Danny Buys Houses

No, but only if the offer is made after the house is inspected. At least, this is how I handle it at Danny Buys Houses. If you receive an offer from a cash home buying company, they will likely not make the offer until after inspecting the house.  It is important to also clarify what is meant by the inspection. Some companies will get a professional inspection, but most do not.  

I have been buying houses for investment for over 23 years and have a good idea of what to look for.  For this reason I do not hire a professional inspection.  This means that when you call me for a cash offer, I go and visit your house personally.  There I will look at what needs repair and updating and will determine your offer based on what I find.  

My latest acquisition was from a couple that were concerned about this very thing.  While discussing the next steps after making the offer, they asked if I would have to have more follow up inspections and whether my offer will stay what it is.  I told them the offer would absolutely stay the same and that there would not be any more inspections.  

Now, I am not perfect and have made mistakes in the past. 

Early on, I mistakenly wrote down that a house had 3 bedrooms when it in fact only had 2.  I made the offer based on having a much higher resale value and did not realize my mistake until a couple days later when I was reviewing the house pictures I took for creating a scope of work.  The deal would lose money at the price I had agreed to.  In that situation I did have to contact the seller and very sheepishly asked if they would agree to a lower price due to my mistake.  We did have a contract so I would have honored it had they said no. Thankfully they agreed and we still closed quickly.  

Since then, I have vowed that I would be more careful in my analysis as to not make that mistake again. I have since made some smaller mistakes but always bought at the agreed upon price.  

If you want to get a cash offer for you San Antonio house, please visit my website at https://dannybuyshouses.com. I would love to talk with you about your situation and help in any way I can. 

Absolutely. I recently had a seller tell me she didn't think our offers at Danny Buys Houses were negotiable. She was surprised to find out that they are. She only needed a little more to make the deal work for her.  I'm really glad we discussed this.  Had she just kept that assumption, she may have wasted a lot more time trying to work other avenues to sell her San Antonio house. 

I'm not sure if all of the national house buying companies have the same policy.  But for most local cash home buyers, we typically will negotiate to try and make it work for everyone involved. While we don't normally have room to modify our offer by tens of thousands, we do have some flexibility. 

Much of how much we can adjust our offer will depend upon the circumstances of the particular house. If the houses in that area are selling relatively quickly and the home does not need a complete gut and redo, we will likely have more options to increase our offer. 

Of course, it never hurts to mention how much you need and the worst we can do is say no. But that could open conversations whether there is some other way to make it work. Even if you're afraid to ask for a different amount, push through that fear and just ask.  You really never know until you do.

 If you would like a cash offer for your San Antonio home, visit us at https://dannybuyshouses.com

see our Valuation Methodology at https://dannybuyshouses.com/valuation-methodology

The instant answer many sellers think is that cash buyers just decide a really low-ball offer and make that to see if they can get it.  While a few unscrupulous house buying "companies" may do that, most do not. Any company that has been in business for several years knows that we must have criteria for the real estate investments we make. 

After over 20 years, my company, Danny Buys Houses has a a good idea of what is needed to make a house purchase worth doing. Of course, this number we calculate must also make sense to the seller. We certainly do not buy every house we make an offer on, but we do close on every house where a seller agrees to sell to us. 

Honestly, the formula use is pretty simple. The complication can come in when coming up with an accurate number for each variable. We take what the house will likely sell for after we make all necessary repairs and updating. This is determined by looking at similar, recently sold properties in the immediate area (neighborhood or roughly half-mile radius). We then take 70% of that number.  This is to give us 30% for insurance, property taxes, hoa fees, reselling costs, profit and other fees we will have while we own the property. You see how we snuck profit in there? Yeah, we want to make a profit.  From this 70% number we subtract the costs we anticipate from the fix up and updating of the house. 

An easy example is a house that will sell for roughly $250,000 after updates.  70% is $175,000.  If we will spend $40,000 on repairs and updating, we will offer $135,000 to buy the house for cash. 

If you would like to see a bigger breakdown with more examples of how we determine what we will pay for your San Antonio house, see our Valuation Methodology at https://dannybuyshouses.com/valuation-methodology

https://dannybuyshouses.com/compare

Some people that contact me do not think there is one. But there definitely is. We offer below market value when we make you a cash offer to buy your house.  Many times, you could probably get more money by listing with an agent.

