I've Been Buying Houses Since 2004.

Over the years, I've been involved in more than 3,000 real estate transactions with my partners. I've bought everything from beautiful homes in great neighborhoods to houses that needed just about everything — and I've worked with homeowners dealing with probate, foreclosure, divorce, difficult tenants, major repairs, financial problems, and situations that don't fit neatly into any category.

But here's probably the more important thing to know about me:

Sometimes selling directly to me makes perfect sense. Sometimes you'd be much better off listing with a real estate agent. And sometimes the house isn't really the problem at all.

I've told sellers for years:

I mean it.

I Was a Problem Solver Long Before I Was a House Buyer

Real estate isn't where my career started.

My professional background is actually in finance, consulting, technology, and project management. I have an MBA and a degree in economics, and I've spent much of my career leading complicated projects and solving difficult business problems for organizations including Volkswagen, Ally Financial, General Motors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Lear Corporation, and Hewlett-Packard.

I've worked in corporate finance and investment banking. I've managed large technology programs. I've built project management organizations. I've taught finance and project management at the college and graduate level. And more than once, I've been brought into projects specifically because something had gone badly wrong and somebody needed to figure out how to get it back on track.

It turns out that buying houses isn't as different from consulting as you might think.

When I was consulting, my job wasn't to walk into the room with an answer already decided. It was to understand the problem. Ask the right questions. Figure out the constraints. Understand what everyone involved actually needed. Look at the alternatives. Then recommend a way forward.

Because after doing this for more than 20 years, I've learned that what initially sounds like a house problem often isn't just about the house.

How I Got Into Real Estate

I certainly didn't grow up dreaming of becoming the guy whose name would eventually be on a “we buy houses” website.

In 2004, I was working in technology for a major automotive supplier. My wife and I had four young children, all under nine. My terminally ill mother had also come to live with us so we could care for her.

At the same time, things in the automotive industry were getting ugly. My very good corporate job suddenly didn't feel quite as secure as it once had.

I wasn't looking for some grand entrepreneurial adventure. I was looking at a family depending on me and thinking that having another source of income might be a pretty good idea.

That's how I found real estate. I started buying houses while continuing my consulting career, and over the next two decades the two careers grew alongside each other.

Looking back, I think each made me better at the other. Real estate taught me a tremendous amount about people, negotiation, risk and decision-making. Consulting taught me not to assume I knew the answer before I understood the problem.

That lesson has probably mattered more than anything else.

Most People Who Call Me Don't Sell Their House to Me

That may be an odd thing for someone who buys houses to put on his website. But it's true.

Here's why. A lot of people find me through Google or one of my marketing campaigns because they want a quick cash offer. But sometimes what they're really telling me is:

Those aren't necessarily the same thing.

Selling directly to an investor usually involves a tradeoff. You're giving up some potential sale price in exchange for some combination of convenience, speed, certainty, no repairs, no cleanup, no showings, and fewer moving parts.

If your house is in good condition, you have plenty of time, and squeezing every possible dollar out of the sale is your priority, I'm probably going to tell you to call a good real estate agent. That's not a failed sales call for me. That's the right answer.

But price isn't always the only thing that matters. I learned that particularly well from one seller.

Sometimes the Highest Price Isn't the Best Solution

That transaction reinforced something I've believed ever since:

I Should Be Your First Call. Here's Why.

I don't mean that because I need to be the first person who gets a shot at buying your house.

I mean:

• ✓Before you spend $40,000 fixing a house because somebody told you that you “have to.”
• ✓Before you empty a house that's taken a family 50 years to fill.
• ✓Before you assume you need to sell to an investor.
• ✓And before you assume you need to list with an agent.

Tell me what's going on. I'll ask questions. We'll talk about the house, but I'll also want to understand what you're actually trying to accomplish.

Maybe the right answer is selling to me. Maybe it's listing. Maybe you need an attorney, contractor, lender, title company, accountant, or someone else before you need a buyer.

Even if we never do business together, I'd like you to come away from the conversation with a better understanding of your options and a plan for what to do next.

When You Call, You Get Me.

The phone number on this website is my direct number. When you call, there's no call center and no AI bot deciding whether you sound like an attractive enough “lead” to deserve a conversation.

