We Buy Houses for Cash in Alaska

Alaska's seller form asks questions most states would never think of: whether the property has had freeze-ups, whether permafrost or soil problems have caused settling or slippage, and whether the well has tested positive for contaminants such as arsenic. Add a recording system with only two offices serving the whole state, a foreclosure process that runs through a trustee and leaves no deficiency behind, and homes that may be a long way from a paved road, and it is easy to see why selling here takes some planning. Whether you own a house in Anchorage, a cabin outside Fairbanks or a home that has been hard to list, Swifty Home Buyers can make a cash offer on it as it stands, with no agent commissions and no repair list, and close on the date you choose. Here is how the Alaska pieces fit together.

We buy houses in all 50 states. This guide covers the rules that matter in Alaska.

We did not find a state real estate transfer tax in Alaska. The Department of Natural Resources Recorder's Office fee schedule is page-based: $20 for the first page of a recorded document, $5 for each additional page, $2 for each name over six and a $50 fee for a nonstandard document, with no percentage-of-price line. The state's own tax facts page says there is no statewide sales tax and no personal state income tax, and that only 15 of the state's 19 boroughs levy a property tax, so local taxes vary by where you live. Ask a title company about any local charge for your borough or city. What you do pay as a seller depends on how you sell: agent commissions in a traditional listing, which are negotiable and often the largest line on the statement, plus the payoff of your mortgage and liens, prorated property taxes where they apply and attorney or title fees. When you sell to Swifty there is no commission, and we show you the closing costs in writing before you sign anything.

Alaska allows foreclosure by trustee's sale under a deed of trust, which AS 34.20.070 permits without first securing a decree of foreclosure. The trustee must record a notice of default not less than 30 days after the default and not less than 90 days before the sale, and within 10 days after recording it must mail a copy by certified mail to the borrower, successors in interest, occupants and parties holding recorded liens. For a payment default, the borrower and others with recorded interests can cure by paying the sum in default, other than principal that would not yet be due, plus attorney and other foreclosure fees and costs. Under AS 34.20.080, the sale is a public auction at the front door of the superior court courthouse in the judicial district unless the deed of trust provides another place, and the trustee may also accept bids by telephone, internet or email. The statute states that unless the sale is rescinded, the sale completely terminates the rights of the trustor in the property, so plan as if there is no buy-back. The upside of the process is AS 34.20.100: after a trustee's sale, no further action may be taken and no judgment entered against the borrower or guarantor on the secured obligation for a deficiency. The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation points homeowners to HUD-approved housing counselors, who can provide information at no cost, at 1-800-569-4287. If you sell before the sale date, the payoff comes out of the proceeds and any equity is yours instead of being decided at auction.

• Sell as-is
• Inherited house
• Foreclosure
• Tenants or rental property

Fairbanks and the Interior

Alaska has 34 recording districts served by only two Recorder's Offices, one in Anchorage and one in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks office at 3700 Airport Way handles Barrow, Bethel, Cape Nome, Fairbanks, Ft. Gibbon, Kotzebue, Kuskokwim, Manley Hot Springs, Mt. McKinley, Nenana, Nulato and Rampart, so a deed for a home in much of northern and western Alaska is recorded through that one office. In the Interior, the soils question on the state's form is not abstract. The state describes many areas as having discontinuous, or patchy, permafrost, and the University of Alaska Cooperative Extension advises talking to an architect, engineer or contractor before building on soils subject to it and says foundations should be reinforced against cracking from heaving and settling. If your Interior house has a sloping floor or a settling foundation, tell us what you are seeing; we buy as-is.