We Buy Houses for Cash in Georgia

In Georgia the deal is done with a lawyer at the table, the foreclosure clock is short, and the document most people call a mortgage is usually a security deed with a power of sale. That combination surprises many owners, especially those who inherited a house or own one from out of state. Add older homes in and around Atlanta, rural family land and mountain cabins, and a traditional listing can drag on. Swifty Home Buyers buys Georgia houses for cash, as-is, and you pick the closing date. Here is how the Georgia rules work, so you can compare a cash sale against listing with facts.

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

Georgia's real estate transfer tax is small. The Department of Revenue states the rate as $1 for the first $1,000 and 10 cents for each additional $100 or fractional part, which works out to about $1 per $1,000 of price. On a $250,000 sale that is roughly $250, and on $200,000 it is roughly $200. The Department says the seller is liable for the tax but that the parties frequently agree in the contract that the buyer will pay it, and it must be paid before a deed can be recorded with the clerk of superior court. What adds up in Georgia is everything else: agent commissions in a traditional sale (negotiable and often a large percentage of the price), the closing attorney's fee, loan and lien payoffs, and prorated property taxes. In a cash sale to Swifty there are no agent commissions and we do not ask for repairs. We lay out the costs in writing before you commit, and your closing attorney will provide a settlement statement.

Georgia foreclosures are non-judicial. Under O.C.G.A. 44-14-162.2, the secured creditor has to give the debtor written notice no later than 30 days before the proposed foreclosure date, sent by registered or certified mail or statutory overnight delivery. The notice must name an individual or entity with full authority to negotiate, amend and modify all terms of the loan. Foreclosure sales are advertised and conducted in the usual manner of sheriff's sales in the county, and Georgia's sheriff's sale statute puts those sales on the first Tuesday of each month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the courthouse of the county, moved to the following Wednesday if the first Tuesday falls on New Year's Day or July 4. After the sale, a lender that wants a deficiency judgment must report the sale to a judge within 30 days for confirmation, and the debtor gets notice of that hearing at least five days ahead. That hearing is your chance to challenge whether the property brought a fair price. Do not assume you can buy the house back after the sale. If the first Tuesday is close, selling can pay off the loan from the proceeds and protect your equity.

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

Fulton County and metro Atlanta

The Fulton County Sheriff's Office says its sales are held on the first Tuesday of each month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on the courthouse steps at 136 Pryor Street SW in Atlanta. Those particular sales are tax sales, not mortgage foreclosures, and the Sheriff's page explains that a tax deed conveys defeasible title, which is why unpaid property taxes are a problem worth solving before a sale is set. In metro Atlanta, older homes, investor-owned rentals and inherited houses are common, and each has its own title and lien checks. If taxes or a loan are behind, a closing on your schedule can be a way to clear them.