How to Submit a Property to a Cash Buyer (and Get a Real Answer)

Here’s the most common message I get: “Got a house. Interested?”

That’s it. No address. No condition. No idea whether the person sending it owns it. I want to help, but I can’t do anything with that except ask six questions and wait.

The fastest way to get a real answer from any cash buyer, me included, is to send a complete picture the first time. This page is the checklist. Follow it and you skip a week of back-and-forth.

Before you submit: are you the right person to send it?

I’ll keep this short because it matters. I take submissions from:

• The owner on the deed (or all the owners, if there are several)
• A licensed real estate agent representing the property or the seller
• An investor who already holds title
• A personal representative or attorney for an estate

If you’re none of those, stop for a second. South Carolina’s revised Real Estate Practice Act, signed in May 2024, addresses wholesaling directly, and the Real Estate Commission treats marketing a property you don’t own very broadly. That includes a text to me. Read the South Carolina wholesaling law summary and get advice from a South Carolina real estate attorney. Then, if the owner wants to sell, have the owner or their agent reach out.

The longer explanation of each group is on the who I buy from page.

What to include when you submit a property to a cash buyer

Here’s the checklist. Copy it into a note on your phone and fill it in.

You won’t have every answer. That’s normal. Write “don’t know” and keep going. A blank I can work with. A guess dressed up as a fact causes problems later.

Photos and video

Not required. Hugely helpful.

The best thing you can send is one continuous phone video. Start at the street, walk in the front door, go room by room, open the cabinets under the sinks, point the camera at the ceiling in every room, show the electrical panel, the water heater, the HVAC unit, and if you can, the crawlspace or attic hatch. Talk while you film. “This is the back bedroom, the ceiling stain is from a roof leak we fixed two years ago.”

That one video often answers more than a 30-photo album.

For land

Send the parcel number or a map pin if there’s no street address, what you know about road access, whether there’s power at the road, whether a well or septic exists, and any survey or plat you have. If there’s a mobile home on it, tell me roughly what year it is and whether you have the title paperwork. The land site has a good primer on land due diligence if you want to know what I’ll be checking.

For rentals and multifamily

Send the current leases if you’re comfortable, what each unit is getting in rent (I won’t publish it, I just need it to underwrite), who pays utilities, and any security deposits you’re holding. If tenants are behind, say so. It doesn’t scare me; finding out at closing does.

Where to submit

Use the form at benlovro.com/submit-deal. It routes straight to me and my team, and it keeps everything in one place so nothing gets lost in a text thread.

Licensed agents can use the agent version, which flags the submission so I know to coordinate through you. More on how I work with agents at agents.benlovro.com.

What happens after you submit

Here’s the order, start to finish.

1. I respond

I aim to respond within 24 business hours of a complete submission. That first answer is one of three things: “this looks like a fit, here’s what I need next,” “I need a couple more details,” or “this one isn’t for me, and here’s why.”

2. I underwrite

I pull sold comparables near the property, figure out what it’s worth finished, estimate repairs by system, and add a contingency. If it’s a rental or multifamily, I look at the income and expenses too. Let the paper make the decision. If you’re curious how that works, the deal analysis guide uses the same steps.

3. I see it

Either I walk it, someone on my team walks it, or for land, we drive it and check the records. This is where your video saves time.

4. I make an offer, or I don’t

If the numbers work, I explain my offer and how I got there. If they don’t, I tell you. I don’t promise a number before I’ve seen the property, and I don’t promise I’ll buy. What I do promise is a straight answer.

5. Contract and closing attorney

If we agree, we sign a purchase agreement, and a South Carolina closing attorney takes over the title work. In this state, closings are supervised by an attorney, which protects both of us. The attorney searches title, clears liens and payoffs, prepares the deed and handles the funds. If you’re out of state, closings can often be done by mail-away. The closing attorney guide explains how that process works.

6. Close

You sign, the attorney disburses, and you’re done. Leave what you don’t want in the house unless we’ve agreed otherwise.

Mistakes that slow a submission down

A few others I see all the time:

• Hiding the problem. The foundation crack shows up at inspection anyway. Tell me now and it’s a line item. Tell me later and it’s a trust problem.
• Not looping in co-owners. Three heirs, one wants to sell, two haven’t been asked. Get everyone on the same page first.
• Sending only the good photos. I’m buying the bad rooms too.
• Shopping the same property to five buyers through five different people. It confuses everyone and usually ends with nobody serious.

Ready to send it?

You know what to include. You know what happens next. Go to the submission form, fill in what you know, and hit send. If you want to double-check fit first, look at my buy box, or go back to the main cash buyer page.