House Buyers of America: Reviews, How It Works, Top Alternatives

House Buyers of America reviews | House Buyers of America vs. competition | Who should use House Buyers of America? | Alternatives | How it works | Locations | FAQs

House Buyers of America offers homeowners a fast, all-cash sale, without the need to prep their home for showings or pay a realtor's commission.

House Buyers accepts properties in any condition across the Mid-Atlantic region and can close in one to four weeks once an offer has been accepted.

While House Buyers has a strong reputation among customers, it's not for homeowners who want to get the highest price for their home.

As a real estate investor that flips homes for a profit, the company specializes in buying distressed homes that might otherwise sit on the market. It also helps homeowners secure a quick home sale in situations such as foreclosure or an unexpected life event.

If your home is in relatively good condition, or you don't NEED to sell in under a month, you're almost always better off listing with an established real estate agent. In 2021, homes sold to investors went for nearly 20% less than the overall median home sale price (just $260,000 compared with $318,000).^[1]

If you're weighing your options, Clever Offers can match you with an agent who will present you with offers from cash buyers and iBuyers. Plus, your Clever agent can tell you what you'd earn selling on the open market.

What is House Buyers of America?

Founded in 2001, House Buyers of America is a residential real estate investment company based in Chantilly, Virginia.

The company purchases homes "as is" to renovate and resell them for a profit. It accepts single-family homes, townhomes, and condos. Payouts are made in cash, and there are no fees or transaction costs for the seller.

Reviews from House Buyers' customers are consistently positive, with home sellers claiming the company makes fair offers and engages in honest business practices.

House Buyers of America currently buys homes in Maryland, northern Virginia, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. The company continues to expand to new markets.

Who should use House Buyers of America?

If you live in the Mid-Atlantic region — and either need cash right away or simply want to avoid dealing with repairs and showings — House Buyers could be a good option.

Reasons to use House Buyers of America

The company helps homeowners in a wide variety of situations, including those facing:

House Buyers of America has consistently high reviews from customers, who cite:

• The team's honesty, professionalism, and excellent customer service
• Fair offers that are higher than competitors'
• Incentives for referring other sellers

House Buyers buys residential properties in any condition — except apartment buildings and vacant lots — and can close on your timeline, in as little as seven days.

Like other "We Buy Houses" companies, House Buyers doesn't charge sellers fees or commissions. There's also no obligation to accept an offer — if it seems too low, you can simply turn it down.

If you do choose to sell to House Buyers, the company will cover all closing costs, including transfer taxes and escrow fees typically paid by the seller.

Top alternatives to using House Buyers of America

Selling to an iBuyer

If your property is in good condition, but you'd still rather skip the traditional sales process, iBuyers are known to offer much closer to fair market value for homes — 98–99%, compared with the 50–70% offered by cash investors like House Buyers.

While most cash buyers purchase homes "as is" to flip for a hearty profit, iBuyers look for homes that they can quickly turn around and resell without putting in a ton of work.

Given their stricter purchase criteria, selling to an iBuyer might not be an option if your home:

• Was built before 1930
• Is on a lot larger than 1–1.5 acres
• Needs major cosmetic updates or repairs
• Is outside a major real estate metro

By buying move-in-ready homes and sticking to healthy real estate markets, iBuyers can usually do more business than the average cash buyer.

While iBuyers' profits are smaller, they make up for it by charging sellers a service fee (usually about 5%) for the convenience of a fast sale at close to market value. Still, iBuyers' fees are far lower than the 30–50% hit you could take selling to a company like House Buyers, and they can usually close just as quickly.

If you're interested in seeing what an iBuyer might offer for your home, both Opendoor and RedfinNow operate in the Washington, DC, area. Redfin has recently expanded its iBuyer service to parts of Maryland and northern Virginia as well.

It's free to request an offer, and you'll usually hear back within 24–48 hours.

» COMPARE: The Best 6 iBuyer Companies Ranked & Reviewed

Selling on the open market

With few exceptions, listing your home through an experienced real estate agent gives you the best chance of getting full market value or above for your home.

While cash buyers can close faster than those who need to wait for loan approval, you don't necessarily need to look off-market for a cash buyer. In fact, nearly one-third of ALL homes sold in 2021 were paid for in cash.

