Milwaukee County · Buying in Wisconsin since 2010
Sell my house fast in West Allis, Wisconsin.
West Allis houses tend to be solid and almost entirely original: the plaster, the wiring and the bathroom tile all date from when the street was built. Whether you own a house like that or a duplex near the fairgrounds you are done renting out, we will come and price it as it stands.
- Written cash offer in 24 hours
- No fees, commissions or repairs
- Close in as little as 7 days
Rather talk to a person right now? (920) 259-4326
The market here
What West Allis housing is actually like
The housing stock
West Allis is an inner-ring city built around the machine-tool works, carrying the same era of bungalows and duplexes as Milwaukee in generally better repair. The streets are tight and regular, the houses are close together, and a large share of the stock is pre-1940 with original plaster, wiring and plumbing.
Why West Allis sellers call us
West Allis property is usually sound and thoroughly dated. That combination is straightforward for us and difficult for a buyer whose lender wants the wiring and the roof addressed first.
Neighborhoods and areas we buy in
- Downtown West Allis
- National Avenue
- Greenfield Avenue
- Wisconsin State Fair area
A city that grew up around a factory gate
The West Allis Historical Society traces the place back to the Honey Creek settlement of 1837, a handful of houses and a blacksmith shop that became known as North Greenfield once the railway came through. Two decisions changed it. The State Fair settled on its permanent grounds here, the old Stevens Farm, in 1892, and in 1900 the Allis-Chalmers company picked the area for a new works. The city incorporated in 1906 and filled in quickly with housing for the people who worked in the plant and the shops that served them.
That history is still readable on the block. Lots are narrow and regular, garages sit at the back, and a large share of the houses are bungalows and two-flats from the years before the Second World War, built well and then left largely alone.
What a buyer's inspector writes up here
- Original wiring, sometimes with sections of knob-and-tube still live behind the plaster, feeding a panel that has been added to more than once.
- Galvanized steel water piping that has narrowed inside, which shows up as weak pressure on the second floor.
- Clay sewer laterals to the street, often with root intrusion when a camera goes down.
- Older boilers or converted gravity furnaces still doing their job, but past the age an insurer is comfortable with.
- Basement walls that weep in spring and detached garages with tired roofs and slabs.
None of those means the house is in poor shape. Taken together, though, they give a lender plenty to condition a loan on, which is why a sound, original West Allis house can still lose a financed buyer after the inspection.
When we walk through one of these houses, we spend most of our time in the basement and the attic, because that is where the age of the wiring, plumbing and roof framing is easiest to read. The offer that follows names each of those items with a cost beside it, so the numbers are not a mystery and you can check them against any contractor quote you already have.
Property maintenance letters from City Hall
West Allis is more active on exterior upkeep than many of its neighbors. Since 2001 the city has run a Property Maintenance Inspection Program that schedules exterior inspections area by area rather than waiting for a complaint, and it is overseen by the city's Code Enforcement department. Alongside that, the department follows up on complaints and referrals about building, mechanical and zoning problems, and the standards it applies are set out in the property maintenance chapter of the municipal code.
In practice, owners in a scheduled area sometimes receive a letter listing items such as peeling paint, a failing porch, gutters, a garage roof or broken concrete. For an owner who was already thinking about selling, that letter often decides it. Fixing a porch and repainting a two-storey house before a sale is a lot of money to spend on a building you are about to hand to someone else.
You do not have to finish that list before you sell to us. Show us the letter when we visit and we will price the items along with everything else. After closing, the correspondence with the city is ours. If the inspection date on the letter is close, tell us on the first call so we can schedule around it.
One more city rule worth knowing if a lender has already started a foreclosure: West Allis requires the mortgagee to register a residential property with the city within five days of filing the foreclosure case. That registration is the bank's job, not yours, but it is often how owners learn the case has been filed. Our page on selling during a foreclosure explains what room you still have, and our general guide to selling with code violations covers the rest.
Two-flats with tenants in them
A good number of West Allis owners have one unit they live in, or used to, and one they rent. Others inherited a two-flat already occupied on both floors. Selling either kind on the open market means coordinating showings around tenants, explaining the leases to a buyer's lender, and hoping the tenants keep the place presentable while strangers walk through it.
We buy two-flats with the tenants where they are. Leases and security deposits come across to us on closing day; no household has to pack up beforehand. If a unit is empty, that is fine too; if a tenant is behind on rent or the lease has lapsed into month-to-month, we account for it in the number and deal with it afterward. We look at both units on the visit, along with the shared basement, both furnaces and the separate meters, and we ask about each lease rather than assuming.
What we ask from you is a copy of each lease if one exists, the current rents and deposits, and anything you know about the condition of the occupied unit. If you would rather we did not discuss the sale with your tenants before it is firm, say so, and we will arrange the walk-through to suit them.
The article on occupied rentals goes through the details, and our page for a tired landlord is written for anyone who has simply had enough.
Update before selling, list it, or take a cash number?
The question we hear most from West Allis owners is whether to update first. The honest answer is usually not much. An original kitchen and bathroom are normal on these streets, and buyers expect them. Spending on new cabinets, a bathroom remodel or a full rewiring rarely comes back dollar for dollar at West Allis price levels. Cleaning, clearing out and making sure the house can be insured are about the only jobs that reliably pay for themselves before a listing.
If the house is in good shape and you have time, list it with a local agent. Fair week and spring both bring people into the neighborhood, and a tidy bungalow does well with a buyer who wants to live in it. Get the agent's estimate of your net after commission and concessions.
Then get ours. Ours itemizes three things, the resale price we are aiming for, the cost of the work and our share, which makes the gap between the two figures easy to see. If the gap is small and you value a fixed date, no showings and no inspection renegotiation, we are a reasonable choice. If the gap is large, take the listing. The comparison page walks through the arithmetic, and for a West Allis house in rougher shape, read when the repair list outgrows the house.
We also buy next door in Milwaukee, Wauwatosa, Greenfield and New Berlin.
What we take on
The West Allis property types we buy
Pre-1940 bungalows and duplexes
Houses that are sound and completely original
Occupied rentals, tenants included
Estates full after decades in one family
Property near the State Fair grounds
Free, no obligation
What is your West Allis house worth to us?
Tell us the West Allis address and whether it is a single-family or a two-unit. We will set a walk-through, look at both floors and the basement, and send a written number that shows how we got there.
Rather talk to someone? Call or text (920) 259-4326 — a real person answers.
West Allis sellers ask us
Our bungalow is original from top to bottom. Should we update it before selling?
Will you buy a West Allis duplex with tenants still living in both units?
We got a property maintenance letter from the city. Do we have to fix everything before selling?
Does living close to State Fair Park matter for the sale?
Who records the deed when a West Allis house sells?
Free guides for West Allis sellers
Local resources
Local resources for selling in West Allis
West Allis keeps its own Assessor's Office, which maintains the ownership records and values every taxable parcel in the city; the deed from your sale is recorded downtown by the Milwaukee County Register of Deeds.
- West Allis's own clerk and assessor
- EPA — lead disclosure when you sell
- Wisconsin Circuit Court Access
- Lead paint on pre-1978 housing
Next steps
We also buy nearby
Get a cash offer on your West Allis house
No obligation and no fee.
Get My Fair Cash Offeror call (920) 259-4326 — a real person answers