The reason so many people still sell to my company, Danny Buys Houses, is they just don't want the hassles of listing their home and waiting for a qualified buyer, only to have to make repairs and negotiate.  This is especially tough in the down market we've been in for years.

Just last week, a wonderful couple called me because they saw a house we had fixed up and sold on the next block over from them. They wanted to downsize and called me to see what I would offer. After walking their house, I asked them if they were sure they didn't want to list with an agent as their house was in really good condition. They said they just didn't want to deal with it. They had made up their minds to move into an apartment and were ready to go.

The uncertainty of when the sale would be completed with listing with an agent was what they really wanted to avoid. With the cash sale, they were getting certainty and were able to move forward with the timeline they wanted.  I made them a fair offer with the closing date of their choice. They considered it for a day and then accepted. They know they won't be getting as much money as they would if they waited but they considered the tradeoff worth it for ease and certainty.  

We have a bigger breakdown of the differences between selling for cash and listing with an agent on our website at: https://dannybuyshouses.com/compare

Do I need to fix anything before selling my house for cash? Short answer is no, absolutely not. Janet C. found Danny Buys Houses online and called about getting a cash offer for her house. She was worried that she would be required to fix any of the issues she knew the house had before we would buy it.

It is not often someone sells their house for cash so it is completely understandable to not know what is typical. Most cash house buying companies will buy your house completely as it is, warts and all. What about belongings you do not want to take with you? Yes, those as well. 

In fact, we routinely buy hoarder houses along with everything still in them.  For most sellers, going through all of the personal belongings of their loved ones and having to throw away dumpster full of things is something they would rather avoid.  We get it.

Just this year we bought a 1600 square foot house that needed 7 40-yard dumpsters to clean the house out.  That is in addition to a local metal recycler that came with a large trailer to get any recyclables.  When I went to view that house and make an offer, I had to literally climb through the house. I could not walk through because there were no clean paths.

If you have a house that needs repairs or has belongings you would rather leave behind reach out to me at https://dannybuyshouses.com/  I am happy to talk with you about your situation.

Let’s breakdown who we are typically competing with here at Danny Buys Houses and why people tend to want to sell to us or one of these competitors.  Yeah, I know you probably figured I would just talk about how Danny Buys Houses is the only company you should work with. 

The reality is, sometimes other buyers are a better option. Only you can make that call and I always recommend you get offers from multiple cash house buying companies.  When I get a call to make a cash offer on someone’s house, it is usually the case that I am not the only person they have reached out to.  The other companies sellers tell me they have contacted usually consist of OpenDoor, HomeVestors, and Texas All Cash.  I personally have known Geremy from Texas All Cash for well over a decade and know he is an honest man running a good company.  OpenDoor and HomeVestors are larger national companies.  HomeVestors has franchisee owned local branches.

The reason why sellers tend to contact us is because we all have many years of local experience that has resulted in helping thousands of sellers sell quickly, without hassle. Our online reviews and BBB accreditation give sellers confidence they will be working with an honest and reputable company. Yes, there are a lot of bad actors in this business and it can be hard to know who is actually capable of closing the deal.

I truly believe certainty of the sale is what most sellers want, even above how much money they will make. This just comes from personally working with hundreds of sellers over the last more than 20 years.  I know that may sound like bragging, but it really is just to drive home how important it is to work with a cash buyer that has been in business for a long time and has a good reputation.  

Even if you do not sell to one of these companies, you will know what to look for.  Who offers the most? It depends on so many factors, and that is why I recommend contacting multiple companies.  Sometimes OpenDoor offers several thousands dollars more than us and sometimes we have quite a bit more. It depends on the house and what each companies goals are at the moment. 

