Kansas City metro
Sell a house with code violations in Kansas City
We buy houses with open code cases, citations, and dangerous-building notices across the Kansas City metro. You do not have to fix anything, and you do not have to resolve the case before you sell.
Code violations follow the property, not the person
This is the part most owners get wrong, and it works in your favor. A code case is attached to the parcel. When ownership changes, the case goes with the house to the new owner.
So you do not need to bring a house into compliance before selling it. You need a buyer willing to take the case on. That is us.
The important exception is money. Unpaid fines and the city's costs for work it performed — mowing, boarding, emergency repairs — can become a special assessment or lien against the property. Those are real, and they get paid out of the closing proceeds. That is why we ask what you have received in writing.
How the process runs in Kansas City, Missouri
KCMO handles most property maintenance complaints through its neighborhood preservation and healthy homes functions, usually starting with a 311 complaint. The typical sequence is inspection, notice of violation with a deadline to correct, then citation, then municipal court.
The serious end of that ladder is the dangerous buildings process. A property declared dangerous can be ordered repaired or demolished, and where the owner does not act, the city can do the work itself and charge the cost back against the parcel — typically collected like a tax, so it follows the property rather than the owner. There are notice and hearing steps before it reaches that point, and they only help you if you use them.
If you have received a dangerous building notice, the timeline is no longer flexible. Call before the hearing date, not after.
Wyandotte County and the smaller cities
Every city in the metro runs its own code enforcement, and they are not equivalent. The Unified Government handles both city and county functions for KCK and Wyandotte County. Independence, Raytown, Grandview, Gladstone, and Blue Springs each have their own department, their own inspectors, and their own priorities.
What that means practically: the same violation can be a nuisance letter in one city and a court date in another. When you send us an address we check the actual jurisdiction rather than assuming.
The violations we see most
None of these prevent a sale to us. They affect the number, because each one is work we take on.
- Tall grass, weeds, and accumulated trash or debris
- Peeling exterior paint and deteriorated siding or soffit
- Roof failure, or a structure open to the weather
- Broken or boarded windows on a vacant property
- Inoperable vehicles on the lot
- Unpermitted work, most often finished basements and additions
- Vacant property registration not filed
- A dangerous building or demolition order
What to do before you talk to anyone
Gather every letter you have received from the city, in date order. The case number, the deadline, and the hearing date are what matter, and they are usually printed on the notice.
Do not ignore the mail because the house is unlivable or because you have decided to sell. Deadlines keep running, fines accrue, and a demolition order can extinguish most of what the property is worth. A house we can buy today is worth considerably more than a lot with a demolition assessment on it.
This is not legal advice. Janam Investments LLC is a real estate investment company, not a law firm and not a licensed brokerage. This page describes how a process generally works so you know what questions to ask. Your situation may differ, and the law changes. Talk to a Missouri or Kansas attorney before making a decision that depends on any of it.
Questions we get asked.
No. The case transfers with the property and we take it on. That is a normal purchase for us, not an exception we make.
Unpaid fines and city-performed work can attach to the property and are settled out of the closing proceeds, like a mortgage payoff. You do not pay out of pocket. Tell us the amount up front so it is priced in rather than discovered later.
Maybe not, but the clock is real and short. Call immediately with the notice in hand. A standing structure is worth more than a cleared lot with a demolition assessment against it, so there is genuine value in acting before the order is carried out.
No. You are contacting us about a property you own. Code cases are public record and the city already knows. Nothing you tell us goes to an inspector.
Find out what we would pay.
Send the address and we will come back within 24 hours with a written number and the arithmetic behind it. No fee, and no obligation to take it.
Prefer to talk? (816) 477-3671