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Seller guides

Real answers for real situations. Straight talk on selling your house fast for cash, from probate to liens to divorce.

Renovated kitchen with white upper cabinets, a marble-look backsplash and wood lower cabinets in a house we bought as-is
Cash Home Sale Guide

What Percentage Do Cash Home Buyers Pay?

Cash buyers usually pay 50 to 85% of after-repair value, about 70% on average. See the formula, a worked $275K example and when a cash offer beats listing.

Updated November 2026
Bright renovated living and dining room in a house we bought as-is and rebuilt
Cash Home Sale Guide

What Does It Mean to Sell a House As-Is?

Selling a house as-is means no repairs and no improvements. Here is what you still must disclose, how it affects price, inspections, and your liability.

Updated November 2026
The back of a single-story house Sterling bought as-is and renovated, with fresh white paint and a new roof
Cash Home Sale Guide

How Selling to a Cash Home Buyer Works, Step by Step

A clear, step-by-step look at how a cash home sale works in 2026, from first contact to closing day, the timeline, the paperwork, and who pays what.

Updated November 2026
A bright, renovated open living room and kitchen in a house Sterling Home Offer bought and fixed up
Cash Home Sale Guide

How Fast Can You Sell a House for Cash?

A clean cash sale can close in 7 to 21 days. In Florida a listed home took 87 days in Sept 2026. What title, liens, HOA or probate add.

Updated November 2026
Single-story house with a new dark roof, white walls and stone accents after renovation
Cash Home Sale Guide

Cash Offer vs. iBuyer (Opendoor and Offerpad): Which One Fits Your Home?

Cash buyer vs. iBuyer (Opendoor, Offerpad): how offer percentage, fees, condition rules, and speed compare in 2026, and which fits your home.

Updated November 2026
Bright renovated living room and kitchen in a house we bought as-is and rebuilt
Cash Home Sale Guide

Are 'We Buy Houses for Cash' Companies Legit?

Many Florida cash home buyers are legit, but scams exist. The red flags, Florida's foreclosure-rescue law, and the checks that protect your sale.

Updated November 2026
A judge’s gavel resting on its block beside a closed folder on a dark courtroom desk
Florida partition costs

How Much Does a Partition Action Cost in Florida? The Whole Price List

Broward charges $1,906 to file a partition case on a median priced house, and that is the cheapest line on the bill. Here is the rest of the price list.

Updated November 2026
A signature page with blank lines for name and date and a fountain pen lying across a stack of legal papers
Miami-Dade inherited homes

Inherited a House in Miami-Dade? Probate, Homestead, and Selling As-Is

Inherited a Miami-Dade house? Who can sign, summary administration up to $150,000, the homestead rules, creditor deadlines, taxes, and selling it as-is.

Updated November 2026
The arched entrance of the Palm Beach County Courthouse in Florida with royal palms along the walk
Florida partition actions

Partition Action in Florida: How It Works, the Timeline, and What Happens to the House

A Florida partition case runs on fixed steps: a complaint any co-owner can file, a court appraisal, a 45 day buyout window for the other owners, then a sale.

Updated November 2026
The Miami-Dade County government center tower in downtown Miami behind royal palms under a blue sky
Miami-Dade code liens

Selling a House With Code Violations in Miami-Dade: Liens, Unsafe Structures, and As-Is Buyers

A Miami-Dade code fine can run $250 a day, and the lien it turns into sits on your title for 20 years. Here is the clock, the payoff, and how a sale clears it.

Updated November 2026
A person working through printed closing figures at a wooden table with a notebook, reading glasses and a calculator
Florida closing costs

What a Seller Pays at Closing in Florida: Doc Stamps, Title, and County Differences

Florida doc stamps: 70 cents per $100, or 60 cents in Miami-Dade on single-family homes. Who buys the owner's title policy is a check-one box in the contract.

Updated November 2026
The wide low Duval County Courthouse building in Jacksonville, Florida, behind palms and a lawn under a blue sky
Florida divorce

Selling a House During a Divorce in Florida: Who Signs and When You Can Sell

Florida divides marital property equitably, not automatically down the middle, and a homestead cannot be sold on one signature.

Updated November 2026
Hands working through a thick file of stamped account documents with a calculator and a pen on a desk
Florida HOA liens

Selling a House With an HOA Lien in Florida: Deadlines, Payoffs, and As-Is Buyers

A Florida HOA has to send a 45 day letter before it can record a lien and another 45 day letter before it can sue.

