We Buy Ugly Houses Review: How It Works, What It Pays

We Buy Ugly Houses (also known as HomeVestors) is one of the nation’s largest franchise cash home buyers.

Local franchise owners can purchase homes in any condition, pay in cash, and close in as little as three weeks — making We Buy Ugly Houses a solid option for sellers facing financial challenges, tight timelines, or properties in poor condition.

That said, working with We Buy Ugly Houses comes with a significant financial tradeoff. The cash offer is generally well below market value. And because each location is independently owned and operated, service can vary from one location to the next.

If you’re planning to request an offer from We Buy Ugly Houses, it’s smart to get at least one or two competing bids before signing. Sellers with multiple offers to fall back on tend to get better prices and contract terms.

To save yourself some time, consider starting with Clever Offers. With Clever, you can compare legitimate cash offers from top-rated iBuyers, local investors, and more. Recent sellers who compared offers with Clever saw an average price gain of +$66,735. Submit a quick form to find your best offers — no added fees or pressure to move forward.

Is We Buy Ugly Houses worth it?

Companies like We Buy Ugly Houses cater to homeowners who need to quickly offload a property that would be hard to sell on the open market. We Buy Ugly Houses could be a good fit if:

• Your house is in poor condition or in need of major renovations
• Other factors are making your home hard to sell (probate sales, problem tenants, flood zone, etc.)
• You’ve inherited a home but can’t afford to maintain it
• You need to sell extremely quickly due to foreclosure or other financial challenges

In these situations, We Buy Ugly Houses lets you sell your home as is and close on your timeline — with no contingencies, no inspection, and no risk of financing falling through. You can walk away with very little hassle or stress, but there's a definite financial tradeoff that comes from selling directly to a cash buyer.

Property investors need to get a generous discount on purchase price in order to secure a profit when they resell the home at market value later on. Recent data from Redfin shows that investors typically resell homes for about 55% more than they pay.[1] 

Does We Buy Ugly Houses give good offers?

To get an accurate gauge of how good an offer from We Buy Ugly Houses is, we asked a secret shopper to request an offer for her home — a 1,200-square-foot Cape-style home in suburban New York City.

Prior to requesting the offer, our shopper had two local realtors run comparative market analyses, which gave her a target listing price of about $434,500. A sales rep came out and did a thorough walkthrough of her home, which was in good condition and had a lot of recent upgrades. However, We Buy Ugly Houses offered her just $301,200 for the house — roughly 69% of its estimated market value.

Even after accounting for an estimated $33,000 in closing costs and commissions on a traditional sale, our shopper would have netted about $401,500 with an agent — approximately $100,000 more than the HomeVestors offer. To We Buy Ugly Houses' credit, our secret shopper did note that her sales rep was surprisingly transparent about the tradeoffs of a cash offer, "telling me I would probably get more money if I were to sell it the traditional way using a real estate agent."

The gap between We Buy Ugly Houses' offer price and a home's estimated market value is fairly typical for a cash investor's offer. Most use some version of what's known as the 70% rule, which says to estimate the home's after-repair value based on comparable home sales in the area, multiply that number by 70%, and subtract the projected repair costs to arrive at the offer price. 

That said, investors may adjust their offers up or down based on a property's condition and other factors, such as:

• The desirability of the location
• The cost and complexity of repairs
• Local buyer or tenant demand
• Investment strategy (e.g. quick flip vs. rental with potential price appreciation)
• The amount of risk involved (due to legal issues, problem tenants, buying sight unseen, etc.)

In essence, there's no strict formula for how investors make their offers, so it's worth getting more than one offer before settling.

We Buy Ugly Houses vs. alternatives

We Buy Ugly Houses vs. Clever Offers 

Rather than a single take-it-or-leave-it offer from a company like We Buy Ugly Houses, Clever Offers gives you multiple options to choose from. You can explore direct cash offers from local/national investors, plus hybrid options that give you cash upfront with the ability to list for additional upside. 

You can also test the market with a short-term MLS listing that you can cancel anytime. That way, you can cast a much wider net to see what the market will pay compared to the offers you already have in hand.

