In most cases, you owe nothing. We pay all closing costs including escrow fees, title insurance, recording fees, and any prorated property taxes. If your mortgage payoff and liens total less than our purchase price, you receive the difference as net proceeds at closing. If you're underwater (owing more than the home's value), we pursue a short sale where the lender agrees to accept our offer as full satisfaction of the debt, and you walk away with zero deficiency liability in most cases. California is generally a non-recourse state for purchase-money first mortgages, meaning lenders cannot pursue you personally for shortfalls on your original purchase loan.

Selling before the trustee sale prevents a foreclosure from appearing on your credit report, which is a significant protection. Foreclosures remain for 7 years and typically drop credit scores 200–300 points. If you're already behind on payments, those late payments will appear on your report, but the impact is far less severe than a completed foreclosure. Your credit score will reflect 'paid settlement' or 'closed' status on the mortgage rather than 'foreclosure' or 'repossession,' making it easier to qualify for future housing, auto loans, and employment that requires credit checks. Most Delano sellers see credit recovery begin within 12–18 months after closing a pre-foreclosure sale.

Yes. You can sell at any point up until the trustee sale actually occurs, which in California happens at a public auction (often on the county courthouse steps) at the date and time specified in your Notice of Trustee Sale. Even if the sale is scheduled 20 days out, we can close in 7–10 days if you act immediately. The key is contacting us as soon as you receive the notice. Waiting until 5 days before the auction leaves almost no margin for title issues, lender payoff delays, or escrow processing. California Civil Code Section 2924 requires a minimum 20-day notice, and trustees can postpone the sale if you have an active purchase contract, but they are not obligated to wait beyond the scheduled date.

No. We buy homes in as-is condition with zero repairs, cleaning, or cosmetic improvements required. If your property has deferred maintenance, code violations, broken appliances, or even health-and-safety issues like mold or roof damage, we still close. You're not expected to spend money you don't have to make the home presentable. We factor all repair costs into our offer price using contractor-grade estimates, then handle the work ourselves post-closing. This eliminates the catch-22 most foreclosure sellers face: needing to sell to avoid financial disaster, but lacking the cash to make the home saleable through traditional channels.

A short sale requires your lender's approval to accept less than the full mortgage payoff. We submit a complete offer package including our purchase contract, your hardship letter, recent pay stubs or unemployment documentation, bank statements, and a broker price opinion (BPO) showing current Delano market value. The lender reviews the package over 30–90 days and either approves, counters, or denies. Approval rates are highest when you can demonstrate genuine hardship (job loss, medical emergency, divorce) and when our offer is within 10% of the BPO value. If approved, the lender typically waives any deficiency (the difference between what you owed and what they accepted), and you avoid foreclosure. We handle all lender communication and document submission at no cost to you.

We charge zero fees to the seller. No commissions, no administrative fees, no processing charges, and no assignment fees. Our profit comes from purchasing below retail market value and either reselling after repairs or holding as a rental investment. Traditional realtor sales cost 5–6% in commission plus 1–2% in seller concessions and closing costs; selling to us eliminates all of that. You receive a single net proceeds number at closing, and that's exactly what you walk away with (or, in short sales, you walk away with zero out-of-pocket cost and zero deficiency liability).

Yes. Delinquent property taxes are handled as part of our title clearance process and paid from closing proceeds, so you don't need to bring cash to settle the debt. Kern County assesses a 10% penalty on the first installment and 1.5% monthly penalty on subsequent delinquencies, and after five years of non-payment the county can initiate a tax sale. If your property is in the early stages of tax delinquency (1–3 years behind), we pay the full amount owed plus penalties at closing and deduct it from the purchase price. This prevents the county from placing a tax lien or initiating foreclosure proceedings separate from your mortgage lender's foreclosure action.