Updated November 2026
A modest older single-family Florida house with a wide front porch under palm trees, the kind of home often passed down to family
Florida

Inherited a House in Florida? How to Sell It Without the Headache

Inherited a house in Florida? Here is how probate works, when you can skip it, what taxes you actually owe, and how to sell the home as-is for cash without.

Updated November 2026
A Florida county tax collector office building on a sunny street with palms, where delinquent property taxes are paid
Florida back taxes

Behind on Property Taxes in Florida? The Tax Certificate Clock and Your Options

Florida property taxes go delinquent on April 1, a tax certificate is sold by June 1, and nobody can apply for a tax deed until two years later.

Updated October 2026
A modest wood-frame house with burnt window openings and charred eaves after a house fire on an ordinary street
Fire damage

Selling a Fire-Damaged House: Insurance, Disclosure, and As-Is Buyers

Selling a house with fire damage? What the insurance payout really covers, why your mortgage company holds the check, what you have to disclose.

Updated October 2026
An old US Mail mailbox at the curb in front of a plain clapboard house on an ordinary street
Cash buyers

What “We Buy Houses” Companies Actually Do (and How to Tell the Good Ones)

Three different businesses use the same four words. How a cash offer number is actually built, what the assignment clause in the contract really means.

Updated October 2026
Two old suitcases and a taped moving box on the bed in a wood panelled bedroom as the house is cleared out
Inherited house

Selling Your Parents’ House After They Pass: A Calm Step by Step

A plain checklist for selling a parent's house after a death: who is allowed to sign, what happens to the mortgage, the 60 day insurance clause on an empty.

Updated October 2026
A modest single-story house on an ordinary street with belongings stacked along the porch and across the front yard
Cleanouts and as-is sales

Selling a Hoarder House: What to Clean, What to Leave, and Who Buys Them

You can sell a hoarder house without emptying it first. What the clutter does to a mortgage appraisal, how a cleanout bill is actually built, what to take.

Updated October 2026
An ordinary two-story house with bags of soaked insulation and wet debris piled in the driveway after flooding
Water damage

Selling a House With Water Damage: Insurance Claims and the As-Is Route

You can sell a house with water damage. Why the source of the water decides your claim, what a standard policy refuses to pay, the 50 percent rule.

Updated October 2026
Black mold spreading across the drywall, window sill and baseboard of an ordinary room, with stained carpet along the floor
Mold and moisture

Selling a House With Mold: Disclosure, Cleanup Rules, and As-Is Buyers

You can sell a house with mold. What the EPA says about the 24 to 48 hour drying window and the 10 square foot line, who has to be licensed in Texas.

Updated October 2026
A worn asphalt shingle roof on an ordinary house, shingles curling and cracked with granules gone, beside white siding and a window
Roofs and repairs

Selling a House That Needs a New Roof: Insurance, Buyers, and Your Options

You do not have to replace the roof before you sell. What an FHA appraiser must report, why Fannie Mae cares about condition, the Florida 15 year roof rule.

Updated October 2026
An empty living room in an ordinary house with bare carpet, neutral walls and daylight through the windows
Vacant houses

Selling a Vacant House: Insurance, Taxes, and the Real Cost of Leaving It Empty

An empty house is not free to keep. What a 60 consecutive day vacancy clause does to your coverage, why some cities charge you to keep a vacant house.

Updated October 2026
Packed cardboard moving boxes stacked by a window in a house being emptied before a move
Job relocation

Relocating for Work? How to Sell Your House Fast and Keep Your Tax Break

A new job in another state and a house you still own. The IRS partial exclusion for a work related move and its 50 mile test, why employer relocation money.

Updated October 2026
A city municipal center building with its name carved across the facade, the kind of city hall that issues code violation notices
Code violations

Selling a House With Code Violations: Fines, Liens, and As-Is Options

Open code violations do not stop a sale, but unpaid fines become a lien that has to clear at closing.

Updated October 2026
Three county sheriff patrol vehicles parked along the kerb outside a county courthouse building
Occupied property

Selling a House With Squatters: Removal Rules by State and Who Buys

Someone is living in your empty house and they have no lease. What the law calls them, why changing the locks can backfire, Florida’s 2024 sheriff route.

Updated October 2026
A signed lease agreement and two pens on a wooden desk
Rental property

Selling a Rental With Tenants in It: Leases, Notice, and Cash Buyers

Selling a rented house? The lease goes with the property, so the buyer inherits your tenant. What notice you owe, how the security deposit transfers.