Can a cash sale really close in 7 days? What can cause delays? This comes up a lot when we make cash offers. People are sometimes skeptical that they can truly have their house sold within one week and be completely done with it. A recent seller, John, was "done with this house". He wanted to have everything done quickly so that he could get rid of all of the stress the home had caused him due to finding mold in the house. We were able to close within 7 days and he finally got the relief he wanted. He now had the time and energy to be there for his family again. It's not always this fast and easy however. There are some things that will delay a closing. Inheritance issues is probably the biggest delayer of a closing. If a will hasn't yet been probated or there are heirs that have died, things can get delayed while everything is handled by the title company and any needed attorney. Most of the time we can move quickly through an inherited probably with an affidavit of heirship, but other times court approval is needed. Short delays can sometimes be caused by HOA's. If they cannot provide the paperwork necessary for transfer right away. This is not common but does happen and usually only delays by less than a week. Sometimes lenders delay closing because they take longer to provide a payoff for the existing mortgage. This usually is not more than week but can be a couple weeks. We do not get professional inspections or appraisals so those never delay a closing for us. We put together a comparison of a cash sale to Danny Buys Houses versus a traditional sale through an agent that you can find here: https://dannybuyshouses.com/compare

Is this cash offer fair, or am I getting lowballed? This question is completely understandable when getting cash offers from house buying companies. When I get these calls at Danny Buys Houses, it is usually because the seller contacted someone to get a cash offer for their home. They got the cash offer, but they did not get any explanation as to how that offer was determined. 

The first thing to mention is that the term lowball could mean simply getting an offer lower than expected. This all hinges on what is expected. If the value Bexar County has assessed your house at for property tax purposes is what you were hoping for, you’re likely to be disappointed and feel you have been lowballed.  Many areas of San Antonio have been over-valued for several years. Homes are simply not selling for what the county has them valued at. 

Most sellers that I’ve spoken to over the more than 2 decades I have been buying houses in San Antonio understand that they will likely get a lower offer by selling fast to a cash buyer. The reason is we are buying as an investment and are likely going to fix up the house and sell it. There are a lot of costs involved in buying the house, remodeling the house and then selling the house. When we account for those costs in our offers, they bring the offer amounts down considerably. 

Consider that just selling a house in the current market in San Antonio is typically requiring we pay about 10% of the sales price in buyer cost assistance and agent’s fees.  For a house that sells for $300,000, that is $30,000! 

You may have heard about the 70% rule many house flippers and cash house buyers use. We take 70% of the estimated resale value of the home after we make repairs and updates. The 30% reduction is to cover those resale costs, our holding costs (property taxes, insurance, any rehab loan fees, utilities, HOA fees, etc) and our profit.  

Therefore, most cash house buying companies, at least in San Antonio in 2026, are taking what they consider to be the price they will be able to resale the house for, multiplying that by 70% and then subtracting what it will cost us to repair and remodel the house to selling condition. 

The benefit that companies like Danny Buys Houses gives you is that we have trusted contractor crews that give us good rates. This allows us to remodel the homes at lower costs than a homeowner might be able to. This helps bring our offers more in line with what would expect to net if you were to make those repairs and updates yourself and then sold through an agent. 

Nobody likes lowball offers. We cannot speak for all cash house buying companies but we hope this discussion of how we calculate our offers helps you to determine whether an offer you get is truly lowball.  Selling a house is stressful. Armed with knowledge of how cash buyers work can help make it a little easier.   

If you want more information about how we value homes, please see our valuation methodology at https://dannybuyshouses.com/valuation-methodology. 

How does selling my house to a cash home buyer work?

I get this question all the time and wanted to share how the process worked for Mike, a seller in California that had a house in San Antonio he wanted to sell as soon as the tenants moved out.

Mike, the seller, saw our reviews and decided to fill out the fast cash offer form on our website at DannyBuysHouses.com. He lives in California and had tenants in a house in San Antonio that were ending their lease. I called him to discuss the situation and he wanted to close as soon the tenants were out.  He did not want to have to worry about something happening to the house once it became vacant.

I scheduled with his property manager to see the house. My walkthrough took about 30 minutes. Mike had mentioned some concerns with the foundation.  I had observed cracks in the walls and knew there were issues. We come across this all the time in San Antonio and did not feel the need to schedule a foundation inspection. We already have a good idea of what the cost will be.  This allowed me to make Mike a cash offer to buy the house as is after my walkthrough.  He had questions about the offer and after I broke down the costs involved in coming up with the offer, he negotiated a slightly higher price.  I accepted as the numbers would still work for us if we completed our repairs quickly and we happened to have a crew ready. We discussed the date he wanted to have the closing happen. I had a purchase agreement drawn up and sent to him for digital signatures.

