Is We Buy Property a legitimate company?

Yes. We Buy Property LLC is a BBB-accredited, A+ rated company based on Pittsburgh South Side, with a 5.0-star Google rating across 100+ reviews and features on WPXI Channel 11 and The Center Square. We never charge upfront fees and every offer comes in writing.

Do you really pay cash?

Yes - our own funds, no bank financing, no waiting on loan approvals. We provide proof of funds on request, which is exactly what you should demand from any buyer before signing anything.

Do you really close in 30 days or less?

Yes - most of our closings finish in 7 to 21 days. The title search takes 3 to 5 business days at a local Pittsburgh title company and we can close as soon as it clears. You pick the date; if you need more than 30 days, that works too.

Do you really buy houses as-is?

Yes - completely as-is. No repairs, no inspections to pass, no cleaning. Take what you want and leave the rest, including furniture and belongings. We handle the entire cleanout after closing.

Do you really buy houses all over Pittsburgh and the surrounding areas?

Yes - every Pittsburgh neighborhood plus all of Allegheny, Washington, Beaver, Butler, Westmoreland, and Armstrong counties. From Penn Hills to Bethel Park, McKees Rocks to Verona - city, suburb, or small town.

Do you really charge no fees or commissions?

Correct - zero. No commissions, no service fees, and we pay standard closing costs. The written offer is the amount you walk away with at closing.

Who actually buys my house - is it really you?

Yes. We Buy Property purchases homes directly - you deal with owner Mark Schinzel and our local team, not a call center, franchise, or middleman reselling your contract.

How do you calculate my cash offer?

Recent sales within about a mile of your home, the current condition of the property, and real repair costs. We walk you through the math line by line - no mystery numbers, no pressure to accept.

Can you really help if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?

Often, yes. A cash closing before the sheriff sale date pays off the mortgage debt and stops the process - the earlier you call, the more equity you keep. And if keeping your home is the better path, we will point you to assistance programs instead of buying it.

What do I need to sell my house to you?

Just a government-issued ID, your deed if available, and any loan or lien information. The title company and our team prepare everything else - the agreement, disclosures, and closing documents.

Tangled Title on an Inherited Pittsburgh House: A Plain-English Guide

Most people don’t know they have a tangled title until they try to do something with the house. Refinance it. Get a repair grant. Sell it. Then somebody at a title company says, “The deed is still in your grandmother’s name,” and everything stops.

I’m Mark Schinzel with We Buy Property. We’re a local cash buyer here in Pittsburgh, and we’ve bought 100+ houses since 2018. Title problems are some of the most common things I run into when families call about an inherited house. This page isn’t a sales pitch. It’s what I wish every family knew before they spent a year stuck.

What a tangled title actually means

A tangled title is when the person living in or responsible for a house isn’t the legal owner on the deed. In Pittsburgh it usually looks like this: a parent or grandparent owned the house, passed away without a will, and nobody ever transferred the deed. The family kept living there, kept paying the taxes, and assumed it was fine.

Under Pennsylvania intestacy law, when an owner dies without a will the house passes to their heirs, often several of them at once. Duquesne Law’s Juris Magazine explains that this creates a situation where one person can’t act as the homeowner until the other heirs’ interests are dealt with (Juris Magazine, April 2026).

The term itself came from Philadelphia attorney Judy Berkman, who compared it to a knotted ball of yarn (NEXTpittsburgh, July 2026). That’s about right.

How common is this in Allegheny County?

More common than most people think. Neighborhood Legal Services estimates about 4,000 tangled titles in Allegheny County, and people who work these cases told NEXTpittsburgh the real number could be double. NLS itself has said that figure is at least six years old and needs updating (NEXTpittsburgh).

It isn’t just a city problem either. One of the families in that NEXTpittsburgh story was in Moon Township, with a 1960s split-level. It shows up in the Mon Valley, the South Hills, the North Hills, everywhere.

Signs you might have a tangled title

The deed (you can look it up on the Allegheny County real estate portal) shows someone who has passed away.
You’ve been paying the property taxes but the tax bill is in someone else’s name.
A lender, a repair program, or a title company told you that you “don’t have standing.”
Several siblings or cousins all think they own a share and nobody has ever signed anything.
There was a lease-to-own or handshake deal and the deed never changed hands.

What I’ve actually seen on inherited Pittsburgh houses

These are real situations from inherited homes we’ve bought. A tangled deed is rarely the only knot:

Probate was never filed. The parent passed years ago, everybody assumed the house just went to the kids, and nobody ever opened an estate.
Pennsylvania inheritance tax was never paid. It’s owed on what heirs inherit, and it has to be dealt with before a clean sale.
Ten-plus years of late water bills. Unpaid water and sewer bills kept running in a dead person’s name, with fees stacking on top every year.
Debts that could become liens got sold to debt collectors. By the time the family looks, they’re dealing with a collection company they’ve never heard of, not the original creditor.

None of these are unfixable. But each one has to be sorted out before anybody can hand over a clean deed, and the longer they sit, the worse they get.

