Selling a House As Is in Broward County: What Sellers Need to Know

If you want to sell your house as is in Broward County, you have more options than most sellers realize, and fewer legal shortcuts than many assume. Broward runs one of Florida's busiest as-is markets. The reasons are easy to see: a large stock of older homes in cities like Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale Lakes, and North Lauderdale, a post-Surfside wave of condo special assessments that has pushed owners toward exit sales, and a deep bench of local investors who close fast with cash. This guide walks through Florida disclosure law, what investors actually pay, the timeline from offer to closing, and the specific playbook for condo owners staring down an assessment.

What "as is" actually means under Florida law

Selling as is does not mean selling without disclosures. Under Florida Statute 689.261 and the standard FAR/BAR "As Is" Residential Contract for Sale and Purchase (the most widely used contract form in Broward), you are still legally required to disclose every known material defect that a reasonable inspection would not catch. "As is" just means the buyer agrees to take the property in its current condition without asking you to make repairs. Your disclosure obligation does not go away.

In practical terms, you have to disclose:

• Roof leaks or prior roof damage you know about, even if it has been patched
• Foundation problems, settling, or any prior sinkhole activity
• Plumbing or electrical defects you are aware of
• Mold, water intrusion, or a history of flooding
• HOA or condo association violations, liens, or pending special assessments
• Chinese drywall, which shows up in some Broward homes built between 2004 and 2007

If you hide a known defect in an as-is sale, you open yourself up to a post-closing rescission claim or a damages lawsuit. The buyer still keeps the right to inspect and cancel during the inspection period under the FAR/BAR as-is contract. What the contract protects is your right not to make repairs. It does not stop the buyer from walking.

The Broward County condo special assessment crisis

The 2021 Champlain Towers collapse in Surfside led to a statewide overhaul of condo inspection rules under Senate Bill 4-D, which took effect in 2022 and 2024. Broward, with thousands of aging oceanfront and Intracoastal condo buildings, has felt it hard. Any building three stories or taller that is more than 25 years old (or 30 years for buildings more than three miles from the coast) now has to complete milestone structural inspections and fund a Structural Integrity Reserve Study.

Plenty of Broward condo associations have answered with six-figure special assessments billed to individual unit owners. You see this especially in communities along the A1A corridor in Deerfield Beach, Pompano Beach, and Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. For an owner sitting on a unit worth $280,000, a $40,000 to $80,000 assessment changes the math on holding versus selling completely.

An as-is cash sale lets a condo owner walk away clean without:

• Paying the special assessment out of pocket
• Financing the assessment over time while still carrying the unit
• Waiting for a retail buyer to qualify for a mortgage on a building that may not meet conventional lender guidelines
• Haggling over repairs a retail buyer wants after the inspection

Cash investors buying Broward condos as is will price the outstanding assessment into their offer. They typically deduct 100% of the unpaid assessment and add a risk premium on top. For owners who want a clean break, though, the net proceeds often come out close to what a discounted retail sale would yield once you subtract carrying costs, agent commissions, and the assessment payments you would make during a long listing period.

In Broward's hardest-hit condo corridors, some buildings now have 15 to 20% of their units listed at the same time, all as is, all chasing the same small pool of cash buyers.

What Broward investors pay for as-is properties

Investor pricing for as-is homes in Broward generally treats the 70% ARV rule as a ceiling, though the real number swings with property type, location, and how much rehab the place needs.

The formula: After Repair Value (ARV) x 70% minus estimated repair costs gives you the maximum investor offer.

Here is how that shakes out across Broward's main submarkets in mid-2026:

• Fort Lauderdale waterfront (Victoria Park, Rio Vista, Tarpon River): ARVs run $800k to $2M and up on flippable canal homes, and investors will pay $500k to $1.2M for gut-renovate candidates with good bones. These are Broward's most competitive as-is deals. Price one reasonably and you should see several investor offers.
• Hollywood Hills, Cooper City, Davie single-family: ARVs of $520k to $680k, with as-is offers usually landing between $340k and $430k depending on the rehab.
• Deerfield Beach, Lauderdale Lakes, North Lauderdale older single-family stock: ARVs of $360k to $480k, and as-is investor offers that usually run $220k to $320k. The margins are tighter than the waterfront, but buy-and-hold investors keep demand steady.
• Broward condo with a pending special assessment: ARV minus 100% of the assessment minus a $15k to $30k risk premium, and the 70% ARV ceiling still applies on top of that. Heavily assessed buildings in weak rental corridors can see offers as low as 55 to 60% of pre-assessment ARV.
• Pompano Beach or Deerfield Beach oceanfront condo in a structurally sound building: Investor appetite is stronger here, and offers of 65 to 72% of ARV are realistic in a competitive bidding process.

The single best way to push your as-is sale price higher in Broward is to get investors competing against each other. Taking the first offer that lands, which often comes from a wholesaler rather than the actual buyer, is one of the most common and most expensive mistakes as-is sellers make.

