How we arrive at a number
On a house we start from the end: what it sells for once the work is done. From that we take away the cost of the work and a margin for the chance that we have misjudged either one. That is the whole method. Nothing is hidden in it.
- What it is worth repaired. Not the Mastic median of $540,000 on its own, but what houses like yours on your street actually closed at recently.
- What the work costs. Roof, boiler, electric, the kitchen and bath. In Mastic the stock is largely ranch and cape cod, and on houses that age the mechanicals are usually the expensive part rather than the cosmetics.
- How long we will hold it. The median Mastic house goes under contract in about 27 days once it is showable, then waits 45 to 60 days more on the buyer's lender. Ours has to get to showable first, and we carry taxes and insurance across the whole of it.
- What we are wrong about. Walls and floors hide things until they come up. We price for that uncertainty, and it accounts for much of the distance between a cash offer and a retail price.
How we can pay this and still make it work
Most cash buyers skip this part. We do not. We run millions of dollars of construction a year, so we buy materials at contractor prices and keep our crews busy all year. The same renovation costs us roughly half of what you would be quoted as a homeowner.
That difference is how we make money. It is also why renovating before you sell seldom comes out ahead: you would pay retail for the roof and the boiler and then hope a buyer pays you back for them. Most of the time they do not. Our margin comes from building for less, not from buying from you for less.
If our number does not work for you, tell us. We would much rather hear it than push. We will go through your situation and give you a straight view of your options, including the ones that leave us out. A lot of people do better listing with an agent, and if you are one of them we will tell you now rather than have you find out later.
The gap the number covers
As we buy themWhite ranch with tall shrubs along the front · Mastic
After the workRear of a ranch with new green siding · Mastic
Why the number sits below retail
It is worth being precise about this rather than leaving it as an impression. The gap between what a renovated house on your street fetches and what we pay is not a margin taken out of your pocket. It is four specific costs, and every one of them would otherwise be yours.
The repairs, paid up front rather than at closing. The months of carrying the house while that work runs, with taxes, insurance and utilities running through all of them. The commission and closing costs on the far side. And the risk that opening a wall finds something worse, which on older Mastic stock happens often enough to have a price.
A homeowner paying retail for that work usually cannot recover it in the sale price. We run millions of dollars of construction a year, so the same work costs us in the region of half what you would be quoted, and that difference is what funds the offer.
What the two paths cost in Mastic
Work it against Mastic's own numbers. The median sale here is $540,000. A 5% commission on that is $27,000, and seller closing costs of about 2% add roughly $10,800. Those are costs we can cover on our side. That is $37,800 gone before anyone counts the repairs it took to get the house listable.
There are two waits in a listed sale and people usually only count the first. In Mastic the median house takes about 27 days to go from listed to a signed contract. Then it waits again, typically 45 to 60 days, while the buyer's lender orders an appraisal and underwrites the loan. Call it 72 to 87 days from sign to keys, assuming nothing goes wrong.
The part worth understanding is what a signed contract actually guarantees, which is less than most sellers assume. A retail buyer with a mortgage contingency can walk away right up to the end. If they do not qualify, if the appraisal comes in under the price, if they change their mind and let the financing lapse. A share of deals die exactly there, after months of waiting, and the house goes back on the market with time on it. We are not borrowing anything, so there is no lender to satisfy, no appraisal to come in low and no contingency to exercise.
| Listing with an agent | Selling to us | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $540,000 (Mastic median) | Our written offer |
| Commission | −$27,000 | None |
| Seller closing costs | −$10,800 | We can cover them |
| Repairs before listing | Out of pocket | None |
| Cleanout | Yours | Ours |
| Showings | Until it sells | One visit |
| Listed to signed contract | 27 days (Mastic median, once listable) | 24 hours to a written offer |
| Contract to closing | 45 to 60 days (waiting on the buyer's lender) | A date you choose |
| Total wait | 72 to 87 days if nothing falls through | Yours to set |
| Can the buyer walk? | Yes (mortgage contingency runs to the end) | No financing to fall through |
| Before repairs and carrying | $502,200 | The number we put in writing |
The agent column uses a 5% commission and about 2% of seller closing costs, which are typical rather than fixed. It leaves out repairs and holding costs because no two houses are alike there. Where a house is in good condition, listing with a capable agent can beat our number, and we will be upfront if that is the case.
What we do not deduct
Just as important as what comes out of the number is what does not. We do not charge a fee for the visit, a fee for the offer, or a commission of any kind. We do not ask you to credit us for repairs we are going to make anyway, and we do not hold back a sum against something an inspection might find, because there is no inspection contingency.
Seller closing costs of about 2%, around $10,800 on a $540,000 sale, are costs we can cover on our side. The figure we put in writing is the figure on the closing statement.
What you do not pay
Every line below is a cost of listing a house the retail way that simply does not arise here.
- Agent commission
- $27,000 at 5% of the Mastic median none
- Seller closing costs
- About $10,800 on a $540,000 sale. We can cover these. none
- Repairs to make it listable
- Whatever it takes to make it listable, paid in advance none
- Cleanout and removal
- Paid per load, before a single buyer walks through none
- Carrying costs while it waits
- Taxes, insurance and utilities through the 72 to 87 days a listing takes to sell and close none
Getting a second opinion on our number
We would rather you did. Take the written offer to a local agent and ask for a market analysis, which most will do at no charge. Ask them two things: what the house would fetch renovated, and what it would fetch listed in its current condition today.
If those numbers, minus the commission, minus the repairs, minus the months of carrying it, beat ours, then list it. That is the right answer and we will say so ourselves if we think it is where you are. An offer that only looks good while you are not allowed to check it is not one we want to be making.
Common questions
Will you pay market value?
No, and anyone who says they will is not telling you the truth. We pay below what a renovated house fetches, because we are buying it unrenovated and carrying it. What we are honest about is how far below, and why.
Why not just list it?
Often you should. A house in decent condition in Mastic listed with a good agent will usually beat our number even after the $27,000 commission. The arithmetic changes when the house needs work, when you cannot wait 72 to 87 days, or when a buyer's mortgage falling through would be a disaster for you.
Can I get the offer in writing?
Yes, always, and within 24 hours. Not a range, not a "we can probably do around". A figure you can take to an attorney or an agent for a second opinion.
Do you lower the price later?
No. What we put in writing is what we close at.
Do you publish a formula?
No, and be careful with anyone who does. A published equation applied to a house nobody has walked is a marketing device, not a valuation. What we will do is explain every input that goes into your number and answer questions about any of them.
What if I think the number is too low?
Tell us why, and show us what you are comparing it to. Sometimes the comparison is a renovated house and the gap is the work, which we will walk you through. Sometimes you know something about the property we did not, and the number moves. Either way, take it to an agent for a second opinion first.