We Buy Houses in Houston

No zoning, and what that means for your house

Houston is the largest U.S. city without conventional zoning. Land use is shaped instead by private deed restrictions, minimum lot size and building line rules, and market forces, which is why a townhome development can appear mid-block and why an automated estimate handles Houston badly.

Deed restrictions still bind, and the city enforces some of them. That matters when a house has an unpermitted addition, a garage conversion, or a second structure in the back — those can violate a restriction as well as the building code, and they are among the most common reasons a Houston house cannot be financed.

Flooding, bayou by bayou

Houston's flood story is local. Meyerland and the neighborhoods along Brays Bayou flooded in the 2015 Memorial Day storm, again on Tax Day 2016, and again during Harvey, which is why so many houses there carry repetitive-loss histories and elevated or rebuilt structures next to untouched ones. West Houston neighborhoods upstream of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs took on water when the pools rose during Harvey. White Oak, Greens, Sims, and Halls bayous each have their own flood-prone stretches.

For a mapped flood zone property, the substantial improvement rule can turn a repair into a rebuild: once repair or improvement costs reach a threshold share of the structure's value, current floodplain standards generally apply, which can mean elevating the house. That is why many flooded Houston homes were never fully repaired. We buy them in whatever state they are in.

The Houston neighborhoods we buy in most

• The Heights, Norhill, and Independence Heights — pier-and-beam bungalows, some in historic districts with exterior review
• East End, Second Ward, and Magnolia Park — small older frame houses, rising land value
• Third Ward, Fifth Ward, Kashmere Gardens, and Sunnyside — frame houses with original systems, high investor ownership
• Sharpstown, Gulfton, and Alief — 1950s through 1970s ranch houses and small rental homes
• Acres Homes and Northside — older houses on larger lots, many held by families for decades
• Meyerland, Braeswood, and Westbury — flood-affected houses at every stage of repair
• Spring Branch and Oak Forest — mid-century houses being replaced around older holdouts

Code cases and dangerous buildings

The City of Houston enforces nuisance, weeds, and open-and-abandoned-structure rules, and can pursue dangerous-building findings and demolition, with the costs assessed against the property. On a vacant house those charges accumulate quietly while notices go to whatever address the appraisal district has on file.

An open case does not stop a sale. Send us the case number and we will account for it; recorded liens are paid from the closing proceeds like any other lien. What causes delays is a case nobody mentioned that surfaces in the title search.

Selling a Houston house as-is

No repairs, no cleanout, no staging, no showings. If the house is tenant-occupied, the lease and the security deposit transfer to us at closing, so nobody has to be evicted. If it was inherited and nothing was ever filed, title has to be cleared first — usually through probate, a muniment of title, or an affidavit of heirship the title company accepts.

Closing is at a title company. Because Texas has no transfer tax, a Houston seller's costs come down to the owner's title policy, payoffs, prorated taxes, and any HOA or MUD charges.

Frequently asked questions