We Buy Houses for Cash in Iowa

Iowa layers more paperwork onto a house closing than most states, starting at the deed itself. A groundwater hazard statement has to answer questions about wells and old fuel tanks before the county recorder will take the deed, a private sewage system usually needs a certified inspection before the sale can close, and the standard disclosure statement has to reach the buyer before you accept an offer, not just before closing. Iowa foreclosures add another layer: an owner-occupied home normally carries a full year of redemption, but a lender who agrees to give up a deficiency judgment can cut that down to a matter of months. Whether your house is a bungalow in Des Moines, a duplex in Davenport, or a farmhouse with its own septic tank, Swifty Home Buyers makes a cash offer on it as it sits, with no commission and no repair list, and closes on the date you pick. Here is how the Iowa rules fit together.

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

Iowa's real estate transfer tax, Iowa Code 428A.1, is charged at 80 cents for each $500 of value, or fraction of $500, above the first $500, which is not taxed. Section 428A.3 makes the person who grants, assigns, transfers, or conveys the property, ordinarily the seller, liable for the tax, and 428A.4 lets the county recorder refuse to record the deed until it is paid and a declaration of value has been filed, signed by at least one seller or buyer or an agent. The tax itself is paid to the recorder in the county where the property sits and is shown on the face of the deed under 428A.5. Iowa Code 428A.2 exempts a long list of transfers, including deeds given back to a lienholder in lieu of forfeiture or foreclosure, any deed where the consideration is $500 or less, deeds between spouses or between parent and child without actual consideration, transfers under a divorce decree, and deeds distributing a decedent's estate or a trust's assets to heirs, devisees, or beneficiaries without consideration. Beyond the state tax, sellers who list typically pay an agent commission, which is negotiable and usually the largest single cost, along with the mortgage payoff, prorated property taxes, and closing or attorney fees. Selling to Swifty means no commission, and we give you a written breakdown of every cost before you agree to anything.

Iowa forecloses through the courts, but a lender has real choices about how the case unfolds. Before suing on a homestead one- or two-family owner-occupied dwelling, Iowa Code 654.2D generally requires the creditor to give the borrower a 30-day notice of the right to cure the default by paying what is actually past due. Once a judgment is entered, Iowa Code chapter 628 gives the debtor a full year from the date of a sheriff's sale to redeem, remaining in possession the whole time, with the first six months reserved exclusively for the debtor. A lender who instead elects foreclosure without redemption under 654.20 for nonagricultural property gives up the right to keep the sale on hold and, in exchange, the property is sold soon after judgment: the notice the law requires spells out in capital letters that the owner has no right of redemption after the sale and the buyer takes immediate possession, though the owner can file a written demand for delay that pushes the sale out six months for an owner-occupied one- or two-family home, or three months if the lender also waives any deficiency judgment. Iowa also allows an alternative nonjudicial route: under 654.18, a mortgagor and mortgagee can agree in writing that the owner conveys the property directly to the lender, who waives any deficiency claim and cannot report the surrender as a delinquency, while junior lienholders get 30 days to exercise redemption rights. The Iowa Mortgage Help line, run with the Attorney General's office and the Iowa Finance Authority, is reachable at 877-622-4866 for homeowners weighing these options. Selling before a scheduled sheriff's sale pays off the debt from the proceeds and lets you keep whatever equity is left.

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

Scott County Sheriff's Sales

In Scott County, home to Davenport, sheriff's sales of foreclosed real estate are scheduled for Tuesdays at 11:30 a.m., held just past the security entrance at the Scott County Courthouse. A bidder needs a letter of guarantee from a bank stating the dollar amount backed, and the winning bidder must deliver a cashier's check for the full amount by 3 p.m. the same day. Notices are posted at the courthouse, the downtown Davenport Public Library, and City Hall, and published in the North Scott Press, and properties are listed by sale date and address on the county's website. If your Quad Cities home is heading toward one of those Tuesday sales, a private sale that closes first can pay off the debt and preserve any equity instead of leaving it to the auction.