We Buy Houses in San Francisco: Cash Offers for Any Home, Any Condition

We Buy Houses San Francisco: The Quick Answer

Yes, we buy houses San Francisco owners need to sell, in any condition and in every part of the city. We look at the property, the occupancy, the title and any local complications, then send a written cash offer, usually within 24 to 48 hours.

You do not need to repair, clean, stage or show the home, and requesting an offer does not obligate you to sell. When you sell to us, we pay the standard closing costs, including the county and city transfer tax, escrow and title, and there are no commissions.

A retail listing may still be the better route for a well-kept, market-ready home when getting the highest possible price is the main goal. A direct sale is for owners who care more about certainty, speed and selling as-is: inherited homes, tenant-occupied buildings, houses that need major work, properties with unpermitted units, and sellers on a deadline.

Want a number first? Call or text (424) 435-2326 or use the form above.

Selling in San Francisco involves more city-specific steps than almost anywhere else in California. Before a residential sale, the owner must obtain a 3R report from the Department of Building Inspection and give it to the buyer. The city requires a water and energy conservation certificate before title transfers.

The transfer tax steps up at set price levels. And if there is a tenant, the city’s Rent Ordinance and just-cause rules shape what a buyer can and cannot do. A buyer who knows these steps can plan around them so they do not hold up your closing.

Many owners who search for we buy houses San Francisco are not sure whether a cash sale is right for them yet. That is fine. A written offer costs nothing, and it gives you a real number to compare with a listing, a refinance, renting the property out or simply waiting. If the numbers do not work, you can say no and owe nothing.

Cash Home Buyers CA buys single-family homes, condos, TIC interests and small multi-unit buildings across San Francisco, from the Outer Sunset and the Richmond to Bayview, the Excelsior and Visitacion Valley. We buy directly or bring a vetted cash buyer, and the written offer says which.

This page covers who we buy from, the kinds of homes we buy, where the market stands, how our offers are calculated, what the city requires before a deed can record, and how each common situation works.

Who We Buy From in San Francisco

We work with owners in all kinds of circumstances. Some simply want a fast, simple sale. Others are dealing with something harder. The situations we see most often:

• Heirs and trustees settling an estate, often from out of state, with a house full of belongings and siblings to coordinate.
• Landlords who want to sell a rent-controlled building or a single-family rental without ending tenancies.
• Owners of homes that need major work, from original wiring and plumbing to foundation and roof issues.
• Owners with unpermitted space, such as a ground-floor in-law unit that does not match the city’s records.
• Homeowners behind on payments who need to sell before a trustee sale.
• Couples who are divorcing and need one clear number to divide.
• People relocating for work or family who need a firm closing date or want to sell from a distance.

If you need cash for your house quickly and do not want to prepare it for the market, a direct sale removes most of the steps between deciding to sell and getting paid.

The Homes We Buy, Neighborhood by Neighborhood

San Francisco has some of the oldest housing of any large U.S. county. Census estimates reported by the San Francisco Chronicle put about 44 percent of the city’s homes as built before 1940, and the median home was built in 1948. That history shows up in the properties we buy:

• Sunset, Parkside and the Richmond (94122, 94116, 94121, 94118): attached homes from the decades around World War II, many with ground-floor rooms added over the years and original systems.
• Excelsior, Ingleside and the Outer Mission (94112): modest single-family homes, often owned by one family for decades and now passing to heirs.
• Bayview, Hunters Point, Visitacion Valley and the Portola (94124, 94134): houses with deferred maintenance, in-law units and inherited ownership.
• The Mission, Bernal Heights and Noe Valley (94110, 94114): Victorians and Edwardians, many divided into flats under the Rent Ordinance.
• Condos and TICs citywide: units in buildings with HOA issues, special assessments or co-owner disagreements that complicate a financed sale.
• Small multifamily: two-to-four-unit buildings with long-term tenants.

Unpermitted units, tenants, building or HOA problems, and structural work are the main items we price into an offer. We do not ask you to resolve any of them first.

How a Cash Sale Works Without Repairs or Showings

When we buy house for cash in San Francisco, the list of things you do not have to do is long. You do not need to paint, patch, replace the roof, update the electrical panel or fix the foundation.

You do not need to stage the rooms, hire a photographer or keep the house spotless for open houses. You do not need to move every box out of the garage or hire a cleanout crew.

You do not need to negotiate a repair list after a buyer’s inspection, and you do not need to wait for a buyer’s lender to approve a loan or an appraiser to agree with the price.

What you do need to do is small: tell us what you know about the property, give us one chance to see it, complete the required disclosures, and sign the closing documents with a notary. The city’s 3R report and conservation certificate still apply, and we help arrange both. Everything else is on us.

San Francisco Market Snapshot

Redfin’s data for August 2026 put San Francisco’s median sale price at about $1,587,500, up about 13 percent from a year earlier, with a median of 20 days on market and many homes selling above their list price. That is a strong market for updated, well-presented homes, and if yours fits that description, a listing may bring you the best price.

