What's the Difference Between an iBuyer and a Novation-Based Home Sale?
2 min read · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®)
An iBuyer buys your house itself, then resells it later and charges a service fee, often 5% to 8% of the price, plus a repair deduction after its own inspection. Cash Flow Deals works differently: it is one option that lines up a real FHA or conventional buyer for your house directly, locks your net price before repairs are scoped, and never takes title itself.
| Factor | Traditional Listing | Cash Flow Deals |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | Weeks to find a financed buyer on the open market, then 30 to 45 days for that buyer's loan to close once under contract. | Net price locked at signing, closing timed to a real buyer's FHA or conventional loan, a similar 30 to 45 day window, with no algorithm re-pricing later. |
| Repairs | Buyer's inspection often triggers a price cut or repair credit demand mid-contract. | Net price locked before repairs are scoped, versus an iBuyer's own inspection that commonly reprices the offer down afterward. |
| Fees / Costs | Commission is negotiable since the 2024 NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement (effective August 17, 2024), plus normal seller closing costs. | A flat fee is arranged through Silver Door Realty and shows up as one line item on the closing statement, not a percentage service fee deducted from the offer. |
What an iBuyer Actually Does
An iBuyer is a company that buys a house directly with its own money or a credit line, holds it, then lists it back on the open market later for a profit. Companies like Opendoor buy houses this way and charge a service fee, commonly around 5% of the sale price, on top of a separate deduction for estimated repairs found during their own inspection. The seller sells to the iBuyer's inventory, not to a person who is going to live in the house. Two transactions happen: the iBuyer's purchase, then the iBuyer's resale.
What a Novation-Based Sale Does Instead
Cash Flow Deals is a Florida real estate investor that locks in a net price for a seller's house before repairs are scoped, using a novation-based, flat-fee process arranged through its licensed FL brokerage partner, Silver Door Realty — not a traditional listing, and not a brokerage itself. A novation swaps in a real FHA or conventional homebuyer as the party of record on the seller's contract before closing. That buyer's own lender funds the purchase. Title transfers once, directly from the seller to that buyer. Cash Flow Deals never buys the house, never holds title, and never resells it.
Where the Fee Actually Sits
An iBuyer's service fee is baked into the offer itself. The seller sees one number and has to reverse-engineer what got deducted for the fee and for repairs. Cash Flow Deals reads differently: the net price is locked with the seller before any repair number gets scoped, and the flat fee arranged through Silver Door Realty shows up as its own line on the closing statement. Cash Flow Deals is paid that way, as a disclosed line item, not as a markup folded into the sale price the seller sees first.
Cash Flow Deals' Process
Cash Flow Deals' Process: 1. Cash Flow Deals locks a net price for the house before repairs are scoped, so the number does not move because of a later inspection. 2. A real FHA or conventional buyer is matched to the contract through a novation. 3. That buyer's lender underwrites and funds the loan. 4. One closing happens, the deed transfers once, and the flat fee arranged through Silver Door Realty is paid as a line item on the closing statement.
What Happens If an Inspection Finds Something Real
iBuyers reprice after their own inspection almost as a matter of process, that is part of how the model works. Cash Flow Deals does not. The one exception: if something structural surfaces that was not visible or disclosed before we signed — foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, cast-iron drain failure — we re-cost it and bring the number back to you. You decide. You can walk away. We disclose what we know at offer time so this almost never happens.
Common questions
Does Cash Flow Deals buy my house the way an iBuyer does?
No. Cash Flow Deals does not purchase the house with its own money or take title. A novation puts a real FHA or conventional buyer directly on the contract, and title transfers once to that buyer.
How much does an iBuyer typically charge?
iBuyers build a service fee into their purchase offer, on top of a separate deduction for repairs found during their own inspection. Fee structures differ by company and by market, so a seller comparing offers should ask each iBuyer directly for its current fee before deciding.
Is the flat fee through Silver Door Realty a percentage of my sale price?
It is arranged as a flat fee tied to the transaction, disclosed as a line item on the closing statement, not deducted from the offer before the seller sees a number.
Can Cash Flow Deals lower my net price after I sign, the way an iBuyer can after inspection?
Only for the one disclosed structural exception: undisclosed foundation, moisture, wiring, or drain issues. Outside that, the locked net price holds.