Real Estate SuccessCast

🏚️ Inherited a House Full of Stuff? Southwest Virginia Sellers Need to See This

There are a lot of situations where — I’m trying to think of situations. 🏡

I mean, the house needs a lot of repairs.

There are a lot of houses that just haven’t been kept up with, and to sell it for “retail,” like what it would be worth in good shape, it’s going to take $30,000 to $40,000.

And most people don’t have $30,000 to $40,000.

So we buy houses like that, we fix them, and then we put them on the market or we rent them out. 🔨

We bought one the other day up in Floyd where the person was deceased, and the people lived in Lynchburg.

They didn’t want to have to go deal with all the possessions in the house.

And so we said, “All right, we’ll buy it just like it is.”

Boom.

And then we pay people to go in there, and we clean out all the possessions.

Most of it, we put a roll-off dumpster up there — two roll-off dumpsters — and got rid of most of it because it was trash.

Some stuff we donate to Goodwill or whatnot. The stuff that’s reusable, we donate to Goodwill and everything.

And so we’ll buy a house in any shape, form — it doesn’t matter. 🔑

For homeowners and families in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Floyd, Lynchburg, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Rocky Mount, and across Southwest Virginia, selling a house as-is can be a real option when the property needs repairs, cleanup, or you simply don’t want to deal with everything inside.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🚨 Facing Foreclosure in Southwest Virginia? Don’t Wait Until It’s Too Late

When people inherit a house, and they’re from Pennsylvania — is that mostly what happens with the cash offers? 🏡

Is it mostly people who have inherited a home?

It’s everything.

Okay, so it is also people who are behind on payments or underwater?

People behind on payments — like, this is what I don’t understand.

If you’re facing foreclosure, you know, if someone is chasing you trying to get you out of your house, sell it to somebody like me so you can get some money before you get no money. 💵

Oh, yeah.

You know, and we have them, and usually they call us the day before foreclosure.

There’s absolutely nothing I can do.

Nothing I can do.

Like, if the bank is calling and you don’t have a path to get out of it — which there are paths to get out of it — call us.

There are multiple paths where you may not even have to sell it to an investor.

But if the bank is calling, you have to sell it or they’re going to take it.

Sell it and get something. 🔑

Yeah, you know, don’t let them put you out on your rear.

And we work with people, too.

For homeowners in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Lynchburg, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Rocky Mount, and across Southwest Virginia, waiting until the last minute can limit your options. If you inherited a property, are behind on payments, or are facing foreclosure, talk to a local real estate team before the bank makes the decision for you. 🏘️

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏡 Why Your Cash Offer Is Lower Than You Expected in Southwest Virginia

Well, I think a lot of people — I don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings because, you know, people say, “I’ll sell it for cash.” 💵🏡

And then, you know, they come to them and say, “It needs a roof. It needs $30,000.”

We take that $30,000 off, and then a little bit of profit, and they get upset.

And so I don’t want to make them upset. We’re definitely not out to hurt anybody, but it is a business model.

And so when we buy it, we are going to fix it. We are going to repair it.

We’re going to put the love it needs and bring it back to its glory days. 🔨✨

And then we’ll try to sell it for a profit, or we’ll keep it for a rental. Either one.

What you’re talking about is managing expectations right now.

Everybody goes online and sees, “What’s a cash offer?”

Like, if you tell me, “Hey, do you want to sell your truck? I’ll pay cash.”

You still want the same thing as if I were to write a check, you know? It’s not a reason.

And what we’ve started doing a lot lately is we’ve been buying a lot of houses as-is.

Like, as-is.

When I say as-is — inspection? No, we do an inspection. We check title.

But you can leave your stuff. 🔑

For homeowners in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Lynchburg, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Rocky Mount, and across Southwest Virginia, a cash offer can make selling faster and easier — but it’s important to understand how the numbers work before expecting full retail value.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏔️ Roanoke & Salem Have a Housing Problem — And Zoning May Be the Key

There are ways of doing it, but current zoning won’t allow it in Roanoke. 🏡

So it’s something that the powers that be need to start thinking outside the box.