The case for a cash sale is narrower and more specific: a tenant-occupied building, a house whose 3R report will show unpermitted space, an estate with heirs in several states, a condo in a building lenders will not finance, or a seller who needs to close in two weeks rather than two months.

In those situations the listed price is often theoretical, and a firm number with a firm date matters more.

How We Calculate Your Cash Offer

Every offer is built from the same parts, and we will walk you through each one:

• Value after updates, based on recent sales of similar homes nearby. San Francisco values change from block to block, so comparisons need to be local.
• Repair and update costs, from electrical and foundation work to kitchens and baths, plus permits for added rooms or units.
• Holding costs while work is done and the home is resold, including property taxes, insurance and financing.
• Occupancy and rules, such as existing tenancies under the Rent Ordinance.
• Buying and resale costs, including title, escrow and transfer tax.

The written offer lists the price, the closing date and the costs. When people search for phrases like we buy house for cash or buy my house for cash, what they usually want is exactly that: a clear number with nothing hidden. For a deeper look at how cash buyers price homes and how to compare them, see our guide to cash home buyers San Francisco.

What San Francisco Requires Before a Deed Can Record

• Transfer tax. San Francisco is a consolidated city and county. Its transfer tax is $2.50 per $500 on sales up to $250,000, $3.40 per $500 above $250,000 and below $1 million, $3.75 per $500 from $1 million to just under $5 million, $11.25 per $500 from $5 million to just under $10 million, and higher above that. On a $1,500,000 home, that is $11,250. By local custom the seller usually pays it in a listed sale. When you sell to us, we pay the standard closing costs, including the county and city transfer tax, escrow and title.
• 3R report. The owner must obtain a Report of Residential Building Record from the Department of Building Inspection and deliver it to the buyer before the sale. It shows permit history, and the department processes requests in the order received with no rush option.
• Water and energy conservation certificate. A certificate of compliance is required before title transfers, covering items such as toilets of no more than 1.6 gallons per flush, showerheads of no more than 2.5 gallons per minute, and no leaks.
• Rent Ordinance. Most residential units have just-cause eviction protection, many older buildings are under rent increase limits, and no-fault evictions require relocation payments set by the Rent Board.
• Soft-story buildings. Larger wood-frame apartment buildings built under permits applied for before 1978 may fall under the city’s Mandatory Soft Story Program.

How a Cash Close Works at City Hall

Because San Francisco is its own county, deeds are recorded with the Office of the Assessor-Recorder in City Hall, Room 190, at 1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place. Probate matters are heard by the San Francisco Superior Court at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister Street. Here is the path from first call to recorded deed:

• You call or fill out the form, and we talk about the property and your timing.
• We walk through the home in person or by video.
• You receive a written offer, usually within 24 to 48 hours.
• If you accept, escrow opens with a neutral title and escrow company, and we help you order the 3R report and schedule the conservation inspection right away.
• You sign with a notary in person, at the title office, at home with a mobile notary, or near you if you have moved away.
• The deed records, escrow pays off your loan, and you receive your proceeds.

We can usually close in about 7 to 14 days once the city’s reports are ready. Tenant sales follow the lease. We buy probate homes only when the executor has full IAEA authority and gives heirs notice; if the court must confirm the sale, we are not the right buyer.

Our step-by-step guide, cash offer for my house San Francisco, covers each stage, and if speed is your top priority, see sell my house fast San Francisco.

We Buy Your House for Cash in Any Situation

Each of these situations has its own rules, and we have written a detailed guide for each one:

• Repairs you do not want to make. Older systems, foundation issues and unpermitted rooms are priced into the offer. Read sell house as-is San Francisco.
• An inherited home. Probate, trusts, small estates, Proposition 19 and multiple heirs. Read sell inherited house San Francisco.
• Tenants in place. The Rent Ordinance, buyout rules and estoppel certificates. Read sell house with tenants San Francisco.
• Behind on payments. The California foreclosure timeline and how to protect your equity. Read sell house in foreclosure San Francisco.
• A divorce. Community property, signatures and splitting proceeds through escrow. Read sell house during divorce San Francisco.
• A move. Timing the sale around a relocation and selling from a distance. Read sell house when relocating San Francisco.

Whatever the reason, we buy your house for cash on a timeline you choose, with the costs spelled out in writing.

Owners who reach out after searching we buy houses San Francisco often have more than one of these situations at once, such as an inherited house with a tenant, or a divorce with a mortgage that has fallen behind. That is normal, and it is exactly where a single, written offer helps.

Steep Streets, No Parking and the Logistics of Emptying a San Francisco House

Anyone who has moved house in San Francisco knows the problem. The house is on a grade where a truck cannot park close, the street needs a permit for a moving van, the stairs are narrow and long, and the garage, if there is one, is full.

Add a house that has held a family’s belongings for decades and the cleanout becomes its own project, one that can eat months before a listing is even possible.