Why it matters even if nobody wants to sell

This is the part that hurts families. Without your name on the deed:

You usually can’t get a home equity loan or refinance.
You can’t qualify for most home repair programs. Catapult Greater Pittsburgh’s Gabby DeMarchi told 90.5 WESA that not having your name on the deed also means you can’t access programs for home repairs or other assistance (WESA, April 2024).
You can’t sell, even as-is. In the NEXTpittsburgh story, the Moon Township daughter couldn’t sell to any of the as-is buyers because she didn’t have title.
The house can slide. Catapult’s executive director Tammy Thompson told NEXTpittsburgh that “the majority of vacant, blighted property is created because of tangled title issues.”

Where to get free or low-cost help in Pittsburgh

Before you call anybody who wants to buy the house, me included, call these folks. They’re the experts on untangling the title itself.

Catapult Greater Pittsburgh: CLEAR program

CLEAR stands for Clinic for Legal Equity and Repairs. It helps Allegheny County residents who live in a home that isn’t titled in their name, with legal help from consulting attorneys, health and safety repairs from vetted contractors, and estate planning (Catapult programs page). Per Catapult’s announcement, there are no formal eligibility requirements beyond living in Allegheny County, but they prioritize people 62 and older, caregivers of kids 18 and under, veterans and veterans’ widows or widowers, and the preservation of Black homeownership (WESA). Apply: Catapult intake form, choose “CLEAR.”

Neighborhood Legal Services (NLS)

NLS runs a tangled title program offering free legal aid to low-income residents (NLS: Tangled title means you don’t own your home).

Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)

For income-qualified City of Pittsburgh residents, the URA has a separate program that helps with tangled titles (WESA).

Hilltop Alliance (South Hills)

The Hilltop Alliance’s property stabilization program has assisted more than 1,300 residents since 2013 (Juris Magazine).

What untangling usually involves

Every case is different and I’m not a lawyer, so treat this as a map, not advice.

Find out exactly who is on the deed and when they passed.
Figure out every heir. Under intestacy rules that can include siblings, nieces, nephews, and grandkids. Catapult told NEXTpittsburgh about a Duquesne case with 12 heirs who all had to sign the deed.
Open an estate or get the heirs to sign over their shares. This is where an attorney earns their fee. Attorney Irene McLaughlin Clark, a former Pittsburgh Housing Court magistrate, told WESA the most common thing she hears is “I needed to come up with $3,000 and I don’t have $3,000.” That’s why the free programs above matter.
Deal with back taxes and liens. Unpaid school and county taxes often pile up on these houses.
Record the new deed.

If you want the basics on the no-will side, I wrote about what happens to a house when someone dies without a will in Pennsylvania and whether all heirs have to agree to sell. If the estate is already open, here’s how probate sales work in Pittsburgh.

If you want to keep the house

Good. Keeping a family house in the family is the best outcome, and that’s exactly what CLEAR is built for. Once the title is cleared you can qualify for repair programs and borrow against the house if you need to. Start with Catapult or NLS.

If you want to sell the house

Some families clear the title and then decide they don’t want to sink money into an old house, or the heirs live out of state and just want it settled. That’s where we come in, but only once someone has the legal right to sell.

Here’s what I can do:

Talk with your estate attorney so the sale lines up with the estate timeline.
Buy the house as-is, without you clearing out decades of stuff or fixing anything.
Close when the paperwork is ready, not on some artificial deadline.

The details are on our inherited house page. If the house is also behind on taxes, see selling a house behind on taxes. Attorneys handling these estates can see how we work with them on our probate and estate attorney page.

What I won’t do is pressure you to sell a house with a tangled title before you’ve talked to a lawyer or one of the free programs. A good outcome for your family matters more than a fast deal.

Preventing a tangled title for the next generation

Thompson put it simply to NEXTpittsburgh: “The most preventative measure of tangled title and heirs’ property is to have estate planning in place.” Get a will. Make sure the deed matches reality. If you’re a veteran or first responder, the Pennsylvania Bar’s Wills for Heroes program can help (PA Bar).

Frequently asked questions

What is a tangled title in Pennsylvania?

It’s when the person living in or responsible for a home doesn’t have legal title to it, most often because the owner died without a will and the deed was never transferred to the heirs.

Can I sell a house that’s still in my deceased parent’s name?

Not until someone has legal authority to sell, usually an estate administrator or all the heirs signing. A buyer can’t close without clear title. Talk to an estate attorney or a free program like Catapult’s CLEAR first.

Is there free help for tangled titles in Pittsburgh?

Yes. Catapult Greater Pittsburgh’s CLEAR program serves Allegheny County residents, Neighborhood Legal Services offers free legal aid to low-income residents, and the URA has a program for income-qualified city residents.

How many tangled titles are there in Allegheny County?

Neighborhood Legal Services estimates about 4,000, though that estimate is several years old and local practitioners believe the real number is higher.

Do I have to pay the taxes on a house I don’t legally own?

The taxes stay attached to the property either way. If they go unpaid, liens build up and the house can eventually head to a tax sale, so many families keep paying while they sort out the title.

Will We Buy Property buy a house with a tangled title?

We can buy once the title is cleared or someone has legal authority to sell. We’ll work alongside your attorney, buy as-is, and time the closing around the estate. Call (412) 424-6412.

Have questions about an inherited Pittsburgh house? Call Mark at (412) 424-6412 or get a cash offer. No pressure, and I’ll tell you if a free program is the better first step.