Straight Answers to
Sellers’ Real Questions.

There is no catch, just a different business model. A traditional cash investor lowballs you at 70 cents on the dollar while I pay you full price (or close to it) and profit the way a bank does: on the terms, not the price — monthly cash flow, an interest spread, or above-market rent. You get the price you wanted; I get a deal that works on paper.

And “trust me” isn’t part of the deal: everything is in a written contract, recorded with the county, and your attorney can review it before you sign anything. I just strongly recommend consulting a creative finance real estate attorney versus a traditional real estate attorney, as these are two very different skill sets.

Fact you may not have known: Florida had the 2nd highest amount of seller finance sales in the entire country over the last 5 years at roughly 40,000 deals (Texas is #1 with just over 108,000). Source: NoteInvestor Industry Report; Advanced Seller Data Services.

Because the people who profit from traditional sales have no reason to teach them. Agents get paid handsomely on MLS listings; banks get paid big when originating new mortgages — so seller financing, subject-to, and lease options live in the investor world, not in advertising.

These selling options are not new, and they have been supported by federal law for decades: Congress addressed loan assumptions in the Garn-St. Germain Act of 1982, and in 2025 alone about 87,000 seller-carry notes were recorded across the U.S. (Source: NoteInvestor 2025 Seller Financing Report), with Florida consistently ranking #2 in the nation. You haven’t heard of them the way you haven’t heard of most tools used inside an industry.

Fact you may not have known: Florida has more Realtors than any other state: more than 230,000, about 15% of all U.S. Realtors (California is next at about 13%). MIAMI Realtors has about 94,000 members, which makes it the largest local Realtor association in the world. That is a very large number of agents that have no incentive in offering sellers an alternative option.

It’s documented, recorded, and attorney-reviewed (just like a traditional sale). Every structure we use contains a written contract, and since seller-finance and subject-to deals are recorded with the county (exactly like a traditional bank mortgage), your interest is public record.

The real risk in any of these is a buyer who can’t perform — which is why every agreement contains a defined exit: if payments stop, the property comes back to you and you keep all monies that have been paid over time. We are invested in the house and have a lot to lose. Since 2018 we have maintained an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau because we perform.

The 3 main differences are in cost, speed, and condition.

Cost. The average total commission in Florida is 5.29% (Clever’s 2026 agent survey) — roughly $31,000 on a $590,000 home — plus closing costs. No commission when selling to me.

Speed. In July 2026, the median Miami-Dade single-family home took 45 days to go under contract and 88 days from listing to closing (MIAMI Realtors). That’s about 3 months before you get paid, and longer if the price has to be cut. We can usually close on your timeline.

Condition. The house usually needs everything in tip-top shape before the months of showings begin (some agents will suggest staging the house if it’s vacant). We buy as-is.

Fact you may not have known: About 1 in 6 home purchase agreements in Miami and Fort Lauderdale fell through in September 2025 (Redfin). Interest rates and home insurance are the 2 main reasons.

In most deals, nothing out of pocket: no commissions, typically no closing costs on your side, no repairs, no staging.

In a traditional sale, 8–10% of the price typically goes to seller closing costs: agent commissions, doc stamp taxes, property tax prorations, settlement fees and more. And with price cuts recently reaching up to 4–5%, the total a seller spends on the sale can reach 12–15%.

Here the price we agree on is the price you get — I make my money on the structure of the deal, not from your pocket. My goal is the win-win.

Fact you may not have known: In July 2026, Miami-Dade single-family homes sold for a median 96% of their original list price, and condos for 93% (MIAMI Realtors). That gap is the price cut most sellers end up taking.

Sellers do not have a due diligence period like buyers do, but if your situation changes before closing, tell me early. I’d rather restructure or release you than force a deal with an unwilling seller. I operate a small family business, so we have a lot more flexibility than a large company when it comes to accommodating sellers.

Yes, but with the agent’s written consent. The agreement you sign with an agent is called an exclusive listing, so you must ask the agent to amend the listing into an open agreement. This costs you nothing and legally allows you to sell the property yourself, commission-free.

When the listing is close to expiring, an agent will usually just release you from the agreement altogether if you ask.

Your agent can also stay involved. In a recent Westchester deal, the listing had sat about 120 days and was close to expiring. The agent kept it on the MLS while I found a tenant-buyer, the seller got a lease purchase at the full asking price with 5% up front, and the agent and I split the fee. Read the Westchester case study.

Often within days: a call today, and paperwork can start this week.

Cash-style closings typically take 14–21 days; seller-finance and subject-to closings run 2–4 weeks because a title company prepares recorded documents; and a lease purchase takes up to 60 days if I have to bring you the tenant-buyer (just a few weeks if I am your tenant-buyer).

Compare that to the traditional path: a median of 88 days from listing to closing for Miami-Dade single-family homes (MIAMI Realtors, July 2026). If speed matters, the math isn’t close.

The contract spells out what happens, including how the property comes back to you. But look at the incentives: I bought the house because the loan terms are valuable to me; defaulting would destroy an asset I paid a significant amount to acquire and tarnish my reputation for every future deal.

Investors who use subject-to for a living protect the payment record because the business depends on it. And you don’t have to take my word for it: I provide payment confirmations and use third-party loan servicing, where an independent company collects from me, pays you and/or the lender, and sends you statements. We have an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau because we perform.

Yes — the loan stays in your name while the deed transfers to me. That’s the trade, and the protections are the point: my payment obligation is contractual, the insurance is updated to protect you, and you get verification of every payment.

What you gain: the monthly burden is gone and your credit gets on-time payments in your name every single month. Weigh it against the alternative most sellers in this spot face — short sale or foreclosure, both of which devastate your credit for years. On-time payments do the opposite.

Understand it; don’t fear it. Since the Garn-St. Germain Act of 1982, virtually every mortgage gives the lender the right to call the loan due if title transfers — the key word is right, not obligation.

In practice, lenders almost never invoke it on loans being paid on time: calling it means expensive proceedings to kill a performing asset that earns them interest every month. That’s why investors have closed subject-to deals for decades. And the contract plans for the remote chance: if a lender ever did call it, we refinance or sell — you’re never left guessing.

Then a mortgage takeover may be your best option, not your last resort. Underwater sellers can’t do a traditional sale without bringing cash to closing — money most people don’t have. Subject-to needs no equity to work: I take over the payments as-is.