What Counts as a 'Structural Exception' That Can Change Your Locked Price?
2 min read · Last updated 2026-08-03 · Reviewed by Camilo Palacio, Licensed Florida Real Estate Professional (License #3280644, REALTOR®)
A locked net price only moves for one reason: a real structural problem nobody could see or knew about before signing. Cash Flow Deals is one option where foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, and cast-iron drain failure are the only things that reopen the number, and even then the seller decides whether to accept the re-cost or walk away.
| Factor | Traditional Listing | Cash Flow Deals |
|---|---|---|
| Timeline | A structural issue found during inspection can stall or kill a contract entirely, resetting the timeline back to square one. | A structural exception triggers a re-cost conversation, not a dead deal. Closing timeline holds unless the seller chooses to walk. |
| Repairs | Buyer can demand repairs or a credit for nearly anything found in inspection, cosmetic or structural. | Only undisclosed foundation, moisture, wiring, or drain issues can change the net price. Cosmetic items do not reopen the number. |
| Fees / Costs | Repair credits and price cuts effectively function as hidden fees, eating into what the seller nets. | Flat fee arranged through Silver Door Realty stays a fixed line item regardless of whether a structural exception happens. |
The Exception, Exactly as It Works
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. That locked price holds with one exception. 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 is the entire rule. Four categories, nothing broader.
Why Florida Law Backs This Distinction
Florida does not run on a simple caveat-emptor rule for residential home sales. The Florida Supreme Court's 1985 decision in Johnson v. Davis established that a seller who knows about a material defect that is not readily observable to the buyer has a duty to disclose it. Cash Flow Deals structures the structural exception around that same idea: known and visible conditions get priced into the net number up front, and only genuinely hidden structural conditions, the kind Johnson v. Davis was written to address, get a second look after signing. Confirm how this applies to your specific situation with a licensed FL real estate attorney.
What Does Not Count as a Structural Exception
Cosmetic wear does not qualify. Old paint, dated cabinets, a cracked driveway, worn flooring, an outdated bathroom, none of these reopen the locked net price. Cash Flow Deals prices the house as-is at offer time, using what is visible and disclosed, which is exactly why the exception list stays narrow. A seller who painted over a small drywall crack five years ago is in different territory than a seller whose foundation has an undisclosed structural crack behind a finished wall. The first is cosmetic. The second is the kind of thing the exception exists for.
What Does Count: The Four Categories
Foundation issues mean structural cracking, settling, or shifting that was not visible or disclosed before signing. Hidden moisture means water intrusion or damage behind walls, under flooring, or in areas that were not accessible or apparent at offer time. Old wiring means electrical systems with a genuine safety or code issue that was not disclosed, not simply an older but functional panel. Cast-iron drain failure means a failed or failing original drain line discovered after signing, not a known plumbing quirk the seller already mentioned. These four categories are the entire list. Nothing outside them reopens the number.
Cash Flow Deals' Process When an Exception Comes Up
Cash Flow Deals' Process: 1. Cash Flow Deals gets the exception documented, usually by the same contractor or inspector who found it. 2. Cash Flow Deals re-costs the specific issue and brings a revised number back to the seller. 3. The seller reviews the new number and decides, accept it or walk away from the deal entirely. 4. If the seller accepts, the closing proceeds at the revised, and now final, net price.
Common questions
Can Cash Flow Deals lower my price for something cosmetic?
No. The structural exception covers exactly four categories: foundation issues, hidden moisture, old wiring, and cast-iron drain failure. Cosmetic items do not qualify.
What happens if I do not agree with the re-costed number?
You decide. You can walk away from the deal entirely if you do not accept the revised number.
Does Florida law require sellers to disclose known defects?
Under the Florida Supreme Court's Johnson v. Davis decision, a seller who knows about a material defect not readily observable to the buyer has a duty to disclose it. Confirm the specifics of your situation with a licensed FL real estate attorney.
Why does Cash Flow Deals say this almost never happens?
Because Cash Flow Deals discloses what it knows at offer time, before pricing the house. Most of what could trigger the exception gets caught and priced in up front instead of surfacing later.