Looking to connect with Florida cash homebuyers for a quick sale in the Sunshine State? Good news: Housing in the Sunshine State is a hot commodity. And the state is projecting continued population growth for the next several years. Florida’s warm weather and tax-friendliness bring a steady stream of buyers to the market, and cash buyers are making homes sell quickly.
Whether you’re looking to unload your own beach rental, escape hurricane season, or boost your Florida retirement savings with a quick property sale, review our guide to working with Florida cash homebuyers and selling your house for cash whenever you’re ready.
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Disclaimer: This post is for educational purposes only, not as a substitute for professional tax or legal advice. HomeLight always encourages you to reach out to your own independent advisor.
How to find cash buyers in Florida
Looking to fast-track the sale of your Florida home but not sure how to find cash buyers? Max Cohen, the founder of FL Home Buyers, who has been working in real estate for nearly a decade, warns that it’s important to be careful when searching for cash buyers. Our experts offer some insider tips to help you in your search.
Work with a reputable local real estate agent
There are plenty of reasons to have a real estate agent in your corner — visibility on the MLS, help with stagings and showings, assistance with negotiations and contracts, to name just a few — and now you can add sourcing a cash buyer to the list.
Sepehr Niakan, a top-performing Miami real estate agent specializing in condos and single-family homes, says that most agents have a broad network of active investors. This can save you the hassle of contacting cash buyers who may not be a good match for your property. The agent can check their database to see which investors are seeking a house similar to yours in terms of neighborhood, square footage, price range, and upgrades.
Focus on out-of-state buyers
“Those who are looking to relocate to Florida are the most likely to be cash buyers right now,” says Justin Nepola, a real estate attorney in Hollywood, Florida. This is another area where a top agent can help you tap into the out-of-state market. Buyers who currently live elsewhere but are seeking homes in the Sunshine State will often team up with a Florida real estate agent who has intimate knowledge of the area.
Do your due diligence
If a home-buying company has expressed interest in buying your property, Cohen says to check with Sunbiz — the Division of Corporations, which is the state of Florida’s official business entity index and commercial activity website — to ensure the would-be buyer is a legitimate company registered with the state of Florida. Also, check to make sure the company is listed with the Better Business Bureau.
Before signing an offer, ask for proof of funds
This may come in the form of a download or print-out of the buyer’s business checking account showing that they have the cash to purchase the subject property. “If the cash buyer you are talking to does not want to provide you with this, RUN,” Cohen says. “And if you see a vague document saying something along the lines of ‘XYZ123 Homebuyers are approved up to $XXX,000,’ RUN. The serious, professional, reliable home buyers will gladly show you legitimate proof of funds.”
Inside the Florida Cash homebuyers market
“In South Florida, the overall landscape is best described as intense,” Cohen says. “There seems to be an endless amount of cash buyers searching for their next deal. If you are looking to sell a deal to an investor, as long as your asking price is not ridiculous, you should not have an issue selling it.”
Niakan reports that South Florida’s cash real estate market is highly active, with five of the top ten metro areas for cash home purchases located in the state. Jacksonville leads at 54.4%, followed by West Palm Beach (2nd), Fort Lauderdale (4th), Miami (5th), and Tampa Bay (8th) at 42.8%. This is well above the national average of 34.5%. Tampa Bay’s median down payment is $39,702.
So who is forking over all of that cash? While there’s no universal profile of who pays cash for a house in Florida, the experts we spoke with say that in this state, cash buyers tend to fall into a few common categories:
International buyers
Niakan finds that Miami has a lot of international buyers who tend to prefer to pay in cash rather than going through the U.S. mortgage process. As of 2023, foreign buyers’ purchases made up 18% of all residential real estate sales in Miami (compared to just 2% nationally). According to the Miami Association of Realtors, 66% of these foreign buyers paid for their properties in cash.
Remote workers
Nepola works with a large number of real estate cash buyers in reviewing their purchase contracts. He is seeing an influx of professionals — particularly Wall Street and tech entrepreneurs — who are relocating to Florida because they are no longer tied to a particular location to work. “Working remotely allows them to live and work where they used to vacation,” he says. “In most cases, these buyers are purchasing with cash because they are higher net-worth individuals or they sold a high-value property in another state.”
Clients in search of lower taxes
Florida is one of only nine states without an income tax. Niakan has a fair number of clients who own their own businesses, are considering selling a company, or have a large number of stock options and choose to move to Florida for the lower tax liability. In many cases, these buyers have enough cash to purchase a home outright in exchange for long-term tax savings.
Snowbirds
Niakan also sees many “snowbirds” — northerners who move to a warmer southern state in the winter — who buy second homes in Florida later in life. These buyers typically have more cash on hand — or more equity in their primary homes up North — which enables them to purchase a Florida home without having to obtain financing.
Property investors
Investors are more likely than traditional buyers to purchase properties with cash. The Florida market is attractive to investors due to increased demand, steady price gains, and an influx of buyers who are drawn to the warm, sunny climate and favorable tax structure.
Pros of working with a Florida cash homebuyer
A cash offer can lead to a speedier and lower-hassle sale. Let’s review some of the top reasons to work with a cash homebuyer in Florida:
- Faster time to close. Imagine you list your home for sale and attract a buyer right away who is also willing to offer a top price. Great! However, this buyer needs a mortgage to finance the deal, and that can take months. By contrast, a cash sale can be wrapped up in as few as seven to 10 days since the transaction doesn’t require a lender’s involvement.