And it’s not just necessarily sprawl because there’s no place.

We’re in the mountains. There’s no place to sprawl. 🏔️

Yeah.

Well, and it’s not just Roanoke-specific.

Salem has the same problem.

Salem has the same problem.

Salem has the same problem, but Salem doesn’t care.

You know, Salem wants to be small and tight-knit.

It is what it is.

Salem is doing what they want.

Roanoke — and also, Salem is inside of Roanoke — so when we say Roanoke, we’re kind of talking about Roanoke City, Roanoke, Salem, Denton.

Now, there is some developable land in Roanoke City, but it’s the same problem.

I mean, it’s not going away. 📍

For local residents in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, and Southwest Virginia, housing inventory is still one of the biggest issues shaping the market. With mountains limiting sprawl and zoning restricting density, the future of housing in the Roanoke Valley will require smarter conversations and creative solutions.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🚨The Truth About Cash Offers in Southwest Virginia… Sellers Need to Hear This

Let’s dive just a second into a cash offer, because I think there’s a misnomer on cash offer. 💵🏡

By the way, do you get those offers?

I mean, do you make cash offers often?

Because I talk about it on my radio show.

We buy almost every week.

But on a cash offer, when we say cash offer, I think some people hear, people don’t care how they get paid.

They don’t care if it’s a check or cash or whatever.

On a cash offer house, when we talk about cash offer, we’re talking about a house where we’re going to make the selling process stupid easy, stupid fast, and stupid painless.

But you’re going to sell the house at a slight discount because we’re going to get the house, fix it up, and then resell it, or we’re going to make it into a rental.

And so, we’re easing the process and easing the pain, but there’s going to be a little bit of a discount off of, say, a retail price. 🔑

For homeowners in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Lynchburg, Christiansburg, Blacksburg, Rocky Mount, and across Southwest Virginia, a cash offer can be a faster, simpler option when you want to sell without repairs, showings, or a long listing process.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏡 Got a 2% or 3% Mortgage? Don’t Sell Before You Hear This

So, like, you know, it was like a 1031 exchange. 1031 exchange. 🏡

You sell and you have to find a like-kind property.

I’m involved in one of those right now, but 1031 is totally different.

With a 1031, you have to have someone help you legally because there are a lot of moving parts.

And we can help, but we still have to have a lawyer involved because nobody can touch the money, right?

The money has to go to an intermediary.

You can’t receive the money.

It has to go from when you sell this property, to the intermediary, to the next house.

You can’t ever touch it.

Down that rabbit hole — forget 1031 exchange.

Back to DSCR. DSCR. 🔑

So you can — they changed this rule a couple of years ago.

So now, let’s just say your house that you had on Airport.

Let’s just say you said, “Hey, I want to keep it. I’ve got a 3% mortgage on it. I don’t want to get rid of that 3% mortgage.”

No, because you didn’t have a 3% mortgage on that.

If you had a 3% mortgage, let’s say you want to keep it.

And I would tell everybody, if you’ve got a 2% or 3% mortgage and you want to buy a house, reach out to us.

Let’s talk about ways that you can keep that house and buy a new house. 🏘️

Yeah.

For homeowners, buyers, and real estate investors in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, Smith Mountain Lake, and across Southwest Virginia, keeping a low-interest mortgage while buying another home may be worth exploring before selling too quickly.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏡 What Is a DSCR Loan? A Real Estate Investing Strategy for SWVA Buyers

How much is a patio home? 🏡

Depends. How much is a car?

So, I mean, the reason I ask is because in the last segment you were talking about — what was the figure? $386,000 or what?

$386,000.

$386,000.

So let’s talk about this because I was looking at this. I saw this online — DSCR.

I don’t even know what that is, but it says DSCR and creative finance.

For the average person who can’t qualify for a traditional mortgage or second mortgage, how does a DSCR loan work, and what even is it? 💰

A DSCR — so it stands for debt service coverage ratio.

And so, I do quite a bit of these when we buy houses.

