San Antonio · Repairs
House in San Antonio
that needs major repairs?
A bad roof or a moving foundation knocks out most financed buyers. Cash still closes. Listing can net more if you can fund the work and wait.
How the offer is built
Three numbers
After-repair value, minus the work, minus the buyer's room. Not 70% of value in your pocket.
LotLine · the arithmetic
What a roof and a foundation cost you
Financed buyers need an appraiser and a lender to accept the house. A roof at the end of its life or a foundation that has moved usually stops that path. A cash buyer prices the house as it sits, then does the work after closing.
The offer is not '70% of value' in your pocket. That slogan is what some investors use as a starting rule for themselves. It is not what you walk away with, and LotLine will not quote it as your net.
| After-repair value | What the house would sell for to a retail buyer after the work. Example: $220,000 on that street, after a new roof and foundation repair. |
|---|---|
| Minus the work | Example: $18,000 roof, $22,000 foundation, $8,000 in the other items a walkthrough always finds. That is $48,000 of job cost, before surprises. |
| Minus the buyer's room | Title, holding, insurance, and the margin the person funding the deal requires. If that room is $32,000 on this example, the offer is about $140,000, not $154,000 (70% of $220,000), and not $220,000. |
Those dollars are an illustration of the arithmetic, not a quote on your house. Your street and your walkthrough set the real numbers. If you can pay for the roof and wait for a listing, that path can still net more. No fee to get an offer. Not a contractor bid. Texas Property Code 5.008 still applies on most sales: as-is does not hide a known bad roof or foundation. If you are asking about selling as-is, not about the work, see sell as-is.
Check it yourself
- Seller's Disclosure Notice 55-1 trec.texas.gov
LotLine · what happens next
How a sale works here
| The call | About ten minutes. You describe the house and what is going on. That is enough for a number. |
|---|---|
| The number | A real number on the call or shortly after, from your description, recent sales on your street, and repair cost. It holds if the house is as described. |
| The walkthrough | About fifteen minutes, in person or remote. If the house matches, the number stands. If something material was left out, the number moves. You hear it before you are bound. |
| Title | A title company moves the money. Taxes, liens, and payoffs come off the proceeds. Who pays what is in the contract. |
| Assignment | LotLine may close or assign the contract to a cash buyer. If assignment is part of your deal, you see it in writing before you sign. |
| Your cost | Nothing to LotLine. No fee to get an offer. |
If the house is in decent shape and you have sixty or ninety days, a listing agent usually nets you more. This path is for when time, condition, or hassle is the actual problem. Nothing on this page is legal advice.
Questions people ask
Will a cash buyer buy a San Antonio house with foundation damage?
Often, yes, because the buyer is not asking a lender to accept the house. The damage comes out of the number. You do not have to fix it first.
Is the offer 70% of the repaired value?
Do not treat 70% as your check. After-repair value minus repairs minus the buyer's room is the mechanism. On a $220,000 repaired house with $48,000 of work, 70% would be $154,000 before that room. The offer is lower than that once holding and margin are in the math.
Do I have to replace the roof before I sell?
Not on a cash as-is sale. A financed listing will usually require it, or will credit it in a way that eats the extra price. That is why the comparison is net versus net.
Can I still list a house that needs major repairs?
Yes, if you can fund the work or find a buyer who will. If the house is decent after the work and you have sixty or ninety days, a listing usually nets more. This path is for when you cannot or will not do that.
Tell LotLine about the house. You get a real number on the call or shortly after. No fee to get one, and no obligation to take it.