Wayne had been receiving postcards from Stars and Stripes Real Estate for a couple of years. Like most homeowners, he wasn’t interested in selling his house, so he simply held onto our name and went about his life.
Then his situation changed.
Wayne had inherited the San Jacinto home from his parents and continued living there after they passed. Over time, back property taxes became a problem, the air conditioning and heater weren’t working, and eventually he received a letter from the county telling him the property could be headed toward a tax sale.
With roughly a month to figure out what to do, Wayne walked out to check his mail.
One of our postcards was sitting in the mailbox.
In his words, he had “a really good gut-level feeling” about calling us.
That phone call eventually turned into a $105,000 sale, but the purchase price is only part of Wayne’s story. He also needed time to go through years of family belongings, decide what mattered to him, and move without feeling rushed.
Here’s how we worked through it with him.
Wayne Thought He Might Get $60,000
When Mike from Stars and Stripes Real Estate met Wayne at the property, Wayne wasn’t expecting much.
The house had repair issues, there were back property taxes to deal with, and Wayne knew the property needed work. In the interview, he explained that he thought he might be lucky to get around $60,000 for the house.
After walking the property and evaluating the situation, Mike sat down with Wayne and offered him $105,000.
Wayne remembers his reaction pretty simply:
“That was way beyond my wild imagining. I said, ‘Sounds good to me.’”
They signed the paperwork and started the process.
But getting Wayne a price he was happy with was only part of what needed to happen. He had lived in the home for years, it had belonged to his parents, and there were family belongings throughout the property that he wasn’t ready to simply walk away from.
We Gave Wayne 30 Days After Closing to Move
One of Wayne’s biggest concerns wasn’t just selling the house. He needed time to go through years of belongings and decide what he and his family wanted to keep.
Instead of requiring the property to be completely emptied before closing, Stars and Stripes Real Estate structured the sale so Wayne had 30 days after escrow closed to sort through everything.
Wayne described it this way:
“I really appreciated the 30 days after escrow closed to just sort through and decide what I was going to keep and what I was going to leave behind.”
He also didn’t have to repair the house or completely clean it out before turning it over to us.
“It was a big relief to know I didn’t have to repair anything. I didn’t have to clean the place up. I could just take the things that I wanted to take and let you guys deal with the rest of it.”
An Extra Day Helped Wayne Find Family Treasures
Even after the 30 days, Wayne and his family were still going through the property. On the morning he was supposed to turn over the keys, he discovered a cupboard that hadn’t been checked.
Rather than rush him out, we gave Wayne and his family the rest of the day to finish going through the house.
That extra time ended up mattering.
Wayne estimated they found about 10 family treasures that day. His grandson was there too, going through old games, cameras and other belongings from the house.
For us, giving Wayne a little more time was a simple decision. For his family, it meant getting one last opportunity to find things that couldn’t simply be replaced.
Stars and Stripes Real Estate Did What We Said We Would Do
“I had a great experience. You guys were open and above board on everything. You did what you said you’d do and even went beyond.”
For us, that’s more important than simply getting another house under contract.
Every property and every homeowner’s situation is different. Our job is to understand the problem, be straightforward about what we can do, and then follow through on what we agree to.
Watch Wayne’s Full Stars and Stripes Real Estate Testimonial
Wayne was kind enough to sit down with us after the sale and talk about his experience in his own words. In the video below, he explains how he first heard about Stars and Stripes Real Estate, what was happening with the property, what he expected the house to sell for, and what the process was actually like.
Full Transcript of Wayne’s Testimonial
The transcript below has been lightly edited to remove filler words and repeated phrases for readability, but Wayne’s comments and experience have not been changed.
John: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and how you first heard about Stars and Stripes Real Estate?
Wayne: I’m a retired school teacher. I first heard of Stars and Stripes Real Estate through the flyers in my mailbox.
John: You got one of our postcards?
Wayne: Many of your postcards over the last couple of years. They were the “buy your home for cash” type of stuff, and I’m like, “I’m not interested in selling my home.”
I owed some back taxes that I didn’t have the cash to cover. The AC wasn’t working, the heater wasn’t working in the home, so quality of life was not the best.
The county sent me a letter and said, “Okay, we’re going to be putting your home up for auction in about a month.”
I figured I might be lucky to get $10,000 out of that at the end of the day going through the auction process.
I went out to check the mail and one of your postcards was in the mailbox. I just had a really good gut-level feeling in response to it.
