Real Estate Rescue, a Florida-based company which buys homes for cash, has opened offices in San Antonio, Tex.

Dane Marshlack, Real Estate Rescue’s president, said O.W. Buddy Byington III and Art Meister, both of San Antonio, have purchased one of the first Real Estate Rescue licenses and will own and oversee the San Antonio operation.

“I’ve known both Buddy and Art for some time and have great confidence in their abilities and in their knowledge of real estate and financing,” Marshlack said, “I’m delighted that they have become part of Real Estate Rescue.”

Both Byington and Meister have extensive experience in real estate and real estate investing. While they are based in San Antonio, the two said they are prepared to buy distressed homes throughout the state of Texas.

A former Outstanding Young Men of America inductee, Byington has been an entrepreneur and business owner since graduating from college and law school. He has been a successful real estate investor in the San Antonio area for many years.

Meister began his real estate career at age 18 when he took his father’s advice and invested in a piece of commercial land. The profit on that deal provided the money for the down payment on his first home. After graduation from Southern Illinois University and time spent on active duty in the U.S. Air Force, he spent 24 years in the corporate world before becoming a full-time real estate investor in 2003.

Meister is also the founder of Top 5 Corp., which helps companies develop and execute sales strategies and train and coach their sales teams.

Byington said Real Estate Rescue has already had significant success in the San Antonio market.

“In just one month, we contracted numerous houses and have already sold five of them,” Byington said. “We have many strong leads in our pipeline and can hardly keep up with what comes in over the phones on a weekly basis.”

Real Estate Rescue buys homes from homeowners who, for one reason or another, need a fast cash transaction. There are many reasons for such a need – perhaps the homeowner is going through an unfortunate divorce, has experienced a recent death in the family, has to deal with an urgent job transfer, or perhaps has simply run into some bad luck that has resulted in a threatened bankruptcy or foreclosure.

In some other cases, the property in question may have simply become too run down to sell, and money for repairs is not available.

Real Estate Rescue can buy properties for cash within a few days – often as quickly as 48 hours from the time the homeowner first picks up the phone and calls. It buys homes in all price ranges, from modest cottages to multi-million-dollar waterfront estates.

 “We understand that the people who call us have urgent needs, and are often dealing with circumstances that require fast and fair action on our part,” Marshlack said. “When people call us, we make them an urgent priority -- we swing into action to get the transaction done as quickly as possible.”