Every question we get asked, in one place.

As little as seven days once your offer goes firm, because we are not waiting on a lender, an appraisal, or an underwriter. If you need longer, that is genuinely fine — plenty of our sellers pick a date six or eight weeks out so they can line up their next place. You choose the date, and our On-Time Guarantee puts $5,000 in escrow behind it.

No. There is no commission, no listing fee, and no charge for the offer itself. We also cover the standard closing costs a seller would normally pay at a Wisconsin title company. The number on your written offer is the number you should expect to see on the settlement statement.

Not a thing. Take what you want, leave the rest, and hand us the keys. Furniture, an attic of boxes, a garage nobody has opened in a decade — we deal with all of it. Sellers apologise for the condition of the house on nearly every first call, and it has never once changed an offer.

We will give you a real number and show you how we got there — what the house is likely worth once it is fixed up, what the work will cost, and what we need to make for the risk. If listing with an agent would genuinely net you more, we will say so. We would rather lose the deal than talk somebody into the wrong one.

We start from what the house would sell for in good condition on your street, subtract what it will realistically cost us to get it there, subtract the cost of holding and reselling it, and subtract our margin. There is no formula we hide behind — ask and we will walk you through each line on your specific property.

No. The offer is free, there is no obligation attached to it, and it is fine to use it purely as a benchmark against what an agent tells you. Nobody will pester you afterward.

Sometimes, yes — and when that is true for your house we will tell you. A listing usually produces a higher gross price, but it also comes with commission, repairs, showings, an inspection, an appraisal, and a buyer who can back out. A cash sale trades some of that top-line price for certainty and speed. Our side-by-side comparison lays out both.

You can still sell, and in Wisconsin you generally have more time than people assume. Wisconsin foreclosure runs through the circuit court rather than by advertisement, and there is a redemption period after judgment during which you keep the right to sell. The property can be sold right up until the sheriff's sale is confirmed. If this is your situation, call sooner rather than later — options narrow as the date gets closer. See our foreclosure page.

Usually yes, though the timing depends on how the estate is being handled. Wisconsin offers informal administration for most straightforward estates, and very small estates can sometimes transfer by affidavit without full probate at all. The personal representative typically needs authority to sell before closing. We work with the estate's attorney regularly and can time the closing around the court's schedule. See our inherited property page.

We buy occupied rentals regularly and you do not need to remove anyone first. Leases transfer with the property, so we take the tenants along with the house and handle the relationship from closing forward. Please do tell us about any tenant who has stopped paying — it does not sink the deal, we just need to know.

For most 1-4 family transfers Wisconsin requires the seller to provide a real estate condition report, though certain sellers — a personal representative settling an estate, for example — are exempt. Either way, we are buying as-is with our eyes open, so disclosing a problem to us does not cost you anything. The title company will tell you exactly which forms apply to your sale.

Wisconsin charges a real estate transfer fee of $3 per $1,000 of value, which is customarily the seller's cost, and property taxes are prorated to the closing date. Beyond that, we cover the standard closing costs. Your title company will give you a settlement statement before closing that shows every line.

That is very common and it is generally solvable. Liens and delinquent taxes get paid out of the sale proceeds at closing rather than out of your pocket beforehand. The title company identifies everything attached to the property during the title search, and we work through the payoffs as part of the closing.

Our home market is the Appleton and Green Bay area, and we buy across Wisconsin — 21 counties from Kenosha to St. Croix. See where we buy for your county.

Dan and Diana Ahlborn, buying Wisconsin houses since 2010, based in Appleton. Not a call centre, not a lead broker who sells your information on, and not a national franchise. When you call, you get one of us. Meet Dan and Diana, or check the receipts on are we legit.

Generally yes. Wisconsin is a marital property state, so a home acquired during the marriage is usually marital property and both spouses ordinarily need to sign off on a sale unless a court order says otherwise. We are used to working with two parties who are not speaking, and with attorneys on both sides, and we can send identical paperwork to each of you separately. See our divorce page.