And so initially, when we started buying houses, we did a lot of flips.

Taxes are really bad on flips. Like, really bad.

Like, it’s capital gains — short-term capital gains.

So it’s worth doing them, but sometimes it really doesn’t feel like it is.

And so we do a lot of DSCRs.

And what a DSCR is, you go in and you buy the house, and then it’s 20% down — usually 20% to 25% down.

And then, you know, what you do on your current house is you rent your current house out. 🔑

Okay.

Okay.

For real estate investors, homeowners, and buyers in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, Smith Mountain Lake, and across Southwest Virginia, DSCR loans may be a creative financing option for building wealth through rental properties and long-term real estate investing. 🏘️

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏡 Patio Homes vs. Main-Level Living: What SWVA Buyers Should Know

So patio homes — you sell those. They aren’t necessarily new construction, are they?

They are new construction and resale. 🏡

Okay. And you’re a fan of patio homes?

Would I live in one personally? No.

I don’t like slab since there’s no basement.

Slab — I don’t have a problem with that part.

I have a problem with all the rules.

I have a problem with not being able to plant what I want to plant, and I have a problem with — anyway.

But you’re talking about patio-style homes.

Patio-style homes, yeah, they’re fine.

I mean, there’s nothing wrong with this, as they use the slab to get rid of steps and everything. 🔑

And a lot of times, if you don’t have a big enough lot to put three bedrooms on one level — do you need three bedrooms on one level unless you have multiple elderly people or disabled people?

You don’t.

A lot of times, you do a really nice primary suite on the main level, then pop two bedrooms up above. 🏘️

For buyers, retirees, investors, and homeowners in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, Smith Mountain Lake, and across Southwest Virginia, patio-style homes and main-level living can offer comfort, accessibility, and long-term convenience without always needing every bedroom on the first floor.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏡 Why HOAs Exist — And Why They Sometimes Go Too Far

Look, rich people — no, it’s that thing about damned if you do and damned if you don’t. 🏡

So if you don’t like it, you live in a neighborhood and you’ve got that guy across the street who has 12 barking dogs, or he always parks his loud car out in the street.

Or he’s got his little thing to pull the engine in the front yard, or he’s driving tractors around in the yard.

Yes.

You can’t be in my neighborhood, you know?

Or they’re just trashy.

That is trashy, you know?

And that’s why HOAs and POAs came about — because they wanted a standard of living for their community, and they wanted to protect it. 🏘️

Do they go too far?

Oftentimes.

Oftentimes, they go too far. 🔑

For buyers and homeowners in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, Smith Mountain Lake, and across Southwest Virginia, HOAs can protect neighborhood standards, but they can also come with rules that feel restrictive. Before buying, make sure you understand what the HOA or POA allows, what it limits, and whether it fits your lifestyle.

🏢 Damon Gettier & Associates, REALTORS®
Brokered by Real Broker, LLC
📞 540-384-0033
🌐 www.damongettier.com

🏡 Patio Homes vs. Patio-Style Homes: What SWVA Buyers Need to Know

So, because it’s weird, because to me, a patio home is like there are nine of them, and it’s like one developer owns all nine. 🏡

But they’re actually individual homes.

They’re individual homes.

Okay.

And the nuance to what I did say, which you’re correct, was patio-style home.

Because patio home — it is a definition of patio home.

There are zero lot lines.

I mean, they’re stacked together.

But you can still take that same house and build it on a vacant lot or split a lot and put it on there.

It’s not truly a patio home.

It’s the same style.

It’s functional. It’s got wider doorways. It’s got easy entry. No steps, you know, so that someone can function. 🔑

No HOA.

Yeah, no HOA exactly.

Which some people like, and some people don’t like, so you kind of pick your poison. 🏘️

For buyers, investors, retirees, and homeowners in Roanoke, Salem, Vinton, Botetourt, Smith Mountain Lake, and across Southwest Virginia, understanding the difference between patio homes and patio-style homes can help you find the right fit for comfort, accessibility, and long-term living.