire commitment level.

STEP ONE, YOU TELL ME ABOUT THE HOUSE

The form asks for the address, what kind of property it is, whether anyone is living there, the general condition, and roughly when you would like to be done. Add anything else you think matters in the free text box.

You do not need to clean anything. You do not need to fix anything. You do not need to have the paperwork in order. Nobody is coming out to look at it yet.

STEP TWO, I LOOK IT OVER AND CALL YOU

I pull what I can from public records, look at what has sold nearby, and call you. We go through condition, access, and timing. If there is anything about the property I do not understand, this is when I ask.

You can ask me anything in that call, including whether you should just list the house instead. I will answer that straight, because a bad fit costs me more time than it costs you.

STEP THREE, YOU GET WRITTEN TERMS OR YOU GET TOLD NO

Here is something worth knowing up front. Not every property qualifies. If it does not fit what I buy, I will tell you that, and I would rather do it in the first call than waste a week of your time.

If it does fit, you get terms in writing. The price, what I am taking on, what you are still responsible for, and an estimate of what you would actually net after costs. Written, not described over the phone.

STEP FOUR, YOU DECIDE. THIS IS THE REAL DECISION

Nothing has been signed at this point, and nothing needs to be. You can take the terms, ask me to change something, sit on it for a week, or say no and never call me again.

I mean that last one sincerely. Some of these conversations end with the person deciding to list, or deciding to stay put for another year. That is a fine outcome. It is information either way.

STEP FIVE, CLOSING

If you say yes, the terms and the date go into a written agreement and the title company handles the rest. You pick the date within reason. I do not need to be at the table and usually am not.

THE TWO QUESTIONS I ACTUALLY GET ASKED

Will you lowball me? I price for the condition and the risk, and I show the math behind where I landed. You can disagree with it. If my number is insulting to you, say so, and we will both know this is not a fit.

How fast can you close? I am going to dodge the tempting version of this answer, because the honest one depends on the title work, whether there are liens, and how complicated the estate or tenancy situation is. I will give you a real range once I know the property, not a number designed to impress you on the first call.

ONE LAST THING

You are allowed to ask for an offer and then decide the whole thing is not for you. That is not wasting my time. It is how this is supposed to work, and I would rather have that conversation than have you sit on a house you are done with because nobody explained the sequence.

Question for you: what is the part of this you would want explained before you would feel comfortable starting? I am genuinely asking, because the answer usually tells me what I should have written instead of this post.