Got a House in Rough Shape? Sell It Fast. No Fixes, No Cleaning, No Drama

Let's not pretend.

Your house needs work. Real work.

Maybe the foundation's doing that fun North Texas thing where it slowly tries to escape into the earth. Maybe the roof leaks every time the sky sneezes. Maybe the AC died during the Obama administration. Maybe there's a mystery stain on the ceiling you've stopped asking questions about. Plumbing groans. Electrical is sketchy. The place feels tired and if it was a ball you'd yeet it across the yard.

That's where we come in.

We're Ugly Home Buyers. We buy houses that are beat up, outdated, half-broken, or fully wrecked all over the Dallas Fort Worth metroplex.

• That house in Wylie with the busted foundation? We'll take it.
• That place in Euless with the roof giving up on life? Yep.
• That vacant property in Mansfield that hasn't seen a human since pre TikTok? We're into it.

You don't fix a thing.
You don't clean a thing.
You don't spend a dollar.

We buy ugly houses for cash. It's literally the whole game.

This guide walks you through what "disrepair" really means, why most buyers can't touch homes like yours, what repairs actually cost in DFW, and why selling to a real cash buyer is usually the smartest way out.

Alright. Let's break it down.

What "Disrepair" Really Means (Not Realtor Fantasy Words)

Realtors love soft phrases like "needs TLC," "great bones," or "handyman special."

Cool. But you're not here for poetry.

Here's what we mean when we say disrepair:

1. Uninhabitable (The "Nope" Level)

These are houses that aren't safe to live in without major work. Stuff like:

• serious mold
• lead or asbestos hazards
• foundation failure
• roof collapse or major structural damage
• fire damage
• massive water damage
• no working utilities
• city code violations or condemnation

We see these constantly in DFW.

North Texas soil is basically a foundation assassin. That clay swells and shrinks and will wreck a slab over time. We've seen houses in Sachse and The Colony where the foundation moved so much the walls started separating from the ceiling. That's not character. That's physics bullying your house.

Roofs get destroyed here too. Hail is basically a seasonal sport. We've bought houses in Mansfield where daylight was coming through the ceiling.

Freeze damage from 2021 is still haunting people. Burst pipes, mold growing in walls, floors rotting out. Some owners never had the time or money to deal with it.

Normal buyers can't buy these. Banks won't finance them.

Only cash buyers will. Like us.

2. Major Disrepair (Still Bad, Just Standing)

The house is technically livable, but you're looking at fifty grand or more in repairs and any regular buyer is going to flinch.

Examples:

• foundation cracks that are spreading
• roof leaks in multiple spots
• dangerous old wiring
• corroded plumbing
• HVAC barely hanging on
• visible mold
• hoarding situations
• years of neglected maintenance

You've probably seen houses like this in Balch Springs, Forney, or Seagoville. Still a house, but it's a project.

3. Moderate Disrepair (Not a Total Wreck, Still Expensive)

This is the "death by a thousand cuts" category.

• aging roof that's near the end
• smaller foundation issues
• outdated electrical
• plumbing that needs replacing soon
• HVAC older than your favorite band
• cosmetic disaster everywhere

You're still spending thirty to fifty grand to make it market ready.

Why Traditional Buyers Can't Buy Houses Like Yours

Here's the choke point: financing.

Most buyers don't have cash. They need a loan. And loans come with rules.

FHA Buyers? Forget It.

FHA loans are what a lot of first-time buyers use because they can put only three and a half percent down. But FHA appraisers are strict.

If your house has:

• foundation cracks
• roof problems
• no working utilities
• safety hazards
• peeling paint, especially pre 1978
• busted heating or cooling
• major plumbing or electrical issues

...it's probably failing FHA inspection.

And even if someone wanted the house, they can't afford purchase and repairs. So FHA buyers are basically out of your universe.

Conventional Loans Aren't Much Better.

Conventional financing is less picky than FHA, but lenders still want the house to be safe and structurally sound.

Mold, major fire or water damage, foundation problems. Those are red flags. Banks don't want to lend two hundred fifty grand on a house that's worth one hundred fifty until someone dumps seventy into it.

The 203(k) Loan Exists, But It's a Pain.

Yes, FHA 203(k) loans technically allow buyers to roll repair costs into the mortgage.

In practice?

• you need a HUD consultant
• renovations have to meet a minimum cost
• paperwork is heavy
• timelines are slow
• sellers hate waiting
• deals fall apart constantly

We've watched a bunch of these crumble in DFW. Good program on paper. Mess in real life.

So What's Left?

Cash buyers. People or companies that can buy without a bank breathing down everyone's neck.

That's us.

What Repairs Actually Cost in DFW (Spoiler: It Adds Up Fast)

You're probably thinking, "Maybe I fix it and list."

Cool. Let's look at what that really costs around here.

Foundation Repair

National averages are cute, but DFW soil doesn't care about national averages.

We regularly see:

• ten to eighty grand for serious foundation work

A house in Wylie with big slab movement? Thirty to fifty grand easy.

Roof Replacement

Typical fifteen hundred square foot DFW roof:

• basic shingles: eight to twelve grand
• higher grade shingles: twelve to eighteen grand

If hail wrecked it and insurance won't cover it anymore, that's full price.

HVAC Replacement

In Texas, living without AC is basically a slow-motion hostage situation.

• new system: eight to fifteen grand
• add ductwork: plus five grand

Electrical Rewiring

Old wiring is common in older DFW pockets.

• full rewiring: eight to fifteen grand
• new panel: two to four grand

Plumbing

• replumb house: eight to fifteen grand
• sewer line replacement: three to ten grand

Water Damage and Mold

Post-freeze damage is still everywhere.