Updated October 2026
A hand working out a loan payoff figure on a desk calculator next to handwritten notes
Reverse mortgage

Selling a House With a Reverse Mortgage: Payoff, Heirs, and Deadlines

You can sell a house with a reverse mortgage on it. What makes the loan come due, the 30 day notice and the six month window after a death, the 95 percent.

Updated October 2026
A hard hat, a set of building plans and a purchase and sale agreement on a clipboard laid out on a table
Selling as-is

Selling a House With Unpermitted Work: Disclose, Fix, or Sell As-Is

Sold a house with a finished garage, a sunroom or a bathroom nobody pulled a permit for? What the disclosure forms in Florida, Texas and Ohio actually ask.

Updated October 2026
Older brick houses on a quiet residential street with a blossoming tree and a sidewalk
Probate

Selling a House in Probate: Who Can Sign, When, and How Long It Takes

Can you sell a house that is in probate? Yes. Here is who is actually allowed to sign the deed, when you need the judge's permission, the creditor clock.

Updated October 2026
A modest white wood-frame house on an ordinary street with overgrown shrubs crowding the front porch
Foreclosure

Can You Sell a House in Foreclosure? Yes, Here Is the Timeline

You can sell a house in foreclosure right up until the sale, and you keep any equity left over. The 120 day federal rule, how judicial and non-judicial.

Updated September 2026
A seller signing the closing package at a desk, the stack of pages where every cost of the sale is listed
Selling costs

How Much Are Closing Costs for a Seller? Line by Line

Every seller closing cost, priced with real 2026 numbers: a 5.46% commission, Florida deed stamps at 70 cents per $100, Georgia and Ohio transfer taxes.

Updated September 2026
A modest single-story Florida house with a worn shingle roof, a palm and a live oak in the yard, the kind of house sold every week around Tampa
Tampa, Florida

Selling a House Fast in Tampa: Insurance, Roofs, and the 2026 Market

What it really takes to sell a house fast in Tampa in 2026: the current Hillsborough County numbers, Florida's roof age law, the four-point inspection.

Updated September 2026
A small house with faded shingle siding, a worn wooden screen door and a bike leaning by the window on an ordinary street
Selling as-is

How Much Do You Lose Selling a House As-Is? Real Math, Not Guesses

A line by line net proceeds comparison with real 2026 numbers: what repairs cost and give back, the 5.46% commission, closing costs, concessions.

Updated September 2026
A small brick house with a worn roof, overgrown shrubs covering the front window and a homemade wooden handrail by the porch steps
Selling as-is by owner

How to Sell a House As-Is by Owner (and When It Is Not Worth It)

As-is means no repairs. By owner means no agent. Here is how to do both: the disclosure rules that still apply, the step by step, which repairs actually pay.

Updated September 2026
A modest single-family house with a brick and white front and a plain lawn on an ordinary suburban street, the kind of house owners try to sell themselves
Selling without an agent

How to Sell a House Without a Realtor: The Honest Step by Step

Thinking about selling your house without a realtor? What the latest NAR survey says about owner sales, what you really save after the August 2024.

Updated September 2026
A modest single-story Florida house with a palm in the yard on an ordinary Cape Coral street
Southwest Florida

Selling a House Fast in Fort Myers or Cape Coral, Florida: What Actually Works in 2026

Need to sell a house fast in Fort Myers or Cape Coral? Why Southwest Florida sales stall in today's market, how insurance and older roofs quietly kill.

Updated September 2026
A modest American single-family home being sold while a lien sits on the title
Liens

Can You Sell a House With a Lien on It?

Yes, you can sell a house with a lien on it. Learn how to find every lien on your title, how they get paid at closing, and what to do when the liens.

Updated August 2026
A modest single-family Florida house with a blue tarp on a storm-damaged roof under a clearing sky
Florida

Hurricane Damage in Florida? How to Sell Your House As-Is

Storm or hurricane damage and no way to pay for repairs? In Florida you can sell your house as-is for cash.

Updated July 2026
A modest single-family Florida house on a sunny day with palm trees in the yard
Florida

Florida Home Insurance Too Expensive to Keep? How to Sell Your House for Cash

Florida home insurance still averages around three times the national rate. If the premium or a non-renewal is pushing you out of your house, here.

Updated June 2026
A modest single-family Florida house on a quiet street on a sunny day
Florida

Behind on Your Mortgage in Florida? How to Sell Before Foreclosure

Falling behind on a Florida mortgage? You can sell any time before the auction. Here is how Florida foreclosure works, your timeline, and how to sell as-is.

Updated June 2026

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