Baltimore City
Who buys houses for cash in Baltimore City, Maryland?
Old Line Home Buyers, a Maryland family run buyer, buys Baltimore City rowhomes for cash as-is, with a Vacant Building Notice, a tenant, ground rent, a water bill or a tax sale date attached. Written offer usually within a day, closing in two to three weeks through a licensed Maryland title company, no repairs, no fees, no commissions.
The short version
- Baltimore City charges a 1.5% transfer tax and $10 per $1,000 in recordation tax, the highest combined rate in the state, plus the state’s 0.5% transfer tax, about 3% of the price, all paid from the proceeds at closing.
- Since 2019 every rental dwelling needs a city license, with an inspection by a registered private inspector dated within 90 days. A rowhome rented without one cannot lawfully collect rent. Selling never requires a license.
- A Vacant Building Notice carries fines and is the first step toward receivership, a process only Baltimore has. We buy VBN properties and boarded properties, and the notice comes off after we pull permits.
- The city tax sale is normally the third week of May, April 30 is the last day to pay and stay off the list, and an owner occupied house goes in once its liens reach $1,000. A cash closing before the sale pays the city from your proceeds.
How a cash sale works in Baltimore City
- You tell us the address and the condition, boarded or not. We look in person or on video.
- Within a day you have a written offer with the math shown. It holds at closing.
- You pick the date. A licensed Maryland title company confirms the ground rent with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, settles the water bill and any liens from the proceeds, and wires you the balance.
- If the rowhome sits in a CHAP historic district, the exterior review becomes ours after closing. If it is rented, the tenant and the license gap become our responsibility.
What to check before you sign with any cash buyer
- Buyer or wholesaler. Since October 1, 2025, a buyer who intends to assign your contract has to disclose it in writing. Baltimore City is where most of Maryland’s wholesaling happens. We buy to renovate or hold.
- The math. After repair value, repair budget and margin, written on the offer.
- The closing table. A licensed Maryland title company, with the water bill, the ground rent and the city liens on the settlement sheet.
Get your Baltimore City cash offer
Written, usually within a day, with the math shown.
Prefer to talk? Call (443) 505-7653
Baltimore City seller questions
- Do you buy Baltimore City rowhomes with a Vacant Building Notice?
- Yes, including boarded houses and ones already in the receivership pipeline where the timing still allows a sale. The fines are settled from the proceeds and the notice comes off after we do the work.
- My rowhome is on the May tax sale list. How late can I still sell?
- A cash closing scheduled before the sale date pays the city out of your proceeds and the lien is never sold. Call before April 30 if you can, but we have closed later than that.
- What does a Baltimore City cash sale cost me at closing?
- Nothing out of pocket. The 1.5% city transfer tax, the $10 per $1,000 recordation tax and the 0.5% state transfer tax come out of the proceeds, and there are no fees or commissions on our side.
Every Baltimore City rule in full