John: That’s our goal because there are a lot of companies that do what we do, but we’re a small company and we try to make sure we take care of people through the process. It’s less about the money and more about helping people at the same time.
Wayne: It seemed a lot more personable. I sat down and put in a call and got ahold of Mike. He said, “Well, I can be there at 9:30 in the morning and take a look at the place.”
He went around the premises with me and looked at it. I’m sitting there going, “Well, if I’m lucky, I might get $60,000 out of it.”
He sat down and said, “Well, I can offer you $105,000 for it,” which was way beyond my wild imagining. I said, “Sounds good to me.”
So we signed the paperwork and got the ball rolling.
John: Tell us a little bit about the story of the house. I know that it was initially your parents’ house.
Wayne: My parents got it. They shopped around and found this place for sale. It had no garden area for them to take care of, and they had gardeners that did the gardening. So they bought that place there on Bushy Tail Trail.
I inherited it from them.
John: And then you lived there for a while after that?
Wayne: I was actually living there, and I lived there ever since.
John: We bought your house a couple of months ago, and we let you stay there for a little over a month. How did that whole process go? Did we do everything we said we were going to do for you throughout the process?
Wayne: Absolutely. Absolutely.
I really appreciated the 30 days after escrow closed to just sort through and decide what I was going to keep and what I was going to leave behind.
It was a big relief to know I didn’t have to repair anything. I didn’t have to clean the place up. I could just take the things that I wanted to take and let you guys deal with the rest of it.
John: What would you say to someone who’s considering selling their house to Stars and Stripes Real Estate? Good, bad or indifferent—I love the honest truth when it comes to this stuff.
Wayne: I had a great experience. You guys were open and above board on everything. You did what you said you’d do and even went beyond.
Sunday, and then Monday morning, Martin was going to come over at about 9:30 and pick up the keys. I’d found a cupboard that none of us had looked in yet.
You guys said we could stay and work. “Here’s the key, here’s the code for it. When you’re done, just put the keys in the lock and be out by this evening.”
That took the pressure off and allowed us an extra day to go through stuff.
John: Which is important. There are always sentimental things that you don’t want to leave behind.
Wayne: There are sentimental things. That day there were probably about 10 family treasures that were located.
John: And I saw your grandson running through. He was having a really good time going through all the stuff and finding some games, cameras and different things like that.
Wayne: Yeah. Most of the cameras he found didn’t work anymore. But he was still, “Camera! Can I have this?” I’d say, “I don’t know if it works, but sure.”
He had fun with that.
Wayne: There was one thing I forgot to pack that I didn’t intend to leave behind, but you guys are replacing it, right?
John: Absolutely.
Wayne: I appreciate everything you guys did.
John: Well, it was a pleasure working with you, Wayne. Thank you very much, sir. I appreciate it.
Wayne: You’re welcome. Thank you.
What Wayne’s Story Shows About Selling a House As-Is
Wayne’s situation involved more than simply selling a house. He was dealing with back property taxes, a home that needed repairs, years of belongings, an approaching deadline and the emotional side of selling a property that had belonged to his parents.
There wasn’t one solution that would work for every homeowner. We had to understand what Wayne actually needed and structure the sale around his situation.
For Wayne, that meant a $105,000 purchase price, no repairs or cleanout before the sale, 30 days after closing to go through his belongings, and a little extra flexibility when his family needed more time.
That’s the kind of problem solving we believe Stars and Stripes Real Estate should provide.
Considering Selling a House As-Is in Riverside County?
Wayne’s situation is just one example of how an as-is sale can work. Every property, timeline and homeowner is different, and selling directly to a cash buyer isn’t automatically the best option for everyone.
If you’re trying to decide whether selling as-is makes sense for your situation, we put together a more detailed guide explaining repairs, belongings, inspections, pricing and what homeowners should consider before making that decision.
Have a Property Situation That Isn’t Simple?
Not every home sale fits neatly into a traditional process. Sometimes there are repairs, back taxes, inherited property, years of belongings or simply a deadline that makes the situation more complicated.
Stars and Stripes Real Estate is a veteran and first responder-owned home-buying company based in Temecula, serving homeowners throughout Riverside County and Southern California.
Our approach is simple: understand the situation first, explain the options, and figure out what actually makes sense for the homeowner—even if that means selling another way.
If you’d like to talk through your property and see what your options look like, call Stars and Stripes Real Estate at (844) 932-8943 or contact us through our website.
