Sale-Leaseback Companies in Florida: How They Work and What They Cost You

4 min read · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Reviewed by Joseph Mena, CFO of Cash Flow Deals. · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®)

A sale-leaseback company buys your Florida house for cash, then rents it back to you as a tenant, often at 110% to 125% of local market rent. With Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. Either choice gives you a sale without a leaseback.

Factor	Traditional Listing	Cash Flow Deals
Timeline	Typically weeks to months on the market before going under contract, then a 30 to 45 day closing once under contract.	You choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where your pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer buys directly from you. Premium closing follows your buyer's lender process; a 30 to 45 days estimate should not be treated as your agreed closing schedule. You help pick the date.
Repairs	Seller pays for repairs or gives buyer credits after inspection, which can renegotiate the price down mid-contract.	For your Fast Cash Offer and Premium Cash Offer, the number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. 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.
Fees / Costs	Commission is negotiable following the 2024 NAR Sitzer/Burnett settlement, effective August 17, 2024, plus seller-paid closing costs.	Paid as a separate line item on the closing statement, arranged through Cash Flow Deals' licensed brokerage partner, Silver Door Realty, not a markup on price.

What a Sale-Leaseback Company Actually Buys

A sale-leaseback company buys a house outright, at a price that typically runs 70% to 85% of market value, and signs a lease at the same closing so the seller can keep living there as a renter. Truehold is one named example of this model, with a public track record on the Better Business Bureau and on consumer review sites that any seller can look up directly before signing anything. There is no automatic buy-back option in most of these agreements, which means the former owner gives up any future appreciation on the house the day the sale closes. Property taxes, insurance, and major maintenance typically shift to the new owner, but the rent the former owner now pays is set by that same new owner, not by the open rental market.

The FTC Flagged Real Risks in October 2024

The Federal Trade Commission published a consumer alert in October 2024 titled 'Risky business: offers to cash out your home equity through a sale-leaseback,' warning that these deals are often written in complicated contracts with hidden fees and rent that can climb past what a homeowner can afford. The FTC's warning lines up with reporting on the model generally: rent after a sale-leaseback commonly runs 110% to 125% of nearby market rates, and because the seller no longer owns the property, there is no equity cushion left if that rent becomes unaffordable. Losing the home to eviction after already selling it is the risk the FTC specifically called out, not a hypothetical.

What Cash Flow Deals Actually Is

With Cash Flow Deals, a Florida real estate investor, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer and the Premium Cash Offer. With Fast Cash, we buy your house as-is and close. With Premium, a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. Your home may be listed through Silver Door Realty, our licensed Florida brokerage partner, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings. On Premium, title transfers once, directly from you to your buyer, whose lender funds the purchase. We are paid as a separate line item on the closing statement. Neither choice makes us your landlord.

Cash Flow Deals' Process

1. Request your walkthrough with Cash Flow Deals and compare your Fast Cash Offer and Premium Cash Offer. You choose whether we buy your house as-is and close or a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. 2. The number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. 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. 3. On Premium, your home may be listed through Silver Door Realty, a licensed Florida brokerage, with a licensed agent and scheduled showings. We cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. Only what your buyer's lender requires gets fixed, with costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share. On Fast Cash, you make no repairs. 4. On Premium, your buyer signs a new contract directly with you, their lender funds the purchase, and title transfers once from you to them. Cash Flow Deals is paid as a separate line item on the closing statement.

Repairs After You Sign

For your Fast Cash Offer and Premium Cash Offer, the number is agreed before any work starts, and it changes only if you agree. 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. That could include foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring or cast-iron drain failure. We disclose what we know when you receive your offers. You choose which offer fits: we buy as-is and close on Fast Cash, or your pre-approved buyer buys directly from you for more on Premium. On Premium, we cover repair costs, and we figure out a way, so nothing comes out of your pocket. Only your buyer's lender-required repairs get done, with costs settled from the sale proceeds out of our share.

Why Sellers Search for Reviews Before Signing Anything

Searches for terms like 'Truehold Reviews and Legitimacy' run around 4,243 times a month, which tells you how many homeowners want to know a deal is real before they hand over their house. That instinct is correct. A sale-leaseback contract changes who owns the property and sets a rent number that isn't tied to the local rental market, so reading the lease terms line by line matters more than the speed of the offer. The same instinct applies to any company offering to buy a house directly, Cash Flow Deals included, and a seller should always confirm exactly what they're signing and who holds title after closing.

Common questions

Is a company like Truehold a legitimate way to sell my house?

The business model itself is real, and Truehold specifically has a public Better Business Bureau profile and consumer reviews a seller can check directly. Legitimate does not mean risk-free: the FTC's October 2024 consumer alert flagged rent that can run 110% to 125% of market rate and contracts with no equity cushion if that rent becomes unaffordable.

Do I get my house back after a sale-leaseback?

Most sale-leaseback agreements, including Truehold's, do not include an automatic buy-back option. Once the sale closes, the company owns the property and the former owner has no built-in path back to ownership.

How is Cash Flow Deals different from a sale-leaseback company?

With Cash Flow Deals, you choose between the Fast Cash Offer, where we buy your house as-is and close, and the Premium Cash Offer, where a pre-approved FHA or conventional buyer we already have, ready to go, pays more and buys directly from you. On Premium, title transfers once from you to your buyer, whose lender funds the purchase. If your buyer's loan falls through, that is our problem, not yours, and you can still take the Fast Cash Offer at its own number alongside your Premium Cash Offer choice. Neither option is a sale-leaseback.

What happens to my mortgage if I sign with a sale-leaseback company?

How the existing mortgage gets paid off and how the new lease interacts with that payoff varies by contract and by lender. Confirm the exact mechanics with a licensed Florida real estate attorney before signing anything.