Steve feel through the floor when walking this termite infested house in Gretna

Our Founder Aussie Steve was walking this house we are looking to buy in Gretna and fell straight through the bathroom floor. The tiles looked fine but he didn’t know was that termites had eaten the subfloor and joists. Luckily he was OK and luckily this is exactly the sort of house we like to buy. We buy houses like this in As Is condition all the time.

You can watch the video to see the house and hear about the situation or you can read the transcript below.

Video Transcript

Hey guys, Aussie Steve here from Home Buyer Louisiana. We buy houses in any condition in Louisiana. I’m here at a property we’re purchasing in Gretna, which is in Jefferson Parish on the West Bank. The seller reached out to us because they haven’t been in the property for a while and have accumulated a lot of back taxes. Some of these taxes are over three years old, and once your taxes go past three years, the people who pay those taxes can start legal proceedings to take possession of your property. If that happens, you get no money—they get the property for just what they paid on the taxes.

Obviously, the seller wants to try to make some money from the property, but it’s not in good condition. It has code violations in the front and various other issues. This house is not ready to be listed with a realtor on the market. The kitchen is probably the best part of the house, but the rest is in poor shape. There is significant termite damage—I actually put my foot through the floor. I was looking in the bathroom and went straight through the floor. You can see the termites have just eaten it up. There’s visible termite damage in several areas, and the mud burrows go all the way up the walls. The termites are in the floors and walls, which is a common problem in Louisiana. Unfortunately, they never pay rent and don’t help the situation.

The house needs a lot of work, but that’s fine because we buy houses in as-is condition. We don’t mind doing the work because that’s how we add value. We don’t buy beautiful homes that are ready for homeowners, as those should be sold through a realtor. We focus on houses that need work because that’s our expertise. We have great crews of people and can get better prices for renovations than most. If you’re not experienced in dealing with renovations, it can be a daunting task, but for us, it’s just another day at the office.

If you have a house like this that you want to sell, reach out to us. If your house is behind on taxes and you’re worried about losing it, let us know. We recently stopped a foreclosure for someone whose mortgage was six months late. We were able to buy that property before the foreclosure process was completed. We help people with problem properties, where we can add value and make it a win-win deal. We aim to get a good deal where we can use our expertise to add value and make some profit, while the seller gets an easy, hassle-free sale and turns their asset into cash.

Right now, this property is more of a liability because they aren’t paying taxes and it has code violations. The house is falling apart and the termites are causing more and more damage. In this case, the house should be an asset, but it has become a liability. When we buy it, we’ll give cash to the seller, so they can turn this house into cash and use that money to buy something else. We’ll fix the house up and either sell it to a new homeowner or rent it to a tenant.

If you want to learn more about us, visit HomeBuyerLouisiana.com. You’ll find lots of information about selling your house. If you want to speak to someone from my office, Arione and Shannon would be happy to chat. We’re super friendly and not pushy at all. We’re not just trying to buy your house. We want to give you advice and see if we’re a good fit. If we are, we’d love to do a deal. If not, we’ll still offer you advice and thoughts. We want you to do well. Cheers, guys, and have a good one. Appreciate you!

Let us know if you are selling in Louisiana. We buy all over but at the moment have a particular focus on Kenner, Greater New Orleans, Marrero, Westwego and Baton Rouge.