If you inherited a house and can't seem to sell it — even when buyers are interested — the problem is usually the title. Realtors won't list it. Banks won't lend on it. Most wholesalers walk away. Our team has been buying houses with broken titles since 2011, in cash, no agents, no fees. Here are the 7 red flags.
When a house has a title problem, it means the paperwork that says who legally owns the house is broken or unclear. Maybe Dad died without a clear will. Maybe a stepmom and ex-wife both claim the property. Maybe an heir filed the deed themselves and got it wrong. Whatever caused it, the result is the same: you can't sell the normal way until someone fixes the paperwork. Most buyers don't know how to fix it. We do.
Realtors need a clean title and a clear seller before they can put a sign in the yard. If yours said no — or kept asking for paperwork you don't have — that's sign #1.
When the title company runs the search and comes back with "missing signatures," "unsigned deed," or "open probate" — that's the title broken. They can't close until it's fixed.
If you inherited the house with brothers, sisters, or step-family — and one of them refuses to sign or can't be found — most sales stop dead. Our team has handled this many times.
No will means probate court. Probate in Texas takes 6 to 12 months on average. Most buyers won't wait. We will.
People try to fix it themselves. They file a new deed without a lawyer and an underwriter, and they make the title worse. We see this all the time.
Tax-delinquent properties with title issues are the hardest to sell. The county wants its money. Buyers want a clean title. Our team can handle both at the same time.
If another cash buyer walked away — that's actually a good sign. The deals other wholesalers can't close are the deals our team specializes in.
You have three options:
| Option | What it costs | How long it takes |
|---|---|---|
| Hire a real-estate attorney + underwriter | $3,000 - $15,000+ | 6 - 24 months |
| Keep paying taxes + insurance until you figure it out | $100s/month indefinitely | unknown |
| Call our team — we buy it as-is, title problem and all | $0 to you | 7 - 90 days |
We've been doing this since 2011. When you call us:
We listen to what's broken — 10 minutes on the phone.
We tell you straight whether we can buy it — no false hope.
If yes, we sign with you and we handle the title work — at our cost.
You walk away with cash; we fix the title behind the scenes. No agents. No fees. No repairs.
The offer reflects the work involved. But our team's offer is almost always more than you'd net after paying an attorney for 18 months.
If the title work is clean enough for us to close fast, 7 to 14 days. If it's complex, we sometimes pay you monthly (creative finance) until the title is cured — interest-free.
We buy across Texas (Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Garland, Frisco) and South Carolina (Columbia). If the property is somewhere else, call anyway — our team may have someone who covers it.
No pressure. No obligation. If we can't help, we'll tell you that too.
Or fill out our quick form:
Last updated: 2026-05-20. This page is part of ARV Venture Group's resource library for homeowners dealing with complex property situations.