About us
eBuy Homes buys houses in the Des Moines metro for cash, as-is. We are a new company, and we start every conversation by showing you what the county already has your house on record for.
That order matters, because this corner of the internet has a reputation problem it has largely earned. Homeowners in Des Moines get postcards and cold calls every week from people who have never seen their street. Most "what is my house worth" pages are a form wearing a calculator's clothes: they want your phone number, and the number you came for arrives later, if at all.
This one gives you the figure first, and does not ask who you are. You can look up your address, take the number, and never speak to us. Most people should list with an agent, and the comparison on the home page says so in our own words.
Who writes the articles here
The guides on this site are written by Sam O., a real estate investor buying houses in the Des Moines metro. They are researched against primary sources: Iowa Code sections are read on the legislature's own site and linked so you can check them, and tax figures come from the IRS with the year stated. Where a statute has changed recently, the article says what changed and when.
That is not the same as legal or tax advice, and nothing here is. It is general information about how the process works in Iowa, written by somebody who deals with it regularly. For your own situation, talk to an Iowa probate attorney or a CPA.
Why "eBuy"
A fair question, and the honest answer is that the name is older than the site. There is no clever story in it. The "e" is not a promise of anything automated: a person walks the house, a local title company closes it, and the money is ordinary money.
How we make money
We buy below what a house is worth once it has been repaired, do the repairs, and sell or rent it afterwards. That gap is the whole business, and it is why a cash offer is below what the open market would pay for the same house in good condition.
Anyone who tells you they can pay full retail, close in two weeks and cover the repairs is describing something that does not exist. The trade is real, and you should weigh it against listing rather than take our word for it.
We don't renegotiate at the last minute
Coming back a week before closing with a lower figure is the oldest trick in this trade, and it isn't how we intend to operate. Barring something genuinely undisclosed, such as an unpermitted addition or a lien nobody mentioned, our intention is to close at the written number. Whatever is agreed goes in the purchase agreement, which is the document that actually binds either of us.
We'll tell you when a cash sale is the wrong idea
If your house is in good shape and you're not in a hurry, an agent will very likely net you more. If you're behind on payments, there are options (forbearance, a short sale, sometimes just a conversation with your servicer) that leave you better off than any cash offer. We would rather say that than not.
We don't run drip campaigns
No postcards, no marketing sequences, no calls from a number you don't recognise eighteen months later. If you ask us to stop contacting you, or to delete what we hold, we'll do it.
Local, and staying that way
Polk County only, for now. Knowing that a block in Beaverdale prices differently from one four streets over is most of the value here, and it isn't knowledge that travels. Dallas and Warren County, so Waukee and Norwalk, are not in the lookup yet.
Things we'd rather you heard from us
- We are new and have no track record. We're not going to invent one or paste in testimonials we don't have. If that matters to you, and it reasonably should, that is the honest answer to where we are today.
- We are not a brokerage, an agent or an appraiser and we don't represent you. Nothing here is advice about what to do with your house. Before you sign anything, have an agent or a lawyer read it.
- Our offer will be below what the open market would pay. That is the trade: speed, certainty and no repairs, in exchange for price. If the house shows well and you are not on a clock, listing with an agent will almost always get you more money.
- The assessed value is not a sale price. Iowa law requires assessment at market value, but a specific house can sell well above or below it depending on condition, timing and what the street has done since. Treat it as a solid starting point, not a valuation.
- Check it against the county directly. Everything here comes from Polk County's own published records, and you can look the same parcel up on their site. If we ever disagree with them, they are right and we have a bug.