Ames, Iowa · Story County
When you sell to us, we can set it up so you don't have to prepay anything — it comes out at closing.
Yes. USA Home Buyers buys houses as-is in Ames and Story County, Iowa, including houses with back taxes or liens. We start with the house and the records you have; you can call before every balance or payoff detail is assembled.
We buy houses as-is, in any condition — no repairs, no cleaning, no cleanout required to sell to us.
Call 888-274-5006 to talk about the property.
Share the property address and whatever you have about a notice, payoff, creditor, or tax account. You can start with what you know.
We'll give you a written cash offer within 24 hours.
Tell us the address and what you know about the notice, payoff, creditor, or tax account.
Prefer to call? 888-274-5006.
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs. Your liens are paid off from the sale at closing.
A title company checks ownership and recorded claims for the sale. Your lender, other creditor, or the Story County Treasurer provides the current payoff information and instructions for its own balance. A mortgage or lien payoff, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes are separate from the closing costs we pay.
A tax bill or delinquency notice, mortgage statement, creditor letter, judgment or court notice, payoff statement, deed, or parcel number can help. The title company checks the property records; the responsible creditor or tax office confirms its current balance. You can call before you have everything or know the final payoff.
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before.
Tell us the Ames address, what you have received, and what you know about the balance or timing. You can start with the information in front of you.
We look at the house as it stands and give you a written cash offer. You receive written terms before you commit, so you can read the proposed price, responsibilities, payoff treatment, and closing terms.
If you choose to proceed, the title company checks ownership and recorded claims. The lender, creditor, or tax office confirms the current amount and instructions for its claim, and the closing professionals prepare the settlement figures for the property.
The title company prepares the final settlement figures and uses the confirmed payoff instructions at closing. You can review the written terms and settlement figures before you sign.
It's real estate. Sometimes there are bumps in the road. We won't disappear when that happens, and we'll be fighting to get this to the closing table.
Ames is in Story County. A county record or general tax-sale schedule can point you to the right office, but it does not confirm the current balance, notice, or status of a particular property. Use the notice and parcel information when you check.
The Treasurer's property-tax page is the county route for tax payments, delinquency information, publication, and the annual June tax-sale process. Contact the Treasurer with the parcel information and the actual notice to check the current account and any live tax-sale status.
The Recorder keeps public records that include land transactions documenting title. Use the county's land-record route for recorded deeds and other land documents; the current creditor or tax office still confirms its payoff amount.
The Auditor's Office maintains current property-ownership records, plat maps, and transfer books. Use those records to check the property and ownership information tied to an address or parcel.
The Assessor handles real-property assessment functions. An assessment record is a different record from a creditor's payoff or the Treasurer's current tax-account information.
Story County's annual June tax-sale route concerns delinquent property taxes. An Iowa mortgage foreclosure is a separate court process that may lead to a sheriff's sale. A tax notice and a mortgage-court notice are different records; check the actual notice with the Treasurer or the court handling the case. The general schedule does not establish whether a specific property has a tax-sale certificate, redemption deadline, or other current status.
Check Story County property-tax and tax-sale information →Read Iowa Code chapter 447 on tax sales →Read Iowa Code chapter 654 on mortgage foreclosure →
If your concern is a mortgage foreclosure, see the separate Ames foreclosure information and check the live court record and loan payoff.
Iowa's real estate transfer tax is 80 cents for each $500, or fraction of $500, of the price above the first $500. For example, the tax on a $100,000 sale is $159.20. The tax is paid to the county recorder, who will not record the deed until it is paid; by law, the person conveying the property, normally the seller, is liable. Exemptions apply, so the closing professional confirms whether tax is due and the taxable amount.
When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including Iowa real estate transfer tax.
That closing-cost promise does not pay a mortgage, liens, back taxes, or your share of current property taxes. Those balances are separate and are addressed in the property's settlement figures.
Read Iowa Code section 428A.1 on the rate →Read Iowa Code section 428A.2 on exemptions →Read Iowa Code section 428A.3 on who is liable →
Use the Ames, IA home-sale net proceeds calculator with your own estimates for the sale price, mortgage or lien payoff, back taxes, repairs, and closing costs. Just an estimate — the actual number could be more or less depending on the home's condition.
Yes. When you sell to us, we can set it up so you don't have to prepay anything — it comes out at closing. Your current payoff and title records are checked as the sale moves forward, and you can call before you have every document.
The title company checks ownership and recorded claims. The creditor or Story County Treasurer supplies current payoff or tax-account information for its own claim. The local office section above links to the records and tax routes.
Start with the Ames property address and any parcel number, tax notice, lien or court notice, mortgage statement, payoff letter, or case number you have. You can start with what you know; you do not have to assemble everything before calling.
No. The county's tax-sale route concerns delinquent property taxes. A mortgage foreclosure is a separate court process that may lead to a sheriff's sale. Check the actual notice and the office or court handling it; the local facts section explains the distinction.
Think the payoff is more than the house is worth? Ask us — we've gotten lenders to come down before. That is an invitation to talk through the lender payoff, not a promise that a lender will reduce a particular balance.
No. When you sell to us, we pay the closing costs, including Iowa real estate transfer tax. Mortgage balances, liens, back taxes, and your share of current property taxes are separate from that promise; liens and tax payoffs are handled from the sale at closing.
Call 888-274-5006 or use the form above. Start with the Ames address and the notice or payoff information you have.