Introduction
This Appalachian Irishman has gone from being annoyed to becoming aggravated by Pro Source Home Buyers. The barrage of radio commercials by Pat, who wants to buy your house, is annoying. His marketing mailings, however, which include disclaimed (fake) checks for low-ball monetary amounts for our house and property, are aggravating.
This 110th entry in the “life (such as it is)” topic section is a public service announcement (PSA) and warning to readers in Tennessee who live near Knoxville and Chattanooga and to perusers from South Carolina who live around Greenville and Columbia. Venditor caveat! Let the seller beware!
The second definition in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary for prey on/upon is “to hurt, cheat, or steal from (someone).” Further, it defines gullible as “easily duped or cheated.”
Despite their claims, upbeat commercials, endorsements, testimonials, and customer reviews, Pro Source Home Buyers makes money by trying to cheat an uninformed and gullible property owner into selling his or her home and land. The price offered is under the property's fair market value. Even worse, their cash offer can be lower than the appraised value of the property.
This article, a PSA and warning, offers proof. Again, let the seller beware!
Beware of Pro Source Home Buyers!
This section begins with general information. Importantly, it offers proof from my experience to beware of Pro Source Home Buyers.
General Information
Pro Source Home Buyers is just one of a multitude of cash buyer businesses out there. Unlike state-licensed real estate agents, who have a fiduciary responsibility to you and are bound by a code of ethics, cash buyers are not necessarily licensed and are not governed by an independent code of ethics.
Cash buyer businesses that offer quick purchases of properties for cash are also called house flippers. Their business model is to quickly buy properties in any condition at a low price. Houses may or may not be improved, before house flippers sell the property at a higher price.
Sellers who want to sell a property fast without using a real estate agent save time but lose money when selling to a cash buyer. If a seller doesn't mind losing a significant amount of money to save time, he or she may use a house flipper.
For further reading, one of several informative source articles is “Looking to Sell Your Home for Cash? Read This First.” ProPublica, by Byard Duncan and Anjeanette Damon, 5/17/2023.
My Experience with Pro Source Home Buyers
My experience began by being annoyed with the onslaught of radio commercials from Pro Source Home Buyers. They start out, “Hi. I'm Pat, from Pro Source Home Buyers, and I buy houses for cash.” Quickly, I change stations or turn off the radio. I hope advertising managers with local radio stations read this article.
The first marketing mailing from this cash buyer arrived on Monday, February 10. The mailing included a disclaimed (fake) check as an offer to buy our property. Coincidentally, that Monday was the same day that my father-in-law was discharged home from his second hospitalization. The article from 2/13/2025 is about his two hospitalizations.
Knowing both the current market value and the appraised value of our house and land, I quickly calculated that Pat's low-ball offer was 23.95 percent lower than the current market value of our property. His offer was 7.7 percent higher than the appraised value, which is lower than the current market value.
A couple of days later, I decided to speak with this cash buyer and ask him to remove my name and address from his mailing list. I had two phone numbers from the mailing and the website. My call to each number indicated that both lines were not in service. Later that day, I decided to email the company. My email included the following: “As an educated home and property owner, I know that the postal mail offer is lowballing us.... This email, therefore, requests and requires that you remove my contact and property information from your databases and that you stop the marketing mailings. You are only wasting the price of postage and filling up the paper recycling bin.” I did not receive a reply to that email.
The second marketing letter from Pro Source Home Buyers showed up on Thursday, June 5, the day before D-Day. This time, Pat's fake check offered $38,145 less than the amount he offered in February! I was amazed! Again, I quickly calculated that Pat's even lower-ball offer was 34.85 percent less than our property's current market value. Further, his laughable offer was 7.7 percent less than the lower appraised value of our property!
This bottom-feeding house-flipping business is preying on gullible property owners. It is offering cash that is roughly 25 to 35 percent less than fair market value. Shockingly, their cash offer could be less than the lower appraised value.
Conclusion
You may want to sell a property, especially if it needs improvements, fast, knowing that you will receive much less than the current market value or even less than the appraised value. If so, Pro Source Home Buyers is one of many cash buyer options. Similar businesses post fliers on telephone poles and at intersections, which may not be legal.
As an educated home and property owner, I will not be fleeced by Pro Source Home Buyers or by any bottom-feeding cash buyer business. I know the appraised value of our home and property, and I am aware of its higher current market value.
A property owner in Tennessee can find his or her property's appraised value by searching online at Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury: Tennessee Property Assessment Data: Property Search. Property data for 86 of the state's 95 counties are available, with external links to the other nine counties. Remember that the appraised value is for property tax purposes. An appraised value is often much lower than the current market value.
Online, the current market value of a property can be found on various websites. Recently, I have used Bankrate: Real Estate: How much is my house worth? and Chase: Home Value Estimator. Searching multiple sites results in values that are similar but not the same. I determine the current market value of our property by averaging the values that I find online.
Beware of Pro Source Home Buyers and their deceptive marketing. This is private property. Stay off!
Venditor caveat! Let the seller beware!
2 comments:
Excellent post. Thanks for the warning!
Thank you, Anonymous. This article reflects my righteous indignation toward house flippers in general. It is not right to scalp uneducated property owners by offering low-ball cash for property!
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