When we buy a house, you can take what you want and leave the rest. Family members can come by to sort photographs and keepsakes at their own pace, and what is left when you hand over the keys is ours to deal with.

You do not need to book a dumpster, coordinate a hauler with the city’s parking rules, or run an estate sale on a block with nowhere to put a customer’s car.

If you do want a sale or a donation pickup, we can set the closing date around it.

What Hides Behind the Walls of an Older San Francisco Home

Much of San Francisco was built before modern codes, and many houses have been remodeled more than once by different owners. A Victorian may carry an old addition on a foundation that was never meant to bear it.

A Sunset or Richmond house from the middle of the last century may have its original panel, its original sewer lateral and a ground-floor room finished off by a previous owner without a permit.

Water stains on a ceiling can mean a roof leak, a failed flashing, or a drain line behind the wall.

None of this makes a house unsellable. It makes it expensive to sell conventionally, since a buyer’s inspection will surface all of it and the negotiation that follows rarely favors the seller. We assume we will find some of these items, estimate the cost, and price accordingly.

If we are wrong in either direction, we absorb it rather than coming back to you for a credit after the contract is signed.

Selling a TIC or Condo When the Co-Owners Do Not Agree

Tenancy-in-common and condo ownership are common in San Francisco, and the sale usually involves other people. A co-owner who wants out may be held up by a partner who does not, an association with a dispute pending, or a shared mortgage or loan agreement that limits what each party can do alone.

Start by gathering what governs the building: the TIC agreement or the condo governing documents, the most recent association budget and minutes, and any notices about assessments or litigation. Those tell us whether your share can be sold on its own and what the buyer would inherit. We then explain what we can offer and what we cannot, so you know where you stand before talking with your co-owners.

We cannot override an agreement that gives co-owners a right of first refusal, and we will tell you if one exists. Where there is room to sell, we can buy a share or a whole unit with cash and without waiting for a buyer’s lender to approve the building.

When to List, and When to Take Cash

On a $1,500,000 sale, a combined 5 percent commission would be $75,000, and the transfer tax is $11,250, which by local custom the seller usually pays in a listed sale. San Francisco listings also commonly involve staging and pre-sale inspections so buyers can bid with confidence. When a house is in good condition, that preparation is what produces strong offers, and listing is often the right decision.

Our offer will usually be below a staged, competitive listing result. What it removes is the commission, the preparation, the inspections, the exposure of an unpermitted unit to a lender, and the risk of an appraisal or HOA review collapsing the deal.

For tenant-occupied, probate, unpermitted or heavily dated properties, the difference in net proceeds is often smaller than it looks, and the certainty is much higher.

When someone tells you I buy homes for cash, ask them to put the price, the date and every cost in writing; we do that with every offer.

Frequently asked questions

How fast can I sell my house in San Francisco for cash?

Our written offer usually comes within 24 to 48 hours of seeing the property. We can usually close in about 7 to 14 days once the 3R report and the water and energy conservation certificate are ready. We start both as soon as escrow opens.

What is the transfer tax on a San Francisco home sale, and who pays it?

For homes from $1 million to just under $5 million, the rate is $3.75 per $500, or $11,250 on a $1.5 million sale. Homes above $250,000 and below $1 million pay $3.40 per $500. By local custom the seller usually pays it in a listed sale. When you sell to us, we pay the standard closing costs, including the county and city transfer tax, escrow and title.

Can I sell a San Francisco building with rent-controlled tenants?

Yes. We buy single-family rentals and two-to-four-unit buildings with tenants in place. The leases and the tenants' rights under the Rent Ordinance continue under the new owner, so you do not need to end any tenancy to sell.

Will you buy a house with an unpermitted in-law unit?

Yes. Unpermitted ground-floor units are common in the Sunset, the Richmond, the Excelsior and Bayview, and they often cause problems for financed buyers once the 3R report arrives. We price the property as it stands and deal with the permit history after closing.

Do you buy San Francisco condos and TICs?

Yes, including units in buildings with litigation or special assessments and TIC interests where the co-owners disagree. We review the HOA or TIC documents ourselves rather than relying on a lender's approval.

Can I sell my house for cash in San Francisco, California if it needs repairs?

Yes. Older wiring, foundation problems, roof leaks, water damage and dated kitchens and baths are all priced into the offer. We also buy vacant and blighted properties with open code cases, and give you a written number.

Do I have to clean out the house or make repairs?

No. We buy as-is. Take what you want and leave the rest; we handle the cleanout after closing.

For a written cash offer on your San Francisco property, call 424-435-2326 or send us the address; we respond within two days. The process is explained at how it works, and our Bay Area page covers Daly City, South San Francisco, and the rest of the region.

2026 local market research: See our San Francisco Housing & Home Seller Report 2026 for current seller-focused housing context.

Written and reviewed by the Cash Home Buyers CA team, a Woodland Hills-based cash home buyer serving the City and County of San Francisco. Market figures are from Redfin's August 2026 data and city sources, and are updated periodically.