When you need a fast home sale, a real estate agent can deploy multiple strategies at once — giving you the greatest chance of getting home sold quickly for the best possible price.

JC Young, a top-performing realtor in North Texas, makes it a point to walk her clients through a variety of selling options — whether it's listing their home on an auction site, selling directly to an investor or iBuyer, or pricing below market value to attract a bidding war. That way, they can weigh the estimated days on market against the potential net profit.

Established local agents can also tap into a broad network of active buyers and investors looking for your type of property.

If, after weighing your options, you decide a home buying company is the way you want to go, your Clever agent can request offers on your behalf, make sure they're reasonable, and represent you during the negotiations. Your Clever agent can also tell you what your home would get on the open market.

House Buyers of America vs. other cash home buyers

Among cash home buyers, House Buyers of America has earned an impeccable reputation backed by hundreds of five-star customer reviews.

If you're looking for a fast cash offer on your home, and live near the Baltimore, Philadelphia, or Washington, DC, metro areas, we recommend giving House Buyers a try.

However, there are a number of well-reputed home buyers in the area, so researching multiple companies is probably wise.

Cash buyers range in scale from local house-flippers to corporate real estate developers operating in all 50 states.

Most cash buyers can close a home sale within three weeks of signing a purchase agreement, sometimes in as little as seven days (though customer reviews indicate that closing times vary).

The downside of selling to a cash home buyer is that most offer only 50–70% of a home's after-repair value — meaning they'll try to pay as little as $60,000 for a home they intend to sell for $120,000, sometimes only a few weeks later.

WARNING

While some operators have built strong reputations for their honesty and professionalism, a few bad apples have been known to prey on homeowners in difficult situations — using high-pressure sales tactics to try to get sellers to accept lowball offers.

Get an estimate of your home's value before you accept an offer

To avoid feeling ripped off by a cash buyer, it pays to do your homework. A good place to start is by asking a reputable real estate agent to conduct an analysis of your home's fair market value to compare against cash offers.

Most home buyer companies will provide you with a preliminary offer in just 24–48 hours. However, the initial offer may change based on additional details discovered during a walk-through, inspection, and title search.

In addition to helping you weigh offers against the true market value of your home, a real estate agent can review the contract details and help with negotiations.

MarketPro Home Buyers: Covers moving expenses

MarketPro is a well-known cash buyer operating in many of the same markets as House Buyers of America, including parts of Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

In addition to purchasing homes directly, MarketPro also acts as a wholesaler: selling signed purchase contracts to other investors through a listing portal (something the company's not entirely up front about on its website).

MarketPro claims to offer approximately 10% less than what a home might sell for on the open market, more than most other cash buyers. The company also covers sellers' moving expenses — a unique perk that House Buyers doesn't offer.

Reviews from customers who have sold their homes to MarketPro are mostly positive and include themes such as:

• A smooth process that goes just as advertised
• Professional staff that responds quickly and honestly to questions
• Fair offers, with clear explanations of the price
• Assistance with packing and moving

Complaints are primarily about the company's spammy marketing tactics, with several reviewers claiming to have gotten repeated unwanted texts about purchasing their properties.

A few customers also complained that MarketPro canceled their home sale late in the process, after the investor the company had sold their contract to backed out.

» READ: Our complete review of MarketPro

HomeVestors: The 'We Buy Ugly Houses' company

Known for its moniker, "We Buy Ugly Houses," HomeVestors makes quick offers on distressed and hard-to-sell properties. Once an offer is accepted, the sale can close in as little as three weeks.

HomeVestors has 800 U.S. franchises covering 46 states, and each one is independently owned and operated by a local real estate investor.

While we couldn't find reviews for every HomeVestors office, customer ratings on Yelp and Google vary greatly by location.

Positive HomeVestors reviews revolve around familiar themes, such as convenience, ease, and speed. When you contact the company, a representative comes to you to make an offer. After agreeing to the price and signing a few documents, you can close in a few weeks.

On the other hand, negative reviews for HomeVestors include complaints about:

• Feeling pressured and rushed to sign a contract
• Offers that seem way too low
• Spammy marketing tactics

» READ: Our complete review of HomeVestors

We Buy Houses: Largest cash buyer in the U.S.