- No appraisal. Another big benefit of selling for cash in Florida is the opportunity to bypass the appraisal process. When a buyer uses a mortgage, there’s always a chance they offer more than an appraiser thinks your house is worth, potentially putting the sale at risk. When selling for cash, there’s no lender requirement for the property to appraise, and the house sells for the amount agreed. Granted, a cash buyer could still decide they want an appraisal, but you have more room to negotiate skipping this step with a cash buyer.
How to request a cash offer in Florida
Not sure how to find a cash buyer in Florida? If you’re looking for a fast, easy home sale, we’d recommend our Simple Sale platform, which has nationwide coverage (including for the state of Florida). Through Simple Sale, HomeLight provides you with an all-cash offer for your home.
You can skip the repairs, prep work, and open houses and go straight to receiving an offer. Whether you’re moving into a waterfront one-bedroom for your retirement days or escaping the humidity with a transfer to the desert, a cash offer through Simple Sale can help you sell your home in a matter of days, not months.
Going in, you should know that cash buyers tend to offer a lower price than buyers on the open market. However, selling the traditional way costs 9% to 10% of your home’s sale price, so going the cash route may be worth it in the end.
How much are Florida cash homebuyers willing to pay?
Generally speaking, cash investors and home-buying companies are looking to get properties at below-market prices, with sellers trading the extra equity in exchange for a quick closing and added flexibility. House flippers tend to stick to the 70% rule, which states that they should pay no more than 70% of the property’s after-repair value (AVR), including any costs for repairs and upgrades. In Florida’s competitive cash-buying market, sellers may find that buyers are willing to pay more for properties.
Florida cash buyers: Inching closer to fair market value?
For houses that are in premium areas and are move-in ready, Niakan doesn’t see much of a discount in the offers he fields from cash buyers. “If there is a discount, it’s usually a case where the property is distressed and the seller needs to close quickly, but that’s the exception rather than the rule,” he explains.
In one recent example, Niakan listed a property at $579,000, with not much inventory available at that quality level and price point. He received two offers within one day: one was a cash offer, and one was contingent on financing. There was only a $10,000 difference between the two.
Hot market pushes offers higher
Cohen agrees that in his market, the 70% AVR rule has risen along with the spike in housing demand. He has seen off-market buyers willing to pay 80% to 85% of the ARV without even seeing the property.
“Part of the logic behind that is that by the time the renovation is completed, these investors are speculating that the housing market will continue to rise, and they will make up for what they ‘overpaid,’” he says.
In addition to being willing to offer a more competitive price, Nepola sees many Florida cash buyers accepting seller-added contingencies that might not fly in a less aggressive market. “The most common contingency I am seeing is the waiving of appraisals and very short inspection periods,” he says. Today’s cash buyers are willing to purchase as-is with little to no repairs done by the seller.”
What’s the process of selling to a Florida cash buyer?
Cohen, who purchases dozens of houses for cash in Florida each year, says the process is pretty simple. He breaks it down for us below:
The buyer and seller sign an as-is purchase agreement
With a traditional sale contract, the seller is usually on the hook for any necessary repairs identified during the inspection process. When selling for cash — particularly in a seller’s market — the buyer and seller typically will sign Florida’s as-is contract, which states that the buyer takes ownership of the property in its current state, and the seller won’t be responsible for any repairs. Got a water-damaged roof or an air conditioner that’s one season away from failing? Not the seller’s problem, though the buyer may account for it in their offer price. The signed contract is then sent to the title company.
The seller completes a property disclosure
Even if a buyer is purchasing the house as-is, a seller in Florida still must be forthcoming about any known material defects with the property. To help sellers make the necessary disclosures, the Florida Association of Realtors provides a standard form covering the home quality and characteristics buyers care about. Has the home ever flooded? Does the seller have any knowledge of termites? Has fire or wind ever done structural damage to the home? These are the types of questions and disclosures a seller needs to be honest about in Florida, even if they’re selling for cash.
The buyer runs a title search on the property
Next, the cash buyer will run a property title search to make sure the seller has legal ownership and to check for any outstanding liens on the property that would prevent it from being sold.
“A title search is a review of all of the sales of the subject property to make sure that all paperwork has been done properly and the property has a clear title to sell,” Cohen explains. Some of the most common reasons for title issues in Florida include liens on the property, errors in public records, identity concerns, and boundary disputes.
The seller pays any associated fees
Even when the buyer isn’t getting a mortgage for the purchase, a Florida seller will likely be responsible for covering some fees associated with the closing, including the documentary stamp tax, the title search fees, transfer taxes ($.70 for each value or fraction of $100), and an estoppel fee, which is used to determine how much the seller owes to settle any existing HOA dues.
Sell Your House Fast in Florida With a Cash Offer
Get an all-cash, no-obligation offer on your Florida home through HomeLight’s Simple Sale platform whenever you’re ready. Receive your offer in as little as 24 hours and close in as few as 10 days. No showings, no repairs, no open houses.
Deciding to sell to Florida cash home buyers
When you eliminate home prep costs in Florida — such as fixing roof and siding damage for hurricanes and agent fees of 3% to 6% — you may end up with a similar amount of money from a Florida cash buyer as you do with a traditional listing process. Either way, your home is likely to get snatched up as Florida continues to be a hotspot for investors, so you’d better be ready to move!
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