Get multiple as-is offers before you commit to anything. Pure Equity Realty works with a vetted network of Broward cash buyers and can help you pull competitive offers on your as-is property, with no obligation on your end. Contact a specialist today or get a free home valuation so you know what your property is worth before you sit down to negotiate.

The Broward as-is sale timeline

Speed is the main reason owners choose an as-is cash sale. Here is a realistic timeline from first contact to closing:

• Day 1 to 3: The investor does a walkthrough or virtual tour and sizes up the ARV and rehab scope.
• Day 2 to 5: The offer comes in, and you negotiate price and terms such as earnest money, the length of the inspection period, and the closing date.
• Day 3 to 10: The buyer's inspection period under the FAR/BAR as-is contract. For investors this usually runs 7 to 10 days, and some waive inspection entirely on distressed properties.
• Day 10 to 21: Title search, title insurance commitment, payoff requests on any existing mortgage, and the HOA estoppel letter.
• Day 14 to 21: Closing at a title company. Florida uses title companies for residential closings rather than an attorney's office.

The biggest wild card in Broward condo as-is sales is the HOA estoppel letter, which spells out everything owed to the association, including any special assessments. Florida law gives associations 10 business days to deliver the estoppel. Delays here are common, and they can stretch the closing out to 30 days.

For single-family as-is sales with clear title and no HOA tangle, 14 to 17 days from signed contract to close is doable. If you need to close in under 10 days, some Broward cash buyers can pull it off with proof of funds. You can see how Florida cash home buyers work for the details.

Listing as is on the MLS versus selling direct to an investor

Not every as-is sale has to skip the open market. Broward has a strong renovation appetite, especially in Fort Lauderdale's waterfront neighborhoods, so a well-marketed as-is listing on the MLS can pull in retail buyers who are fine with a fixer project alongside the investors. In a competitive as-is listing, you might net 8 to 12% more than an off-market investor offer.

The trade-offs come down to this:

• An MLS listing gets you higher net proceeds and a broader buyer pool, but you take on a 45 to 90 day timeline, agent commissions (typically 3% to the buyer's agent in Broward), and the risk that a retail buyer cancels after inspection even under an as-is contract.
• A direct investor sale brings a lower price, but you get a guaranteed close, no commissions, no inspection-cancellation risk, and a 14 to 21 day timeline.
• The hybrid approach is to list on the MLS for two or three weeks to test retail appetite while you hold a backup investor offer in hand. For motivated sellers who are not in crisis, this often produces the best result.

For condo sellers in buildings with pending assessments or structural concerns, the MLS route often is not viable, because conventional lenders (FHA, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac) will not approve mortgages on buildings that fail reserve or inspection requirements. That limits your buyer pool to cash buyers whether or not you list publicly, which makes the direct investor route and the MLS route roughly the same in terms of who actually shows up.

If you are weighing whether to list, visit our seller resources page or read our sell my house fast Florida guide for a full comparison of your options. You can also run the numbers with our seller net proceeds calculator before you decide.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to disclose a special assessment when selling my Broward condo as is?

Yes. A pending or levied special assessment is a material fact, and you have to disclose it to any buyer no matter how the sale is structured. Under Florida law the HOA estoppel letter, which your title company will order, also captures any unpaid assessments, so the information will surface during closing even if you say nothing upfront. Disclosing it early protects you legally and lets you price the sale correctly from the start.

Can a buyer cancel an as-is contract after the inspection in Broward?

Yes. The FAR/BAR "As Is" Residential Contract keeps the buyer's right to cancel for any reason during the inspection period and get their full earnest money deposit back. Your protection is that the buyer cannot demand repairs, but the buyer can always walk away during the inspection window. For sellers, that makes the inspection period the most common point where deals fall apart, and it is one reason many sellers prefer working with investor buyers who either waive inspection or do a fast 48-hour inspection.

What is the doc stamp tax on an as-is sale in Broward County?

Florida's documentary stamp tax on deeds is $0.70 per $100 of the sale price (or the consideration paid), and the seller pays it. On a $350,000 as-is sale, that comes to $2,450 in doc stamps. Broward County does not add a local surtax on top of the state rate. The doc stamp tax is separate from title insurance, recording fees, and any outstanding liens or assessments, all of which feed into your net proceeds. Use our closing costs calculator to model your full seller-side costs.

How do I find reputable cash buyers for an as-is sale in Broward?

The most reliable approach is to work with a licensed real estate brokerage that already has an investor network, rather than answering the yellow-letter or door-hanger campaigns that flood Broward neighborhoods. Those unsolicited mailers almost always come from wholesalers who plan to assign your contract for a fee, which means the actual buyer is a stranger to you at the moment you sign. A licensed broker can bring multiple verified direct buyers to the table, create real competition, and represent your interests through the whole transaction. Reach out to Pure Equity Realty to get started.

Pricing estimates are based on mid-2026 Broward County market conditions and the 70% ARV investor pricing model widely used across South Florida. Special assessment figures reflect the post-SB 4-D regulatory environment effective 2022 and 2024. Doc stamp rates per Florida Statute 201.02. Always consult a licensed Florida real estate attorney or CPA for advice specific to your transaction. Published 2026.