Sell a condemned house in Colorado Springs, CO: what a dangerous-building or unsafe-structure order means, the repair-or-demolish deadline, the City's demolition lien, and how a cash buyer takes over the order and closes. Written offer within 24 hours of our visit.
Condemnation in Colorado Springs usually means a dangerous-building or unsafe-structure order from the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department or City Code Enforcement, often after a fire, a long vacancy, a partial collapse, or a utility shutoff that left a house without heat or water. The notice is posted on the door, occupancy is prohibited, and the owner is ordered to repair under permit or demolish by a deadline. Miss it and the City can demolish the structure and record the cost, plus a 25 percent administrative surcharge, as a lien collected with the property taxes. Most owners who receive such an order have neither the money to repair nor the money to demolish.
Colorado Springs Cash Buyers buys condemned and posted houses across Colorado Springs and El Paso County. We buy as-is, take over the order at closing, and either repair under permit or demolish and rebuild. This page explains what the order means, how the deadlines and liens work, how a sale proceeds with the order in place, and how we price a house that may be a lot.
What a dangerous-building order means
The building official has determined that the structure is unsafe to occupy because of structural damage, fire damage, lack of utilities, infestation or another hazard. The order prohibits occupancy, requires the structure to be secured against entry, and sets a period to obtain permits and repair or to demolish. An appeal is available within a short window. The order attaches to the property, so a new owner inherits the obligations and the deadline. Utilities that have been disconnected cannot be restored until the hazards are corrected and inspected.
The deadline and the City's lien
If the deadline passes without action, the City may demolish the building with its own contractor and assess the cost plus the 25 percent surcharge against the property as a priority lien, certified to the El Paso County Treasurer and collected with taxes. Fines and municipal court action can accompany it. If the City has already demolished, the lot carries that lien and is sold subject to it; we pay recorded assessments from the sale proceeds at closing.
Selling with the order in place
Title transfers normally. The title company's search shows the recorded notice and any assessments, which are paid or assumed as the contract specifies. We notify the Regional Building Department and Code Enforcement of the ownership change and file for the permits the order requires. Lenders will not finance a condemned structure, so retail sale is effectively closed; a cash buyer is the realistic route, and one who has handled these orders before can keep the deadline from becoming a City demolition.
How we price a condemned house
Two questions decide it. Can the structure be saved, and what is the lot worth if it cannot? A posted house with a sound foundation and frame in Knob Hill or the Westside is a heavy renovation, priced as such. A fire-gutted or collapsing house in Stratmoor or Deerfield Hills is a lot minus demolition, debris disposal and utility reconnection. In either case the offer is written within 24 hours of our visit, with no inspection period, and it reflects what we expect to spend and what the finished house will be worth in that neighborhood.
How these houses get here
A fire with an insurance shortfall. An inherited house in a probate that stalled for years while the roof failed. A rental abandoned by a tenant and stripped of copper. A vacant house after a PCS that froze and flooded. A hoarding situation found by the Fire Department. The owner is rarely at fault and almost never has the resources the order demands. Selling converts a liability with a deadline into cash and a clean break.
Next step
Send the address and a copy of the order or the case number. We look at the property within a day or two, from outside if entry is prohibited, and deliver a written offer within 24 hours. Closing follows a clean title search, typically about a week. We pay the customary closing costs and there is no commission; your net is the price minus any mortgage and recorded liens.
Selling to us vs. a traditional listing in Colorado Springs, CO
| Comparison | Traditional agent | For sale by owner | Colorado Springs Cash Buyers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cash offer | Rarely | Rarely | Yes |
| Sell as-is | Repairs expected | Repairs expected | Yes |
| Time to a contract | roughly two months in Colorado Springs now | Often longer | 24 hours after the visit |
| Agent commission | About 6% | Buyer's agent usually paid | None |
| Closing costs | Paid by seller | Paid by seller | Customary costs paid by us |
| Showings | Yes | Yes | One visit |
| Financing fall-through | Possible | Possible | None, we fund it |
| Price cut after inspection | Common | Common | No inspection period |
| Closing date | Lender's schedule | Buyer's schedule | Yours |
We buy houses in Colorado Springs for any reason, any condition, or any challenge
Every link below is a page written for that situation in Colorado Springs and El Paso County.