When you're behind on the mortgage, the first call you make matters more than almost any decision in this process. Here's why I think it should be a fiduciary, not a flipper.
I've been a licensed Texas real estate broker for 24 years, working primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. My broker license is TREC #0489516; I'm the Designated Broker for David D McElroy Real Estate LLC (TREC firm #9005109).
Most of my career has been spent in normal residential transactions — listings, buyers, relocations. But starting in 2009 (and again coming out of the 2020 forbearance wave), I've represented enough homeowners in financial distress to develop strong opinions about what works and what doesn't.
Here's the short version: most distressed Carrollton, Plano, Frisco, and Dallas homeowners have far more equity than they think. The 2020-2024 price surge built up six-figure equity buffers in homes that were purchased for $200K and are now worth $400K+. That equity is your way out — but only if you protect it. The wrong call burns it.
This is the part nobody explains. When you call a "We Buy Houses" sign or a Zillow Offers competitor, the company on the other end is acting as a principal. They're buying your house. Their goal is to buy it as cheaply as possible. They have no legal duty to disclose what your house is actually worth, what other options you have, or whether their offer is fair.
When you work with a Texas-licensed real estate broker representing you under a written agreement, the broker has a statutory fiduciary duty to you. That duty includes:
This is not marketing copy. It's enforced by the Texas Real Estate Commission. A broker who violates fiduciary duty can lose their license. An investor cannot.
The first conversation costs nothing and carries no obligation. In a typical 20-minute call I'll:
If we decide to work together — either listing the home traditionally or coordinating a vetted cash sale — we sign a standard TREC listing agreement and proceed from there.
If foreclosure is moving fast and you can't sell or modify in time, I'll tell you that, too. No broker should pretend they can stop a foreclosure that's already past the Notice of Sale stage with no equity and no income. Honesty in the first call saves you weeks.
I work the entire DFW Metroplex with primary focus on:
Denton County: Carrollton (primary), Lewisville, The Colony, Flower Mound, Frisco (north), Plano (north), Coppell, Highland Village
Dallas County: Dallas, Garland, Richardson, Mesquite, Irving, Farmers Branch, Addison
Collin County: Plano, Frisco (east), McKinney, Allen, Wylie
Tarrant County: Fort Worth, Arlington, Bedford, Hurst, Euless, Grapevine, Southlake