Founded in 1997, We Buy Houses is one of the best-established house buying companies in the country. The company has 2,700 offices spread across the U.S.

Each We Buy Houses office is independently owned and operated by a vetted real estate investor who has the exclusive right to use We Buy Houses marketing materials and tools in their territory.

While reviews vary by office, our analysis of more than 500 Google and Facebook reviews returned an average rating of 4.6 out of 5.

As with most house-buying companies, customers appreciate the clear, easy process and strong communication from We Buy Houses reps.

Negative We Buy Houses reviews are rare and come primarily from home buyers who are disappointed with the quality of the remodels on homes they have purchased.

» READ: Our complete review of We Buy Houses

How selling to House Buyers of America works

To get started with House Buyers of America, you can visit housebuyersofamerica.com or call (866) 980-0731.

Step 1: Request a preliminary offer

You'll provide basic property info like the address, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, year built, and current condition. You'll get an initial offer in as little as 10 minutes.

Step 2: Schedule a walk-through

If you wish to move forward with the initial offer, a property consultant will come to your home to verify its condition and ask any follow-up questions. After the walk-through, they'll present a final offer and purchase agreement (contingent on a third-party inspection and clean title report).

Reviews mention that the company is low pressure and gives you plenty of time to consider the offer before accepting.

Step 3: Get an inspection

Following the walk-through, House Buyers of America will order a detailed inspection of your home. If the inspection report turns up any property faults that weren't discovered during the initial walk-through, your offer could be lowered — though this wasn't a common complaint among reviews.

Step 4: Close on your timeline

House Buyers lets you choose a closing date between seven days to nine months of signing the purchase agreement. Numerous customer reviews mention that the company works hard to deliver when a seller needs a fast close.

House Buyers of America reviews and complaints

House Buyers of America is highly rated among customers, averaging 4.8 out of 5 stars across hundreds of verified reviews. Reviewers praise the company's honesty and professionalism throughout the process.

Positive reviews

✅ Clear, easy process

House Buyers reviews indicate that the selling process is thoroughly explained up front and plays out as advertised. Reviewers express appreciation for the company's commitment to meeting deadlines and following through on what's laid out in the purchase agreement.

✅ Higher offers than competitors

Multiple reviews mention that House Buyers of America's offers are both fair and higher than what they'd been quoted by other companies they'd contacted.

✅ Great people to work with

Strong customer service is a consistent theme throughout House Buyers of America reviews. The company's employees are described as "honest," "responsive," "knowledgeable," "professional," "pleasant," and "sincere."

More than one reviewer mentioned that their transaction coordinators "jumped through hoops" to help the sale close on time.

Others appreciated the lack of pressure from the House Buyers sales reps. Rather than urging them to accept an offer quickly, they took the time to answer questions and tell them exactly what to expect moving forward.

Complaints

❌ Offer lowered after inspection

While most sellers are happy with their experiences, one House Buyers of America customer was disappointed that their offer was significantly lowered following the home inspection.

While House Buyers' property consultants take your home's condition into account when making an initial offer, it's possible that your final offer will be lower than expected if issues are uncovered during your third-party inspection.

❌ Too much unwanted mail

Most complaints against House Buyers of America are from homeowners wanting to be removed from their mailing list after being "bombarded" with unsolicited requests to buy their home.

Where is House Buyers of America available?

Headquartered in Chantilly, VA, House Buyers of America buys homes in and around the Washington, DC, metro area (including MD and northern VA). It also claims to buy homes throughout the Mid-Atlantic region.

House Buyers recently expanded its operations into Philadelphia, with plans to keep growing its territory.

House Buyers of America locations

If you're near one of the cities or counties where House Buyers of America operates, it might be worth reaching out to see if it buys homes in your area.

FAQs about House Buyers of America

Methodology

Before writing this review, our research team spent weeks studying each cash buyer service. Our research process included:

• Mystery shopping each company
• Combing through hundreds of online reviews
• Interviewing real estate experts
• Conducting a spreadsheet analysis of each service provider's offerings and ratings

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