Often yes, though it depends how the estate is being administered. Wisconsin offers informal administration for most straightforward estates, and very small estates can sometimes transfer by affidavit without full probate. The personal representative generally needs authority to sell before closing. We work with estate attorneys regularly and can time the closing around the court's schedule.

We can make everyone the same written offer, in writing, so there is a real number on the table to discuss instead of an argument about what the house might be worth. We cannot resolve the disagreement itself — that is for the family, and sometimes for the estate's attorney — but a firm figure with a firm date often makes the conversation much shorter.

No. Take the photographs, the furniture that matters, and anything with meaning, and leave the rest exactly where it is. We handle the cleanout. This is the single most common thing heirs apologise to us for and the single least important thing to us.

Yes. Leases transfer with the property, so nobody needs to be moved out and you do not need to serve notice. We take the tenants along with the house and handle the relationship from closing forward.

Tell us. It does not sink the deal and it rarely changes the number much, but it does change how the closing is handled, so we need to know early rather than discovering it during the title work. We have bought plenty of properties with an eviction in progress.

Not to whether we buy. Long-held rentals almost always carry dated mechanicals, layered flooring, and a roof that has been patched rather than replaced. You do not need to fix any of it, and we would rather hear about it up front than find it later.

Usually not. Wisconsin closings can generally be completed remotely — the title company can arrange a remote or mail-away signing. Plenty of our sellers never return to the property, and we can arrange access without you being there.

More than most owners add up: the mortgage, property taxes, insurance — frequently at a higher vacant-property rate — utilities kept on so the pipes do not freeze, and lawn or snow service you now pay for. Several months of that regularly exceeds the gap between a cash offer and a retail sale.

Yes, and sooner rather than later. Many standard policies limit or exclude coverage once a property has been vacant beyond a stated period, and finding that out after a claim is a bad way to find out. A vacant Wisconsin house between November and March is genuinely exposed to a burst pipe.

No. The title company identifies everything owed against the property and pays it out of the sale proceeds at closing, so the money comes out of the sale rather than out of your pocket beforehand. Whatever remains after the payoffs is yours.

More than a few months, but it is not open-ended. Wisconsin property taxes go delinquent and eventually pass to the county, which can begin the process of taking title through a tax deed after a statutory period. It is a multi-year process with notice requirements — but once the county has taken the property, any equity you had in it is generally gone. Call your county treasurer for your parcel's exact status.

Then selling may not be the right move, and we will say so. Some Wisconsin counties will work with owners who make contact about a payment plan, which may keep the house if that is what you want. We would rather tell you that than take a deal that leaves you worse off.

Yes. You pick the date and we will hold to it, whether that is before you go or weeks after. Wisconsin closings can generally be completed remotely, so you do not need to fly back for it.

Yes. Anything you do not want to move can stay, and we deal with it. That is frequently the difference between one moving truck and two.

Sometimes that is the right answer, particularly if you have a low mortgage rate and the numbers work. But be honest about what it means: you become a long-distance landlord, with tenant calls, maintenance you cannot do yourself, and a property manager taking a cut. Plenty of the tired-landlord calls we take started as somebody relocating who decided to rent it out for a year.

Yes, and we buy them regularly. Leases transfer with the property, so we take the tenants along with the house and handle the relationship from closing forward. You do not need to give anyone notice or empty a unit first. Do tell us if a tenant has stopped paying — it does not sink the deal, we just need to know.

No. We buy with the order attached and deal with the city ourselves afterward. Open orders are one of the most common reasons a Green Bay property will not close with a financed buyer, and one of the least interesting reasons to us.

Yes, across the whole county. The housing out there is generally newer, so the reason for selling is usually a timeline — an estate, a relocation, a divorce — rather than the condition of the house.

In this county, often not. Values here are modest enough that a full retail rehab regularly costs more than it adds to the sale price. Get a written cash number first, then get a contractor quote and an agent's opinion, and compare the three. Sometimes listing wins and we will tell you so — but do the arithmetic before you spend anything.

