How ugly is too ugly for We Buy Ugly Houses®?
The short answer is we haven’t seen “too ugly” yet. Our 900 franchisees have purchased more than 150,000 condos, townhouses, rentals, single-family homes, and other properties nationwide over the last 29 years. Some of those were houses that could have been challenging to sell on the traditional market.
Here are some before-and-after pictures of a house that our franchisee in Kansas City purchased some time back. It goes to show that sometimes ugly houses still have a whole lot of “luvly” just waiting to get out!
Kitchen
A kitchen like this would be very hard to sell on the traditional real estate market. Garbage and scattered household goods make it almost impossible to see what the kitchen itself looks like. Tripping hazards are all over the floor, and the debris on and around the stovetop burners is a fire hazard. There’s also a good chance that pests are living in the kitchen. Other than the mess, the cabinets are dated, the counters are in poor shape, and the walls need a fresh coat of paint.
In the after picture, you can see granite countertops and updated appliances. The backsplash has been updated with fresh tiles, and the walls have been painted gold to complement the dark wood of the new cabinets. This is the kind of kitchen where buyers can see themselves entertaining friends or cooking a Thanksgiving dinner.
Living room
The living room has a similar problem to the kitchen. The floor is covered with cushions, boxes, and household items, making the room unusable and the floor unsafe to walk across. If there was less of a mess, the fireplace and mantle could be a pleasant touch. The walls are in decent shape, but don’t contribute much to the space.
In the after picture, the living room’s main challenge—a dangerously messy floor—has been cleaned up. An area rug has been added, creating an accent point. The fireplace and mantle have been replaced, giving the room a streamlined, contemporary look. The walls have been painted the same shade of gold that was used in the kitchen, complementing the reds and browns of the brickwork.
The den
While it’s hard to get a sense of the den in the before picture, you can see that it has the same problems as elsewhere. A lot of clutter, trash, and hazards to the occupant’s health and well-being.
In the after picture, the mess has been cleaned up. The walls and window frames have been updated, giving the homeowner an attractive space to work from home, watch a game, or read a good book.
The bathroom
Debris and a kitty litter box makes the shower inaccessible. The counter and toilet area are in fair condition, but it is unlikely that a seller would choose a home with a bathroom in this state.
In the after picture, you see an updated bathroom with new fixtures, a new mirror, and a smaller counter. The shower has been rebuilt, the floor replaced, and the walls repainted. This is now a clean, functional bathroom.
How do houses get ugly?
There is a lot that can go wrong with houses. A flood, a kitchen fire, or a foundation issue can change the look and structure of someone’s house for the worse. Some people deal with issues around health, family, or other parts of life, and this causes them to fall behind on keeping up with their homes. When enough things go wrong, or everything goes wrong at once, it can overwhelm the homeowner and make it hard to get caught back up.
You or a loved one may be facing this kind of situation. If you are, we encourage you to seek out the help and support you need. If the best next step after that is to sell your house, and it has the kind of problems that are likely to scare away most buyers, we hope you’ll call us.
We Buy Ugly Houses® buys houses “as is.”
When you sell with We Buy Ugly Houses, you get the advantages of an “as is” sale. That means you don’t have to clean, renovate, or repair. We’ll even remove unwanted furniture, broken appliances, and trash. Since we started in 1996, we’ve bought houses with serious code violations, houses that have been impacted by natural disasters, and houses where tragedies have taken place. We understand that people face challenges in life, and those challenges can sometimes affect the state of their homes.
Getting started is easy. Just get in touch with us, and one of our property buyers will visit your house. Our initial walkthrough only lasts about 45 minutes. We’ll take a look around, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions and get to know us. Sometimes we’ll make on-the-spot or same-day offers, and we can sometimes close in as little as 3 weeks.
If you have a distressed property, reach out to us. A successful home sale may be closer than you think!
