How we buy your house — start to finish.

Most "we buy houses" sites give you a fluffy three-step graphic and call it a day. We think you deserve more detail than that. Here's what actually happens after you reach out, the contract you'll sign, and why we run the process the way we do.

How it works

Three steps. No surprises.

We've intentionally stripped this down. Most people who call us are dealing with enough already — the last thing you need is a complicated process.

  1. 01

    Tell us about the property

    Spend about a minute on the form, or call us — Mike or Adam will fill it out with you. We'll ask the basics: address, condition, and your timing.

  2. 02

    We come see it in person

    Mike, Adam, or one of our trusted contractors walks the property with you so we can land on a real number. We don't make sight-unseen offers over the phone — that's how the lowball-then-renegotiate outfits operate.

  3. 03

    Cash offer, then close on your timeline

    A couple of days after the walkthrough, we follow up with our cash number. If you accept, we write it up on the same standard Illinois Realtor® purchase contract a traditional listing would use, and close at a local title company on a date that works for you.

Standard realtor contract

We use the same Illinois Realtor® purchase contract a traditional listing would use — not a vague, assignable investor agreement loaded with escape hatches.

No commission. No fees.

You don't pay a listing agent, a buyer's agent, or any closing costs on our side. The number we offer is the number you take home.

As-is, no repairs

Sell your house exactly as it sits. We buy houses with leaky roofs, foundation issues, hoarder situations — anything.

Close on your timeline

Need it fast? We move as quickly as title and lien research allow. Need three months to find your next place? That works too. You pick the date.

FAQ

Questions we get all the time.

If yours isn't here, call us. We'd rather have a real conversation.

It's a two-person family operation. Mike is the investor; his company, Ziffnet® LLC, is the cash buyer of record on every deal. Adam — Mike's son — is a licensed Illinois real estate broker who runs comps and prepares the purchase contract on Ziffnet®'s behalf. When you call, you talk to one of us directly. No call center, no script.
No. Adam is licensed in Illinois, but on every Ziffnet® deal he represents Ziffnet® — the buyer — not you. He is not your listing agent and not your buyer's agent, owes no fiduciary duties to the seller, and cannot give you legal advice or represent you in the transaction. The benefit to you is structural: because Adam holds the license, we use the same standard Illinois Realtor® purchase contract a traditional listing would use, instead of a DIY investor form. You pay no listing commission, no buyer's-agent commission, and no fee to either of us.
No. We don't quote a number until we've seen the property in person. After your initial call, we set up a walkthrough — Mike, Adam, or one of our trusted contractors comes out to look at the home. A couple of days later, we follow up with a real cash number based on what we actually saw. It takes a little longer than a phone-quote outfit, but it's how we land on a number we can stand behind instead of a teaser we'd later renegotiate.
The same standard Illinois Realtor® purchase contract a traditional listing would use. It's non-assignable, names Ziffnet® LLC (Mike's company) as the buyer, holds earnest money at a local title company, and locks in the closing date you choose. It is not the four-page assignable investor agreement most cash buyers ask you to sign.
After our walkthrough, Adam pulls recent comparable sales on your block, factors in the condition we saw on the property, and subtracts estimated repair and holding costs. Then we add what we need to make a small profit. We'll walk you through the math line-by-line — most sellers appreciate seeing it.
No commissions and no closing fees from our side. The number we offer is the number that hits your bank account. The only standard exceptions are property taxes you owe and any liens on the title — those come out of the sale proceeds the same way they would in any sale.
Most closings land in the 14- to 30-day range, depending on how quickly title and lien research clears. We can occasionally move faster than that, but we don't promise a hard 7-day close — it's rarely realistic. If you need more time — say, you're waiting on your next house — just tell us. We'll close on the date you pick.
That's our specialty. We've bought houses with foundation problems, fire damage, roof failures, hoarder situations, and code violations. You don't clean, fix, or repair anything before we arrive. We bring our own contractors after closing.
We buy throughout Chicagoland — Cook, DuPage, Lake, Will, and Kane counties — in every neighborhood. We don't cherry-pick zip codes.
No. We give you the offer, explain how we got there, and answer questions about how Ziffnet® structures the deal. Then we leave you alone to think about it. Take the time you need — we don't do high-pressure sales calls.

Ready to start the conversation?

Takes about a minute. Mike or Adam will call you within one business day to set up a walkthrough. Once we've seen the home, we follow up with a real cash number on a standard Illinois Realtor® purchase contract. No commission. No surprises.

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