We Buy Homes with Liens for Cash in Florida
Do you buy houses with liens in Florida? Yes. We buy single-family homes, condos, townhouses, small rentals, inherited houses and vacant properties that carry mortgage arrears, HOA or condo claims of lien, tax certificates, judgments, code-enforcement liens, contractor liens or federal tax liens, often several at once. The liens are paid from the price at closing, so you do not pay them first.
This page explains which liened properties we buy and how a lien changes our numbers. The seller’s side of the process, meaning the lien searches, payoff letters and homestead rules, is covered on our page about selling a Florida house with liens, linked below.
Why homes with liens can be hard to sell the traditional way
Fines still accruing
A daily code fine grows until the property complies, so a retail buyer’s lender often will not wait for the final number.
Half-finished work
Contractor liens usually come with a job left incomplete, and most buyers do not want to finish someone else’s project.
Association balances with legal fees
Once an HOA or condo claim goes to collection, interest, late charges and attorney fees are added to the assessments.
Liens against an heir or a past owner
Judgments against an heir or a previous owner can surface in an estate sale and have to be sorted out with the title company.
How we make it simple
One offer for the house
We price the property as-is, then show each payoff separately.
Several liens at once
Tax, HOA, judgment, code and contractor liens on the same house are fine.
Repairs priced in
If a lien comes with unfinished work, we take over the work.
A straight answer when it will not work
If liens exceed the price, we tell you before you sign.
The liened properties we buy, lien by lien
Mortgages, second mortgages and home equity lines: we buy homes that are current, behind on payments or already in a foreclosure case. The servicer’s payoff is paid at closing. If the house is worth less than the loan, the sale only works if the lender approves a short payoff.
HOA and condo liens: we buy homes and units with unpaid assessments, including ones where the association has recorded a claim of lien. The estoppel certificate gives the exact balance, and it is paid at closing, because Florida makes a buyer jointly liable for assessments unpaid at the transfer.
Property tax certificates: we buy houses with one or more years of unpaid taxes and outstanding certificates, as long as a tax deed has not yet been issued. The certificates are redeemed from the proceeds. Our page on falling behind on property taxes, linked below, explains the timeline.
Judgments, code liens, contractor liens and IRS liens: we buy houses with recorded money judgments against the owner, code-enforcement liens from a city or county, construction liens from contractors or suppliers, and notices of federal tax lien. Each needs a written payoff or release before closing. The IRS one can take the longest, because the IRS has to approve a discharge of the property from the lien.
Rentals, vacant houses and inherited homes with liens
Liens pile up fastest on houses nobody is living in. A vacant house collects code cases for overgrown yards and unsecured openings, a rental can carry unpaid city utility bills a tenant ran up, and an inherited house may have years of taxes and HOA dues the estate never paid. We buy all three, occupied or empty.
With an inherited house, the liens are only half the question. Someone also has to have the legal authority to sell, which may mean a personal representative appointed by the probate court. We work with the estate’s attorney and the title company on both at the same time.
How we price a home with liens
- 1
We value the house first, as if it had no liens: what it is worth as-is, minus the repairs we will make after closing. That price does not change because the house carries a judgment or a tax certificate. What the liens change is how the price is divided at closing, and you see that split as two numbers: our offer, and your estimated net after every known payoff.
- 2
Some liens do move the price, because they come with work or risk attached. A code lien usually means a repair or permit we must finish, so that cost is in our repair estimate. A contractor’s lien often marks a job left half done. A fine still accruing daily has to be priced to the closing date, so we ask the city or county for a payoff good through that date.
- 3
If the known liens add up to more than our offer, we tell you before anything is signed. With your written permission, we or the title company can ask lienholders whether they will accept a reduced payoff. If none will, we say so plainly.
Homes with Liens: your questions answered
Straight answers about selling this type of property for cash.
Usually not the price itself. We value the house as-is, and the liens are paid out of that price at closing. A lien lowers the price only when it comes with extra work, such as a code violation we have to fix after closing.
Yes. Taxes, an HOA claim, a judgment and a code lien on the same property is common. The title company gets a payoff for each, and each one appears on the settlement statement.
Yes. We buy occupied or vacant rentals with code liens or unpaid city utility balances and take over the repairs. The balances are paid at closing from a city or county payoff figure.
Often, yes, but it takes longer. The lien is paid from the proceeds, or the IRS issues a certificate of discharge for the property. Talk to a tax professional about the IRS side.
We tell you before you sign. With your permission, lienholders can be asked to accept a reduced payoff. If none agree and you cannot cover the gap, we will not push a sale that cannot close.
Other properties we buy
We purchase a wide range of Florida properties for cash:
Selling for a specific reason?
See how we help in these common situations:
Get an As-Is Offer for Your home with liens
Describe the home with liens, its condition, occupancy, and your preferred date. We will review the property-specific facts and explain a no-obligation cash option.
- Fair cash offer within 24 hours
- No repairs, fees, or commissions
- Close in as little as 10 days
- Zero obligation — say no anytime
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