How Jeffrey and Sandee Sold Their Vacant Douglasville House From Tennessee

Jeffrey and Sandee bought their Douglasville house while it was still being built, and they owned it for more than 30 years. It was their home for a long time, but they had moved to Tennessee years before they called us. In the last few years, Jeffrey's father lived in the house. After a family loss, it sat empty.

Empty, but not cleared out. The house was still full of belongings, theirs from years ago and his father's from more recently. Jeffrey drives a commercial truck for a living. Between his schedule and the drive from Tennessee, he did not have the time to fix the house up, or the money to pay someone else to, and even finding the days to come clean it out was hard.

Why a long-held house can be hard to sell in Douglasville

Douglasville has steady demand for move-in-ready homes. A house that has been lived in for three decades without major updates is a different sale. Most retail buyers want new systems and fresh finishes, and many loans will not cover a house that needs a lot of work. Listing it the usual way often means paying for repairs up front, clearing the house, keeping it clean for showings and hoping a buyer's inspection does not kill the deal.

Doing all of that from another state is harder still. Every contractor visit, every showing and every surprise turns into another long drive or another favor to ask of someone local.

What stood in the way

• The owners lived in Tennessee, hours from the house.
• The house was packed with belongings, which hides a home's best features and makes it hard to show.
• It needed far more than cosmetics: an air conditioning system near the end of its life, a deck and back door that needed replacing, worn flooring, siding and gutter work, and some interior areas that needed to be taken down to the studs.
• The title search turned up a lien on the property along with the mortgage, and both had to be cleared before anyone could close.
• Jeffrey's work schedule left very little time to manage any of it.

How we solved each one

We made Jeffrey and Sandee an offer for the house exactly as it was, with no repairs and no deep clean required first. They thought it over and called back two days later ready to move forward. From there, our team carried the load, following the same simple process we use on every house.

• We had a full home inspection done right away, so everyone knew exactly what the house needed, and offered that report free to interested buyers.
• We scanned the house for a 3D virtual tour and had the photos digitally cleared of furniture, so buyers could see the rooms and the full basement instead of the clutter.
• We were upfront in the listing about the work the house needed, so there were no surprises later.
• Within days of going on the market, the house was under contract.
• Our closing attorney handled the title work and arranged for the mortgage and the lien to be paid off at closing.
• Our team stayed in touch with Sandee ahead of closing and made sure the attorney had every document and notarized form needed, so the paperwork could be handled long distance.

We had nearly three months on the contract. We closed in 26 days.

Jeffrey and Sandee signed with us in March, and the sale closed less than four weeks later. Every lien on the house was paid off at the closing table, and the house they had owned for more than 30 years was finally off their plate.

Thank you, Jeffrey and Sandee, for trusting us with a house that meant so much to your family.

Own a house in Douglasville you can't get back to?

Maybe you moved away years ago, or a parent was living in the house and now it is sitting empty and full of things. You do not have to fix it, clear it out or manage it from another state. We buy houses in Douglasville and across Georgia as-is, and close on a timeline that works for you.

Learn how our process works, read what other Georgia homeowners say about us, or check our common questions. Then tell us about your house and we will give you an honest number, with no pressure either way.