We Buy Ugly Houses vs. Opendoor

Opendoor, the nation’s largest iBuyer, will purchase your home as is and close on your timeline. It typically pays more than a cash buyer, although the offer will still be below market value. Final offers may also include deductions for repairs and market conditions.

While We Buy Ugly Houses will purchase homes in any condition, Opendoor has stricter criteria and won’t buy homes in need of significant repairs. You’ll also pay a variable service fee (typically 5%, but may be more depending on the market) to Opendoor, whereas We Buy Ugly Houses charges no fees.

We Buy Ugly Houses vs. We Buy Houses

We Buy Houses is another cash home-buying company with franchises in most states — although it doesn't have as many offices as We Buy Ugly Houses. 

Like We Buy Ugly Houses, the company makes a quick, all-cash offer on homes in almost any condition. It has highly positive reviews and charges no additional fees or closing costs. But offers will still be lower than what you could get selling on the open market.

We Buy Ugly Houses vs. HomeLight Simple Sale

HomeLight Simple Sale (or HomeLight Cash Offers) is an offer marketplace that compiles multiple preliminary cash offers for you to compare. The service is free, and there’s no obligation to accept the offer.

You can expect the offers to be similar to the one you’ll get from We Buy Ugly Houses. But with HomeLight Simple Sale, you have the option to reject the cash offer and connect with a realtor through HomeLight’s agent-matching service. This gives you the opportunity to sell your home for a higher price on the open market.

» MORE: Looking for more cash buyers near you? Check out the best companies that buy houses for cash to see our comprehensive guides for all 50 states. 

We Buy Ugly Houses reviews and complaints

What recent We Buy Ugly Houses customers have to say

We analyzed 1,622 recent We Buy Ugly Houses reviews (all reviews since 2023) across 3rd-party platforms like BBB, Google, and Yelp. Many We Buy Ugly Houses customers said franchise reps were surprisingly transparent with their offers and that they received a fair price for their home, quality service, and good communication. A very small percentage of reviews cited rude company reps and unwanted marketing, but these were mostly scattered across a few local franchises and not representative of the company as whole.

How We Buy Ugly Houses works

We Buy Ugly Houses has a vast network of investors who buy homes for cash. Sellers don’t need to worry about repairing, updating, or even cleaning the property. 

If you want to sell your home through We Buy Ugly Houses, here’s what to expect:

1. Complete an online form to book a no-obligation home review.
2. Confirm your details with the company. Then, your local branch will reach out to schedule a walkthrough.
3. Once the walkthrough is complete, you’ll receive a cash offer — sometimes on the same day.
4. You can accept the cash offer and move to the closing process or deny the offer and walk away.
5. Close on your home in as little as three weeks.

To get a firsthand look at how the process works, we sent a homeowner in suburban New York City through the HomeVestors experience as a secret shopper.[2]

After calling in response to a mailer, our shopper had an appointment scheduled within a week. The evaluator arrived on time, professionally dressed in a company-branded shirt, and carried a checklist during the home tour. "Before the home tour, we sat down to talk briefly about why I wanted to sell, when I was hoping to move, and what I was looking for in terms of an offer," our shopper reported.

Within 15 minutes of completing the walkthrough, the evaluator presented a written offer for $301,200, which was more than $100,000 off from the listing range of $400,000–469,000 that two independent realtors had suggested. 

Our shopper also reported that there was little room for negotiation:"I gave them an opportunity to come back with a better number, but they were unwilling to do so."

While our mystery shopper ultimately declined the offer, she gave HomeVestors high marks for their professionalism and communication, noting that there was no pressure from her local rep to move forward: "He was very gracious. He said he understood, and in no way tried to talk me into accepting it."

We Buy Ugly Houses fees and other costs

There’s no upfront cost to seek an offer from We Buy Ugly Houses, and the company doesn’t charge any fees or commissions. The cash buyer also covers closing costs.

However, these costs will be baked into the offer price, along with the investor's repair estimate and desired profit margin.