If I don't answer, there's a decent chance I'm already talking with another homeowner. Leave me a message and give me a little patience. I'll call you back.

That first conversation is important to me. I'll certainly ask about the house — condition, mortgage, repairs, occupancy, and the other things I'd need to know if I'm going to make an offer. But I'm also going to ask why you're thinking about selling. And then I'm going to listen. Because that's often where the important information is.

I've had conversations that started with someone asking:

and ended up being about an elderly parent, siblings who can't agree, a looming move, a tenant problem, financial pressure, a house full of belongings, or simply someone who's had enough and wants one problem removed from their life.

You don't uncover those things by screening people. You uncover them by talking to them.

“Your Timeline” Actually Means Your Timeline

It's easy for a home buyer to put “we close on your timeline” on a website. Sometimes that means:

My definition is a little different.

Sometimes you need ten days. Sometimes you need eight months and then six days. The important part is understanding what you need and doing everything reasonably possible to make the transaction fit it.

You Really Can Leave the Stuff Behind

This is another phrase that's easy to put on a house-buying website:

And I mean it. Furniture. Appliances. Boxes. Things in the basement. Things in the garage. Things nobody in the family wants to deal with. You don't have to clear out every last item just because you're selling me the house.

But I've learned something from buying a lot of probate and inherited properties:

Especially after someone dies. People are grieving. Siblings may disagree. Everybody goes through the house looking for things they recognize as valuable. Eventually they're exhausted and there are still boxes everywhere.

So when I'm dealing with the things left behind, I pay attention.

So yes:

But “left behind” doesn't mean I stop recognizing that some of it may still belong with your family. If I find something that appears valuable, personal or irreplaceable, I'm going to make an effort to get it back to you. Nobody puts that requirement in the purchase agreement. It's just the right thing to do.

My Name Is on the Business for a Reason

I could have given this company almost any name. Instead, I called it Dennis Buys Houses. There isn't much hiding behind that.

If you have a good experience, my name is on it. If I make a promise, my name is on it. And if I screw something up, my name is on that too.

I've spent decades in businesses where accountability matters. I've managed major projects, significant budgets and complicated financial decisions. My professional reputation was built on being the person people could rely on when the situation wasn't simple. I try to bring that same accountability to real estate.

My #1 policy has always been simple:

That doesn't mean every homeowner will like my offer. I'm an investor. The numbers have to work for me too. It means that you should understand the deal you're making and believe it works for you. If you don't, we shouldn't do it. It's really that simple.

This Isn't Just a Transaction. To Me, It's a Relationship.

Twenty-plus years and thousands of transactions teach you quite a bit about houses. They teach you even more about people.

I've learned that there usually isn't much value in judging how somebody ended up where they are. Sometimes life went sideways. Sometimes the house got away from them. Sometimes someone died. Sometimes they made mistakes. Sometimes they did everything right and circumstances changed anyway. And sometimes there's nothing wrong at all — they've simply decided they're done with the house.

I don't need you to justify any of that to me.

Then we can figure out whether I have a useful role in getting you there.

Here's How I Can Help

If selling directly to me does turn out to be the right fit:

• ✓I buy houses as-is — no required cleanup, repairs, agents, or showings.
• ✓You can leave behind anything you don't want.
• ✓I've dealt with everything from luxury properties to houses filled floor-to-ceiling with belongings.
• ✓If we find something valuable or sentimental during a cleanout, we'll make an effort to return it.
• ✓We can work around the timeline you actually need, rather than forcing the transaction into ours.
• ✓And there is no pressure to sell to me. If I think another route makes more sense, I'll tell you.

But you don't need to know which route makes sense before you call.

Enough About Me. What's Going On With You?

If you're thinking about selling a house, tell me what's happening. You don't need to have everything figured out. You don't need to clean the house before calling. And you don't need to decide in advance whether you want to list it, sell it to me, fix it first, or do something else entirely.

I'll ask some questions, give you my perspective, and we'll figure out what makes sense from there. If selling to me is the right fit, I'll explain how it would work. If it isn't, I'll tell you straightaway — and I'll try to point you in the direction of something that is.