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Back taxes, code liens and judgments are paid off from the sale at closing, so you don't need any cash upfront.
Get cash early for a down payment, rent or your move.
All you have to do is pack.
Or leave it all, we clear it out.
Subject to qualification. When you sell to us.
Advance deducted from your proceeds at closing. See if you qualify ↓
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Yes, you can sell a house with back taxes or liens on it. The liens don't have to be paid before you sell. The title company pays them from the sale price at closing and records the releases, so the buyer gets a clear title. You pay nothing upfront. We check the title early, make a written offer within 12 hours of our call, and tell you what you'll actually keep.
The title company pays the taxes and liens from the sale. You never pay upfront.
We check the title early, so the numbers on your offer hold up.
As fast as 7 days when the title is clear.
We're not tax advisors or attorneys. For questions about your own taxes, or about a lien you want to fight, talk to a CPA or an attorney.
Can you sell a house with back taxes or a lien on it? Yes. A lien is a legal claim recorded against your house for money you owe. It doesn't stop a sale. It just means that debt gets paid out of the sale before you do. If you're behind on property taxes, the county already has a claim on the house, whether or not a lien has been formally filed yet. Either way, the fix is the same: the amount owed is paid from the price at closing.
What you don't have to do:
A normal listing with liens on the title is slow. The agent, the buyer's lender and the title company all want the liens sorted out before the loan is approved, and penalties keep growing while everyone waits. We don't wait on a bank. We pull the title early, see every lien and its payoff, and make a written offer within 12 hours of our call with the comps behind it. If the numbers work, we can close in as fast as 7 days when the title is clear. If they don't, we tell you before you sign anything.
A property-tax lien, an IRS lien, a judgment, an HOA lien and a code-enforcement lien are not the same. The type changes who gets paid first, how long the payoff takes, and whether anyone has to approve the sale. Here are the ones we see most, in plain words.
Owed to your county or city for unpaid property taxes. It usually sits ahead of everything else, including the mortgage. The payoff comes from the tax collector and includes interest and penalties as of the closing date. This is the simplest lien to clear at closing.
Owed to the IRS for unpaid income taxes. The IRS page "Understanding a federal tax lien" explains that this lien attaches to all of your property, not just the house. To sell, the IRS can issue a certificate of discharge, which removes the lien from this one property so the sale can close. The IRS explains how to apply in its Publication 783. Apply early: this step takes time, and the sale proceeds are usually sent to the IRS at closing. A CPA or tax attorney can file it for you.
Someone sued you, won, and recorded the judgment against your house: a credit card company, a contractor, a former business partner. It's paid from the price at closing. The title company requests a payoff and a release from the creditor's attorney.
Unpaid association dues and late fees. The association sends an estoppel or payoff letter, the title company pays it, and the new owner starts clean.
Fines from the city for an overgrown yard, a fence, an unpermitted shed, a house left open. These can grow daily. We buy houses with open code cases and deal with the violations after closing. The fines owed to the date of closing are paid from the price. See also selling a house that needs repairs.
In every case, the title company handles the paperwork, not you.
The bills are piling up and you know what's coming. This is the easiest moment to sell. The county is paid from the price at closing, and the interest stops growing the day you close.
Treat the date as real. Call us with the notice in hand. When the title is clear we can close in as fast as 7 days, and the title company pays the county directly before the sale date.
It can still be sold. We work with your CPA or attorney on the discharge request to the IRS while the rest of the sale moves ahead. The IRS gets paid from the price at closing.
The estate owes the taxes, not you personally, but they still come out of the price. We can wait for probate and work with your attorney. See selling an inherited house.
Fines on an empty house you can't keep up with. We buy it as it stands, open code case and all. See selling a vacant house.
We check the title first and tell you before you sign. If the payoffs are close to or above our price, a sale may not clear them. We say so plainly, and point you to who can help.
You get a written cash offer within 12 hours of our call, with the comps behind it. No obligation, no pressure.
This is where most of the worry goes away, so here is the whole process.
Usually property taxes come first, then the mortgage, then the other liens, in the order the law and the recording dates set. The title company works this out; you don't need to. What matters to you is the last line: the price minus all payoffs is your check.
If property taxes go unpaid long enough, the county can sell its claim. How that works depends on the state and the county, so we can only give you the general shape. Call your county tax collector for your own dates.
Both start with notices in the mail. Open them. The notice tells you how much is owed and, later, the date. A cash sale before that date pays the county in full from the price and keeps the equity for you. If you also have a mortgage and are behind on it, read about selling before a foreclosure auction, because the two often arrive together. To check how your state handles this, start with where we buy and ask us on the call.
Your check is the price minus every payoff. Nothing else comes off it: no commissions, no fees, no closing costs to you on a sale to us. We never ask you for money, before closing or after.
Our offer is lower than a fixed-up retail price. In exchange you skip repairs, commissions, showings and months of waiting. We show the math. You see the comparable sales, the repair estimate and our margin, all in writing, and the penalties stop growing the day you close. If a listing would net you more and the dates allow it, we'll tell you. Compare both on cash offer vs. listing with an agent.
If you qualify, you can also get up to $20,000 before closing, once you sign, deducted from your proceeds at closing, and stay up to 14 days after closing, free, while you move.
See your numberor call (888) 260-1777
A short call tells you where you stand. Have what you can; if you don't have it, call anyway and we'll find it in the public record.
Best if: you need to sell fast, the house needs work, or life got complicated.
Only with Easy Sale
Subject to qualification.
Best if: you are not in a rush and you are OK with showings.
The trade-off
Not sure which is better? On the call we'll tell you what your house would likely sell for on the market and what you'd keep each way. Then you decide.
No pressure
Proof of funds on request
No obligation until you sign
Title company or attorney
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Then a sale may not cover them, and we tell you before you sign, with the numbers side by side. Sometimes a lienholder will accept less, or an attorney can reduce a judgment; we point you to the right person rather than pretend it works. See the card "The liens might be more than the house is worth" above.
No. We never ask you for money. The title company pays every lien from the price at closing. If you qualify, you can get up to $20,000 before closing, once you sign the purchase agreement, deducted from your proceeds at closing.
No. The title company requests the payoff from the tax collector, pays it at closing and records the deed, and the county learns of the sale from that record. Keep every notice the county sends you and bring them to the first call; they tell us the amount and any date we have to beat.
Call today with the notice in hand. When the title is clear we can close in as fast as 7 days, and the title company pays the county directly before the sale date. If a week is truly not enough, we say so on the call rather than take a contract that can't close in time. Your county tax collector can tell you whether paying the overdue amount itself stops the sale.
Often, yes, if there is time to close first; call with the notice in front of you, and see "How much time before a tax sale?" above.
The county records the release next to the original lien, so the public record shows both: the lien and its release. What shows on a credit report depends on the type of lien and the bureau's rules, and we can't answer that for you. Ask a CPA or attorney if a specific report matters to you, and keep the recorded release the title company gives you.
We buy houses for cash; when a home isn't one we renovate, a trusted partner investor buys it on the same terms. Either way, you get proof of funds on request, the closing happens at a licensed title company or attorney, and the price and date in your agreement do not change.
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice.
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P.S. You don't have to decide anything today. Get your number, compare it with what an agent would get you, then decide. Moving help is limited each month.Nothing to decide today. Get your number, compare it with an agent's, then decide. Moving help is limited each month.
A written offer within 12 hours of our call, with the nearby sales behind it.Andy, Founder · 4.9 on Google
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