Frequently Asked Questions
If you have read this far there is a good chance that you have a few questions. That’s okay! This is very common given that this concept is still new to most. Below you will find a quick collection of some of the questions people ask us, along with our answers. Don’t hesitate to contact us anytime if you need clarity on any of these questions. We would be happy to with with you.
Q: Will you be listing my house on the MLS or actually buying it?
A: Great question. We’re not agents, and we don’t list houses ourselves. Here at Northgate House Buyers, we are professional home buyers: We buy houses in Calgary that meet our purchasing criteria. So yes we will actually be buying your house. Our intention is to renovate your house and list it on the MLS in the future or find a private buyer from our network. At Northgate House Buyers we don’t use bank financing so you don’t have to worry about our ability to close on a deal. As I mentioned above, after purchasing we will repair the house and resell it to another homeowner. In some cases we will keep it as a rental ourselves. It has not happened to us personally, but I do know companies that have been in a situation where once they have purchased a home, it makes sense to list a property right away with an agent rather than carry it through to a complete remodel. This would be due to a market shift that exposes a lot of risk. It can happen, but it is not our intention. Remember: if you can get more money listing your property with an agent on the MLS, and you are OK with the time and effort that may take, then we encourage you to do just that! We will be happy to introduce you to our vast network of capable realtors in the Calgary market. A lot of our clients want to sell privately, have severe time constraints, and sometimes just want to move on. We are happy to explain all options, just give us a call at (403) 383-6592 if you are looking to sell your Calgary house fast.
Q: How are you different from a real estate agent?
A: Real estate agents list properties and hope that someone will buy them. The agent shows the properties to prospective buyers if there are any (the average time to sell a property in many markets right now is 4-6 months) and then takes a percentage of the sale price if they find a buyer. Oftentimes, the agent’s commission is 3 to 7% of the sale price of your house. If it’s a $100,000 house, you’ll pay between $3,000 to $6,000 in commissions to an agent.
Agents provide a great service for those that can wait 4+ months to sell and who don’t mind giving up some of that sale price to pay for the commissions. But that’s where we’re different. We’re not agents, we’re home buyers. Our company buys the house directly from you. Since we pay with all cash and purchase the house from you, we can make a decision to buy your house within a couple of days (sometimes even the same day). Again, we make our living by taking the risk to buy the house with our own cash, repair the house, and market it ourselves to find a buyer.
Looking for this to be broken down further? Here’s a comparison chart to give an overview:
| Selling w/ A Calgary Agent | SOLD To Northgate House Buyers | |
|---|---|---|
| Commissions / Fees: | Up to 7%, paid by you, the seller | None |
| Who Pays Closing Costs? | 2% on average is paid by you, the seller | We pay all costs. |
| Inspection & Financing Contingency*: | Yes, sales can fall through. | None needed |
| Appraisal Needed: | Yes, the sale is often subject to appraisal. | No, we make cash offers. |
| Average Days Until Sold: | +/- 91 Days | We provide immediate cash offers. |
| Number of Showings: | It Depends | 1 (Just Us) |
| Closing Date: | 30-60+/- days after accepting the buyer’s offer | The date of YOUR CHOICE. |
| Who Pays For Repairs? | Negotiated during the inspection period | We pay for all repairs. |
Q: Do you pay fair prices for properties?
A: Many of the houses we purchase are below market value. We do this so we can resell it at a profit to another homeowner. We are looking to get a fair discount on a property. In our experience, many sellers aren’t necessarily expecting a large “windfall” on the property. Instead, they appreciate that we can offer cash, we close very quickly (no waiting for financing), and no time, effort, or expense is required on your part to fix up the property or pay agent fees. If that’s what you’re looking for and you see the value in getting your house sold fast, let’s see if we can come to a win-win price for both parties. Our no-obligation pricing commitment means that you don’t have to move forward with the offer we give… but it’s good to know what we’re offering!
DOWNLOAD our free guide that walks you through the Pros and Cons (plus the cost and timeline) of selling your house to a real estate investor versus the pros, cons, and costs of the other two alternatives – listing with an agent or selling it yourself.
Q: How do you determine the price to offer on my house?
A: Great question, and we’re an open book. Our process is very straightforward. We look at the location of the property, what repairs are needed, the current condition of the property, and the value of comparable houses sold in the area recently. Taking the many pieces of information into consideration, we come up with a fair price that works for us and works for you, too.
Q: Are there any fees or commissions to work with you?
A: This is what makes us stand out from the traditional method of selling your house: there are NO fees or commissions when you sell your house directly to us compared to realtor fees, where up to 7% comes out of your pocket. We’ll make you an offer and, if it’s a fit, then we’ll buy your house with no hassles and no fees. We’ll often pay for the closing costs, too! We make our money after we pay for repairs on the house and sell it for a profit. We’re taking the risks here on whether we can sell it for a profit or not. Once we buy the house from you, the responsibility is ours and you walk away without the burden of the property and its payments, as well as cash in your hand.
Q: Is there any obligation when I submit my information?
A: There is absolutely zero obligation for you. Once you tell us a bit about your property, we’ll take a look at things, maybe set up a call with you to find out a bit more, and make you an all-cash offer that’s fair for you and fair for us. From there, it’s 100% your decision on whether or not you’d like to sell your house to us. We’ll let you decide what’s right for you.
Q: How do you make it easier than selling the traditional way?
A: When you sell your [market city] home to us the difference is in the convenience (time saved and speed of closing) and the cost savings. That is what we offer.
- TIME: If you need to close fast and move on, we can accommodate that. Perhaps you are going through divorce and want to get on with your life, or you got transferred for work and need to relocate to another city quickly. Another time sensitive situation we see often is that bills/ repair costs are piling up fast and you need to get rid of those expenses fast.
- MONEY: We aim to put more money in your pocket. When selling the traditional way, the amount you list for is very rarely the amount of money that goes into your pocket when the sale closes. This is due to several things:
- Expensive realtor commissions (as high as 7%)
- Legal fees and other closing costs
- Inspection costs
- Repairs requested by the seller
- The cost of your mortgage, property tax, maintenance, insurance, and utilities during the time it takes to attract a buyer and close on the sale. We can close in as little as 7 days so these expenses don’t keep hitting your bottom line
- TRANPARENCY: When selling to a Calgary Alberta house buyer like us, the offer you receive is the price we will pay you for your property. All of these expenses have been taken into account and the amount on the offer will be the amount that is on the check you will cash. We will lay out exactly how we arrived at that offer number by showing you market comps, construction rehab costs, and our expected profit. That is the win for us, the spread on what we pay for your property vs. what we can sell it for once we fix everything. Let me make this very clear, we are looking for discounted properties in comparison to what they would sell for on the retail market. That is the business model. Keep in mind this is a tremendous amount of risk for us. We assume all of the carrying costs and the turbulence of Calgary real estate market. So, what is the win for you? The win for you depends on each individual situation. Typically, our clients appreciate the straight forward all-encompassing cash offer, the predictability of when they will receive their funds (can be in as little as 7 days), and not having to deal with the stress and expense of multiple showings and pesky property repairs required to sell a home. Remember, there is no pressure whatsoever from us, the offer either helps you or it doesn’t. If you don’t wish to sell to us, we will do everything we can to assist you with your chosen course of action (keep the property, rent it out on your own, or sell with an agent on the MLS, or market the property yourself using FSBO ads). We have a vast network of real estate professionals that can help you get through any real estate related troubles!
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