What types of homes does We Buy Ugly Houses buy?

We Buy Ugly Houses will buy almost any property except mobile homes. This includes houses that are distressed, structurally unsound, located in flood zones, or occupied by tenants. The company will also purchase some commercial properties.

Is We Buy Ugly Houses a legitimate company?

Yes, We Buy Ugly Houses is a legitimate business based in Dallas, Texas. It operates under the umbrella of HomeVestors of America, Inc., and has an A+ rating on the BBB.[3]

However, the company has faced serious scrutiny in recent years — and some of its franchisees have been involved in documented misconduct.

How to evaluate an offer from We Buy Ugly Houses

Because there’s no fee to seek a cash offer from We Buy Ugly Houses — or obligation to accept it — it doesn't hurt to request an offer to compare against a few others. But you’ll want to look beyond the purchase price.

• Know your home value. “Clarify how the cash offer compares to your property’s retail market value. If possible, get a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a realtor,” says investor Brian Harbour, Senior Acquisition Manager at Real Deal Home Solutions. “Factor in saved costs like repairs, commissions, and closing fees to evaluate if the cash offer is truly advantageous.”

• Find out if you're dealing with the end buyer. Some companies that present themselves as direct buyers are actually wholesalers who put your home under contract and then sell that contract to another investor for a higher price than what they're offering. Wholesaling adds another party to the transaction, and there may be loopholes that let the investor out of the contract if their buyer falls through. Look for language that refers to the "buyer and/or assigns" or clauses that allow the investor to market the home while you're under contract. While wholesaling isn't necessarily bad, you may want to ask for a higher earnest money deposit to ensure you're protected.

• Make sure all the key details are in the contract. The earnest money deposit, sale price, closing date, inspection period, and other key terms should be clearly stated in the purchase agreement. If it’s not in writing, you’ll have no recourse if the buyer makes last-minute changes or backs out of the deal altogether.

• Ask for proof of funds. Also, ask for a proof-of-funds letter from the buyer's banking institution verifying that the buyer has sufficient funds to cover the transaction costs. A legit and experienced cash buyer should be happy to give this to you.

• Make sure there's a meaningful earnest money deposit. A deposit gives the buyer skin in the game. Investor Igor Avratiner of We Buy Houses Philadelphia says he typically puts down 1–2% of the sale price, though he's flexible for sellers who want more assurance. "We've had people say, 'I need you to put down $20,000 because if you back out, this is going to jam me up.' And we'll do that."
  
• Be wary of an offer that's significantly higher than others. “The biggest thing to look out for is when an investor tells you a price much higher than other offers,” says investor Charles Chandler. “It is likely that the offer is a bait and switch tactic, which means they will lock you in on a price that sounds good but will come back before closing to price drop.”

• Remember that getting a cash offer isn’t an either/or scenario. You can get offers from cash home buying companies to use as a baseline. Then, set your terms with a listing agent and give them a timeframe to beat your highest offer. That way, you'll know for sure what buyers are willing to pay and can be confident that you’ve made an informed decision without leaving money on the table. Getting even one or two competing offers could net you significantly more from your home sale.

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About our reviews

Our review process includes gathering all verifiable customer reviews from 3rd party sites such as BBB, Google, Consumer Affairs, TrustPilot, and Yelp. In addition to tallying total review counts and average customer ratings, we run all available reviews through AI to identify the most common positive and negative themes mentioned across the entire review set.

Whenever possible, we also talk directly to customers, company reps, and industry professionals (such as real estate agents) who have firsthand experience with the company.

For our We Buy Ugly Houses review, we consulted the following sources:

• A secret shopper based in suburban New York, who requested an offer from the company and met with a We Buy Ugly Houses sales rep at her home
• Charles H. Chandler III, CEO and co-founder of My Tennessee Home Solution
• Igor Avratiner, Franchise licensee at We Buy Houses Philadelphia
• Brian Harbour, Senior Acquisition Manager at Real Deal Home Solutions
• We also reached out directly to We Buy Ugly Houses' corporate office, but they declined our request for comment