We Buy Houses for Cash in Missouri

Missouri's foreclosure calendar can be short: a trustee's sale can be scheduled with twenty days' notice, and the law gives owners only a narrow, conditional chance to redeem afterward. Meanwhile, much of the state's housing is older, from brick St. Louis two-families to Kansas City bungalows and rural homes on acreage, and older houses tend to come with repairs a buyer's lender will flag. Swifty Home Buyers buys Missouri houses for cash, as-is, without commissions or repair requests, and you choose the closing date. Here is what Missouri law says about selling, so you can make the call with accurate information.

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

Missouri voters closed the door on new transfer taxes in 2010. Article X, Section 25 of the Missouri Constitution says the state, counties and other political subdivisions are prevented from imposing any new tax, including a sales tax, on the sale or transfer of homes or any other real estate. What you pay at a Missouri closing is therefore mostly the ordinary costs of any sale. Recording is inexpensive: RSMo 59.310 sets the base recorder's fee at five dollars for the first page and three dollars for each page after that, and other statutory charges may be added. The bigger items are your loan payoff and any liens, the title insurance and closing fees your contract assigns to you, prorated property taxes and, if you list, the commission, which is negotiable but usually the largest single cost. Some cities add inspection fees before a new owner can move in; the City of St. Louis, for example, charges $120 for its residential occupancy application on a vacant unit, and lists $200 if someone is already living there without a current certificate. In a sale to Swifty, there are no commissions and no repair credits, and we write down every cost for you before you agree.

Most Missouri home loans use a deed of trust with a power of sale, which lets the trustee sell the property without a lawsuit. RSMo 443.310 requires not less than twenty days' notice of the sale, and the sale is held in the county where the land is located. RSMo 443.325 requires the notice to be sent by certified or registered mail not less than twenty days before the scheduled sale. Under RSMo 443.320, the notice also runs in a newspaper: in counties with a city of fifty thousand or more, in a daily paper for at least twenty insertions continuing to the day of the sale, and elsewhere in a weekly paper for four successive issues, the last within one week of the sale. Redemption is narrow. Under RSMo 443.410, the owner can redeem within one year from the sale only when the property is bought in by the holder of the debt, and only if the owner gave written notice of intent to redeem at the sale or within ten days before it. RSMo 443.420 adds that the owner must also, within twenty days after the sale, give security to the satisfaction of the circuit court. If a third party buys at the sale, or the steps are missed, there is no redemption. Ask a Missouri attorney whether a lender could pursue you for a deficiency, and consider a HUD-approved housing counselor. With a clock this short, selling before the sale date is often the most reliable way to protect your equity.

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

City of St. Louis

The City of St. Louis requires a Certificate of Inspection for residential sales before the unit can be occupied. The city describes the inspection as a basic code inspection designed to check for minimal interior building code violations and meet minimum exterior standards, covering the building's exterior, interior and common areas and setting the dwelling's occupancy load. The application costs $120.00 for a vacant unit ($200.00 if someone is already living there without a current certificate), and the city notes that an inspection does not imply a guarantee or warranty as to the overall condition of the building. If you own an older St. Louis home that you suspect will not pass without work, that is exactly the kind of house we are used to buying.