We Buy Houses in San Francisco
San Francisco is one of the more complicated markets in the country to sell a house in. Permitting headaches, condo-conversion rules, tenant protections, transfer taxes that can run six figures. There…
Bay Area’s Most Trusted Home Buyer since 2009
4.3
- Locally Owned & Operated California Business
- Close in 3–7 Days
- Cash Offer · No Fees, No Commissions
Why people in San Francisco call us
A real, local view of how we work. And what makes selling here different.
We buy single-family homes, condos, TICs, and small multi-unit buildings across the city. Sunset, Excelsior, Mission, Bayview, Outer Richmond, Visitacion Valley. We've closed deals in pretty much every neighborhood. We're as comfortable with a 1920s Victorian that needs work as we are with a 1970s condo that just needs to sell quickly.
The most common reason San Francisco sellers call us isn't price. It's certainty. They've heard from a realtor that the house could list for X, but only after $40,000 in repairs and a 60-day window. They don't have $40,000. They don't have 60 days. They have a parent in assisted living, or a job in another state, or a tenant they can't get out, or a tax bill that's coming due.
That's the gap we fill. Our offer might not be the absolute top of the market. But it's cash, it's fair, it closes when you need it to, and it doesn't depend on a buyer's loan going through or an appraisal coming in.
If you're sitting on a San Francisco property you need to sell, for any reason, call or text 415-800-1415. Or fill out the short form below. We'll set up a time to walk through, and you'll have an offer the same day.
What San Francisco sellers should know
Local market dynamics, the trade-offs between paths, and what to expect from a cash sale here.
San Francisco is the hardest Bay Area market to sell in. Here's why.
Most cash-home-buyer pages flatten "the Bay Area" into one market. San Francisco is its own situation. The transfer tax alone can run six figures on higher-value homes. The buyer pool is narrower than people think. The condo and TIC rules are dense. The tenant protections are some of the strongest in the country, which makes a rental property's resale dynamics very different from a typical single-family home.
A few specifics that shape every San Francisco sale:
Transfer tax. San Francisco's real estate transfer tax tiers from 0.50 percent up to 6 percent on properties above $25M. For a $1.5M home it's roughly $11,250. For a $5M home it's around $137,500. Whichever side of the deal pays it (typically the seller in SF) is a real cost, not a rounding error. We pay it.
Tenant protections. Almost any SF property with two or more units (and many single-family rentals) is subject to the Rent Ordinance. Just-cause eviction rules govern when and why a tenant can be removed. The Costa-Hawkins Act limits rent control on units built after 1979, but most of San Francisco's housing stock is older. For a landlord trying to sell, the tenant situation often determines the price.
Permitting. SF Department of Building Inspection is famously slow. Major work that would take 90 days in Concord can take 9 months here. For us as the cash buyer, that's a holding-cost line item we factor into the offer. For you as the seller, it means our cash path skips the entire permitting cycle traditional buyers' lenders worry about.
San Francisco neighborhoods we buy in
We've closed deals in pretty much every SF neighborhood. Some of the most common:
- Sunset (Inner, Outer, Parkside). A lot of our SF volume. Older single-family stock, longtime owners ready to downsize or families settling estates.
- Excelsior, Visitacion Valley, Bayview. Working-class neighborhoods where deferred maintenance and code-violation situations come up regularly.
- Mission, Bernal Heights. Mix of Victorians and small multi-units. Tenant situations come up often.
- Richmond (Inner, Outer, Central). Similar profile to Sunset; longtime owners, lots of inheritance situations.
- SoMa, South Beach, Mission Bay. Newer condos and TICs. Different deal mechanics than single-family.
- Outer neighborhoods (Lakeview, Crocker-Amazon, Ingleside, OMI). Often the trickiest to list traditionally; we're often the cleanest path.
We also buy in Pacific Heights, Marina, Cow Hollow, and the higher-end neighborhoods, but our offer rarely competes with a strong listing in a hot market. Honest about that.
SF cash sale vs. listing: when each path makes sense
List with a realtor if your SF home is move-in-ready, you have at least 60 to 90 days, and you're comfortable with showings, inspections, and the typical contingency renegotiation. SF agents earn their fee in this market; a good one will likely net you 5 to 12 percent more than our offer for a clean property in a hot neighborhood.