Once signed, I sent the purchase agreement and earnest money to the local title company we have used for over 10 years. The title company handled all of the paperwork and payoffs necessary for Mike's loan balance and property taxes. On the day of closing, title hired a mobile notary where Mike lived to bring him the closing documents for signature. I signed at the title company. Once both signed copies had been received, title wired the proceeds to Mike.

The entire process took less than 2 weeks from start to finish. Mike was happy to have the house sold immediately after the tenants had moved out. 

Get more information about how we value your home for the cash offer we make to you: Danny Buys Houses home valuation methodology

When a cash buyer makes an offer on your house, is the number arbitrary—or is there actual math behind it?

In this episode, Danny pulls back the curtain on how professional real estate investors evaluate properties and calculate cash offers. He explains the commonly used 70% rule, what “after-repair value” means, how renovation costs affect an offer, and why the difference between an investor’s purchase price and the future resale price is not simply profit.

Using a real-world example, Danny walks through the numbers so homeowners can better evaluate an offer and decide whether selling as-is or renovating the property themselves makes the most sense.

In This Episode

• What the 70% rule is and how investors use it
• How a property’s after-repair value, or ARV, is determined
• Why investors compare recently sold, renovated homes nearby
• How repair costs are estimated and deducted from an offer
• Why the apparent 30% margin is not all investor profit
• The selling costs, commissions, financing expenses, taxes, insurance, and holding costs involved in a renovation
• The risks homeowners face when renovating a property themselves
• Why renovation projects frequently take longer and cost more than expected
• When an investor may be able to offer more than 70% of the property’s renovated value
• How FHA’s 90-day flipping restrictions can affect an investor’s resale timeline

The Basic Cash-Offer Formula

A commonly used starting point is:

Maximum cash offer = 70% of the after-repair value − estimated repair costs

The after-repair value is the estimated price the home could sell for after it has been fully renovated and updated to meet the expectations of buyers in the current market.

Example From the Episode

Danny uses a hypothetical house with an estimated after-repair value of $250,000.

$250,000 × 70% = $175,000

If the property requires approximately $50,000 in repairs:

$175,000 − $50,000 = $125,000 estimated cash offer

At first glance, the difference between a $125,000 offer and a future $250,000 selling price may seem enormous. However, the investor still has to pay for:

• The property purchase
• Renovations and unexpected repairs
• Property taxes and insurance
• Loan interest and origination fees
• Utilities and other holding expenses
• Real estate commissions
• Buyer closing-cost assistance
• Staging and resale preparation
• Market changes and the risk that the home sells for less than expected

Selling expenses alone may total approximately 10% of the eventual resale price. On a $250,000 sale, that could equal roughly $25,000 before accounting for holding costs, financing expenses, cost overruns, or market risk.

Are You Being Lowballed?

A lower offer does not automatically mean the buyer chose an arbitrary number or is attempting to take advantage of the seller. A legitimate investor should be able to explain:

1. The renovated value they assigned to the property
2. The comparable home sales used to support that value
3. The repairs they believe the house requires
4. The costs and risks included in their calculation

The 70% rule is generally used as a ceiling for properties requiring a substantial renovation. A house needing fewer repairs may support a higher percentage, such as 75%, depending on the property, market conditions, resale timeline, and associated risk.

Learn More

For a more detailed explanation of how Danny Buys Houses evaluates properties and calculates offers, visit:

DannyBuysHouses.com/valuation-methodology

Request a Cash Offer

Have an inherited property, a house needing major repairs, or a home you simply do not want to renovate and list?

Visit DannyBuysHouses.com or call Danny directly at 210-881-7707 to discuss the property and request a no-obligation cash offer.

About Danny Buys Houses

Danny has been buying houses for cash in San Antonio for more than 20 years. Danny Buys Houses helps homeowners sell properties as-is without making repairs, preparing the house for showings, or dealing with the uncertainty of a traditional listing.

Subscribe to the Danny Buys Houses Podcast for straightforward information about selling a house, understanding cash offers, and navigating difficult property situations.