Yes, as they sit. Outbuildings are one of the most common reasons a rural Fond du Lac County listing stalls, because most retail buyers do not know what to do with them. We buy the whole parcel, buildings included, and you do not need to clear them out.

It might be, but check the arithmetic first. Renovation costs here are the same as anywhere else in the state while sale prices are more modest, so improvements return less of what they cost than they would in Madison or Waukesha. Get our cash number, get the contractor quote, and compare the two net figures before you commit.

Regularly. Single-family houses that were split into two units decades ago are a defining property type here, and they are frequently owned by somebody who inherited one and lives elsewhere. We buy them occupied or empty.

Quite possibly, and in this county we say so more often than anywhere else we buy. A well-kept Brookfield or Pewaukee house will usually fetch more on the open market. What we sell here is certainty — a firm date and a firm number with no financing, no appraisal and no inspection contingency. If the date is not worth anything to you, list it.

Yes, and it is the most common Waukesha County call we take. Wisconsin closings can generally be completed remotely through the title company, so heirs do not all need to be in the same room, or the same state. We coordinate with the estate's attorney on timing.

It affects the paperwork more than the price. Cottages that were winterised in stages often have unusual construction that appraisers struggle with, which is why they fall out of financed deals. We are not financing, so it does not become an obstacle.

Generally no. Wisconsin closings can usually be completed remotely — the title company can arrange a mail-away or remote signing, so you do not need to make the drive. Plenty of our western-lakes sellers never come back up.

No. Unpermitted additions and staged winterisation are extremely common around Twin Lakes and Silver Lake, and they are exactly why financed deals on these properties fall apart. We buy the house as it actually is rather than as the paperwork says it should be.

Not to us, but it can complicate the usual advice. Where a district designation applies, exterior work may need review before it can proceed, so a "fix it up and then list it" plan can take months longer and cost more than expected. Selling as-is skips the review process entirely, because we take the property on with whatever restrictions attach to it.

Yes. Ozaukee sellers are rarely in financial trouble — the issue is usually that a big property has become more work than the household can manage. We buy at any value, and you are welcome to leave behind anything you do not want to move.

With a straight number and no repairs. Long-held isthmus and near-campus rentals are the property we buy most often in this county — deferred maintenance, dated mechanicals, tenants in place, sometimes an inspection issue outstanding. None of that needs resolving before you sell, and the tenants can stay through the closing.

Often you should not, and we will say so. A tidy house in a strong Dane County neighborhood will usually net more listed. The honest case for us here is a property that will not show well against renovated neighbours, a tenant situation you do not want to unwind, or a date you cannot move.

It can stop a financed one, because the buyer's lender will want everything clear at closing. It does not stop us. Tell us where things stand and we will take the property with whatever is outstanding.

No. We come and look at the property before we put a number on it, and we show you the arithmetic behind that number. Sight-unseen offers in this county are common and are frequently well below what the property is worth — treat any offer that arrives without anyone visiting with real caution, including if it were ours.

Yes. Outbuildings come with the parcel and we do not need them cleared. If there is a lease or a rental arrangement on the land, tell us about it early so the title company can deal with it properly as part of the closing.

No. Hillside drainage and settling are among the most common findings in this county, and they are one of the most reliable ways for a financed sale to die, because the lender balks at a foundation question. We buy with the issue in view — tell us what you know and we will price it honestly rather than discovering it later.

Yes. Leases transfer with the property, so nobody needs to move out first, and we can time the closing around the academic year if that is easier for you.

Yes — the date is the point. You pick it, we close on it, and our On-Time Guarantee puts $5,000 in escrow at a Wisconsin title company behind that date. If closing after your move is simpler, we will hold a date weeks out.

Wisconsin. The property is in St. Croix County, so the deed is recorded here and Wisconsin's transfer fee and tax-proration rules apply regardless of which side of the river you work on. The title company will lay it all out on the settlement statement before closing.