• minor repair: five to ten grand
• major mold remediation: fifteen to forty grand
• full gut rebuild: fifty grand plus

The Real Total

Let's say your house in Rowlett needs:

• foundation: thirty five grand
• roof: ten grand
• HVAC: twelve grand
• electrical: eight grand
• plumbing: six grand
• water damage: eight grand
• interior updates: fifteen grand

Total: ninety four grand.

And that's before:

• you manage contractors for months
• you pay taxes, utilities, and insurance the whole time
• you discover extra problems mid-repair (you will)
• you wait forever because contractors in DFW are slammed

Most people don't want that fight. For good reason.

The Hidden Costs Nobody Mentions

Carrying Costs While You Fix It

Six months of repairs (optimistic) means:

• taxes: five hundred to one thousand plus per month
• insurance: two hundred to four hundred per month
• utilities: three hundred to five hundred per month in summer

One to two grand per month just to hold the property.

That's six to twelve grand gone, even if you never touch a hammer.

Contractor Roulette

Good contractors are booked out months. Cheap contractors are a coin flip.

We've seen:

• no-shows
• half finished then vanished
• budget ballooning
• straight-up scams

Managing a rehab is basically a part-time job you didn't sign up for.

Surprise Problems

This is the rule, not the exception.

• foundation quote turns into a bigger job
• roof decking is rotten underneath
• plumbing repair uncovers mold
• old wiring opens a whole new can of nope

Every ugly house has surprises. They're never fun surprises.

How DFW Homes Usually End Up Like This

We see the same stories over and over:

• elderly owners fall behind on maintenance
• rentals get trashed or abandoned
• inherited houses sit vacant for years
• job loss leading to foreclosure pressure
• divorce limbo
• and yes, the 2021 freeze wrecked thousands of homes

You're not alone. This stuff happens. But now you need a clean exit.

Your 3 Options (And Why Only One Makes Sense)

Option 1: Fix It, Then List

This only works if you've got:

• a big cash cushion
• time to burn
• high tolerance for stress
• and a weird love of contractor phone calls

Even after you fix it, you'll pay:

• realtor commission
• closing costs
• and you still might not get back what you spent

Option 2: List It As-Is With a Realtor

You can do it. People try.

But here's what happens:

• normal buyers can't finance it
• buyer pool shrinks to almost nothing
• you get low offers
• deals fall apart
• time on market drags
• you keep paying holding costs

We've seen DFW houses sit a year like that. That's twenty to twenty five grand burned in holding costs alone.

Option 3: Sell to Ugly Home Buyers for Cash

This is the cleanest path if you want speed, certainty, and no repairs.

Here's how it works:

1. Call us. Tell us what's going on.
2. We look at it. Anywhere in DFW.
3. We give you one cash offer. No games.
4. You choose closing. Seven days, thirty days, sixty days. Your call.
5. You get paid. Done.

What you avoid:

• repairs
• contractors
• holding costs
• realtor commissions
• showings
• financing fall-throughs

What you get:

• a fair cash offer fast
• certainty
• a closing timeline you control
• relief

The Ugly Stuff We Buy Every Day

We're not guessing. This is daily life for us.

• foundation nightmares
• roof disasters
• dead HVAC systems
• old, unsafe wiring
• plumbing blowouts
• fire or flood damage
• hoarding situations
• condemned houses

If you're thinking, "Mine might be too far gone..."

Cool. That's our lane.

How Cash Offers Work (Real Numbers)

Let's be transparent.

Cash buyers usually offer something like sixty five to seventy percent of ARV (after-repair value), minus repairs and carrying costs.

It looks like this:

ARV (what it's worth fixed)
minus repair costs
minus holding costs
minus selling costs
minus our profit (because yes, this is a business)
equals your cash offer

Example: Rowlett House

• ARV: two hundred fifty grand
• repairs: sixty grand
• profit: thirty grand
• holding costs: eight grand
• selling costs: seventeen and a half grand

Offer: one hundred thirty four and a half grand

Could you maybe net more listing as-is? Possibly. But you're trading money for time, uncertainty, and stress.

For a lot of sellers, the extra fifteen to twenty five grand isn't worth six months of chaos.

Why We're Different Than Other "Cash Buyers"

We actually buy houses.

A lot of "cash buyers" are wholesalers. They tie up your house with a contract, then try to sell the contract to someone else. If they can't, they bail.

We don't do that.

We buy with our own money. We close.

We know DFW cold.

Every neighborhood, every city, every weird pocket and pricing shift. We know repairs here. We know what's worth saving. We know what isn't.

We're fast and flexible.

Need seven days? Fine. Need sixty days to line up your next move? Also fine.

Want to leave stuff behind? Tenants still inside? Out of state? We handle it.

No pressure, no surprises.

One offer. Clear numbers. Take it or don't. No weird renegotiation at the last second.

What Happens After You Sell

We fix the house.

We bring in crews, deal with city permits, handle the nasty surprises, and rehab it right.

Then we put it back on the market so someone else gets a home they actually want to live in.

Your headache becomes someone else's fresh start. And you get to move on.

Real Talk

If your house is falling apart in DFW, you've got a real problem. But you've also got a real option.

You can:

• dump money into repairs
• wait forever for a unicorn buyer
• or sell it fast, as-is, for cash and be done

Whatever got you here—inheritance, tenants, divorce, foreclosure pressure, years of deferred maintenance—we get it. We're not judging. We're just solving the problem.

We buy ugly houses. The uglier, the better. And yeah, we want yours.