Sell to us if any of these apply:
- The property has tenants you can't easily transition (rent-controlled, long-term, just-cause issues).
- The property is in rough condition. Foundation, electrical, plumbing, code violations. SF lenders are particularly cautious about older homes.
- You're an out-of-state heir who doesn't want to manage prep, showings, or inspectors from a distance. See out-of-state owners.
- You're facing a tight timeline. Pre-foreclosure, medical, or relocation. See avoiding foreclosure in the Bay Area.
- You inherited the home and the family wants a clean resolution rather than a 90-day listing process. See inherited property.
What our SF offer looks like
For most San Francisco properties, our offer is in the 75 to 92 percent range of what a strong listing would net after commissions and prep. The exact number depends on condition, neighborhood, tenant situation, and how much work the property needs.
We pay all closing costs. We pay the transfer tax. We close on your timeline, anywhere from 3 to 7 days to 90 days. We don't ask you to clean out belongings, fix anything, or vacate a tenant.
If you have a written offer from another SF cash buyer, send it over. Half the time we can match or beat it. The other half we'll tell you to take theirs and we'll explain why.
If any of this sounds familiar, we can help
Most homeowners we work with aren’t looking to flip a house. They’re managing a moment in life. We meet you where you are.
Probate or vacant home
Inherited a Bay Area home, or one sitting empty? We coordinate with attorneys, handle the cleanout, and buy in any condition. Probate-experienced since 2009.
Read more
Retiring or liquidating assets
Cashing out of real estate to fund retirement, simplify your estate, or move on to the next chapter. Skip the prep, the showings, and the cap-gains uncertainty of a long market listing.
Read more
Divorce or unplanned life event
Divorce, a death in the family, sudden medical bills. When life changes overnight, we move quietly and quickly with a fair cash offer and a closing date that works for everyone.
Read more
Job relocation
New job in a new city, on a tight timeline? We close in 3 to 7 days so you can move without carrying two mortgages or coordinating repairs from across the country.
Read more
Discreet, off-market sale
No sign in the yard. No public MLS listing. No open houses or curious neighbors. We buy privately and confidentially when you’d rather keep the sale out of view.
Read more
Tired landlord or vacant rental
Difficult tenants, deferred maintenance, or sitting empty? We buy occupied or vacant. Leave the keys, leave the headaches.
Read more
Damaged or distressed property
Fire, water, foundation, mold, or just decades of deferred maintenance. We buy homes in any condition, as-is, you don’t fix, clean, or stage a thing.
Read more
Foreclosure or bankruptcy
Behind on payments, facing a Notice of Default, or working through bankruptcy? The sooner you call, the more options we have to pay off the loan and put cash in your pocket before the auction date.
Read more
Health or medical issues
A diagnosis, a move into assisted living, or mounting medical bills. We move quickly and quietly with a fair cash offer and a closing date that works around your care, not against it.
Read moreFAQ
San Francisco. Common questions.
What sellers in San Francisco ask us most often.
Yes, with caveats. TICs trade differently than condos because financing is harder for traditional buyers. We can pay cash, which removes that friction, but our offer reflects the lower comparable-sale prices that TICs typically command. We will walk through your specific TIC agreement and lender situation on the call.
Yes. We buy occupied SF rentals regularly. We respect the Rent Ordinance, just-cause eviction rules, and existing tenancies. The price reflects the rental situation (a tenant-occupied property in SF typically trades for less than a vacant unit), but the deal closes.
We do. Our offer is the net amount you receive. The transfer tax (which can run 0.5 to 6 percent depending on sale price tier), title and escrow fees, and any city or county recording costs all come out of the buyer side at closing. You sign, we wire, you walk away.
These are properties traditional buyers struggle with because lenders deny financing on them. We pay cash. The foundation issues, the open code violations, the unpermitted work. They are factored into the offer but they do not stop the deal. See [foundation problems](/selling-san-francisco-homes-with-foundation-problems/).
Yes, though the math on newer SF condos often favors a traditional listing because the buildings are easier for traditional buyers to finance. We tend to be a better fit for older condos, TICs, or units in buildings with HOA or special-assessment issues.
Ready to sell your San Francisco home?
Tell us about the house. We’ll send a fair, no-obligation cash offer in 24 hours. And you can take it or leave it.
- A real local person picks up. Not a call center.
- We coordinate with attorneys, family, and probate.
- You pick the closing date.