When you're ready for a visit — or photos from your phone

You are probably getting a lot of calls

Most of them want a contract this week. This page is the opposite. We already spoke — or your attorney forwarded this. Nothing here expires. If probate or the house is not there yet, tell us the blocker on the form. We check in on the date you name, not every Monday.

• No stoop pitch

  The visit is to document the house. Numbers come from the office after photos.

• No weekly chase

  If you are waiting on court or family, say so. We will check in on the date you name — not every Monday.

What happens if we come to the house

About 20–30 minutes. Dave walks condition. You (or a keyholder, or counsel) can be there or not. We do not pitch a purchase in the kitchen unless you asked for a number that day.

1. 1

   Exterior first

   Roof from the ground, gutters, foundation, grading, outbuildings. We are looking at condition — not staging.

2. 2

   Kitchen, baths, basement, mechanicals

   The rooms that actually move rehab cost. Belongings can stay. We work around furniture and boxes.

3. 3

   Photos for the estate file

   We shoot what we need and can copy counsel. This is documentation, not a listing photoshoot.

4. 4

   Office writes the Options Summary

   Usually within 24–48 hours: condition, likely sale range, rehab band, and as-is vs listing in plain numbers. No offer on the stoop unless you asked for one.

You do not need these first:

• Letters issued this week
• An empty, show-ready house
• A decision to sell us the property
• Siblings all on the same page yet
• A firm price before anyone has seen inside

Or send photos yourself

Out of state, house still full, or no one local this month — a phone packet is enough for a written range. We firm a number after 20 minutes on site when the house is open. Screenshot this list.

Why a Metro One offer is usually a different kind of number

We do not claim “top dollar.” Cash buyers who have to wholesale the house to someone else must leave a spread. Dave Mohler runs Metro One's rehab crew himself — they work quickly because it is their job, not a contractor they hope answers. That is why we can often write more than a middleman, and why we take houses other buyers will not touch. If listing the home may net more for beneficiaries, we say that too.

• In-house rehab crew

  Dave runs his own crew. Most cash buyers are wholesalers — they have to buy cheap enough to resell the job. When we keep the work, more of the house's value can stay in the number we write, and we can take houses others skip.

• We say so when listing may net more

  An as-is purchase is optional. If the home is listable and the estate has time, we will tell you. That is the opposite of a scripted 'highest cash offer' call.

• Written options for the file

  You get a Property Options Summary — condition, range, rehab band, as-is vs list — not a verbal lowball in the living room. Counsel can be copied.

• Counsel-first, heirs left alone

  We work through the fiduciary or the attorney. We do not call beneficiaries unless you direct us to.

• The house does not have to be empty

  Full of belongings, tenant, or 'we'll get to it' is normal in probate. Visit or photos can happen before cleanout. Close can follow the estate's calendar.

• Local — not a national call center

  You talk to Metro One in Cincinnati. Walkthroughs are Dave. Follow-up is Mike. Same people you already spoke with.

Related

• Fiduciary estate services — cleanout, vacant care, full menu
• Probate fiduciary guide — court process and as-is overview
• Estate cleanouts — if stuff is the blocker, start there