How it works
From the form to the settlement table.
Three steps, nothing owed at any of them, and an honest account of what you’d be trading by selling this way instead of listing.
The three steps
- 01
Tell me about the house
Address, county, and what's going on. Two minutes. Before I call you back I read the county's own record on the property, so you're not answering twenty questions.
- 02
I come look, then give you a number
One walkthrough. You get the number and the arithmetic behind it: the condition, what similar houses nearby actually settled for, and what it costs me to carry and resell.
- 03
You pick the settlement date
A Maryland title company handles the money and the paperwork. Three weeks or three months — it's your calendar, not mine.
Hi, I'm Dustin.
I buy houses across eleven Maryland counties, and I read the county's own record on a house before I ever call about it.
The first call is short and it isn't a pitch. If selling to me is the wrong move, I'll say so.
— Dustin, Patuxent Homes
(410) 604-8350That's my number, not a call centre.
The number
Four things go into it, and I show you all four.
An offer that turns up as one number with no arithmetic behind it is a number you can’t argue with. Here’s the whole sum.
- 01
What similar houses actually sold for
Settled sales near you, not asking prices. An asking price is a hope. A settled sale is a fact with a date on it, and it's already in the land records.
- 02
What the repairs will run
Roof, systems, water, structure, and whatever the walkthrough turns up. You get the estimate. Argue with a line in it if you want — you know things about the house I can't see.
- 03
What it costs me to carry and resell
Taxes, insurance, utilities and money for the months I hold it, then the cost of selling it again. Most buyers leave this part out of the conversation.
- 04
My margin
I'm a business and I plan to make money on the resale. I'd rather tell you I'm taking a margin than pretend the number fell out of the sky.
What happens at settlement
- A Maryland title company handles the money and the paperwork. None of it passes through me.
- You pick the settlement date. Three weeks or three months, it's your call.
- Bring your own attorney to look at anything, any time. I'd rather you did.
The trade-off
Me, or a listing with an agent.
A listing usually brings more money on a house that’s ready for one. I’d rather you saw that written down than found out later.
| What changes | Selling to me | Listing with an agent |
|---|---|---|
| When you settle | The day you pick | After it sells, then 30 to 45 days more |
| Repairs first | None. I buy it as it stands | Usually, to pass an inspection or an appraisal |
| Commission | None. I'm the buyer | Agreed with the brokerages, paid at settlement |
| Closing costs | I pay the customary buyer's costs | Split by contract. You pay the seller's side |
| Showings | One walkthrough, with me | Any buyer's agent, on their schedule |
| The deal falling through | No lender on my side | An appraisal or underwriting can end it |
| Condition | Any. Occupied or empty | Has to be financeable and presentable |
When you settle
- Selling to me
- The day you pick
- Listing with an agent
- After it sells, then 30 to 45 days more
Repairs first
- Selling to me
- None. I buy it as it stands
- Listing with an agent
- Usually, to pass an inspection or an appraisal
Commission
- Selling to me
- None. I'm the buyer
- Listing with an agent
- Agreed with the brokerages, paid at settlement
Closing costs
- Selling to me
- I pay the customary buyer's costs
- Listing with an agent
- Split by contract. You pay the seller's side
Showings
- Selling to me
- One walkthrough, with me
- Listing with an agent
- Any buyer's agent, on their schedule
The deal falling through
- Selling to me
- No lender on my side
- Listing with an agent
- An appraisal or underwriting can end it
Condition
- Selling to me
- Any. Occupied or empty
- Listing with an agent
- Has to be financeable and presentable
Before I call
Where my information about your house comes from.
Two public record sets, both run by the State of Maryland, both free for you to read yourself. Nothing I know came from a data broker.
Maryland Judiciary Case Search & Record Portal
Run by The Maryland Judiciary
Free public access to case records from the District Court and the Circuit Courts. Foreclosure cases are Circuit Court cases, so they're in there. The Judiciary relaunched it as the Case Search & Record Portal on 14 March 2026.
Look it up yourselfMDLandRec
Run by The Maryland State Archives
Every instrument the Clerk of the Circuit Court recorded into the land record volumes, for all twenty-three Maryland counties and Baltimore City. It's where a deed or a deed of trust lives. It doesn't carry tax liens, tax assessments, blueprints or equity records.
Look it up yourself
If a case has been filed on your house, the dates in it are public and you can know them ahead of time. I wrote out Maryland’s sequence, stage by stage, with the statute behind each one.
Boundaries
What I’ll never do.
Being specific about this matters more than usual in Maryland, so it’s a list and not a paragraph.
- I'll never charge you a fee. Nothing comes off the number we agree on.
- I'll never ask you to sign at the visit. Take the offer home and sit with it.
- I'll never tell you anything about your loan, your lender, or how your case ends. That isn't mine to speak to.
- I'll never ask you to sign over a deed before settlement.
- I'll never call anyone on your behalf, not your lender and not your family.
Start at step one
The address and your county is enough to begin. I buy in eleven of them. Or call (410) 604-8350.