One contract. One closing. No wholesaler in the middle.
A novation sale replaces the buyer on the contract with a real, bank-financed homebuyer. The seller signs once. The home transfers once. That is what makes it different.
What novation means in plain English.
When you sell through a wholesaler, the wholesaler signs a contract with you, then sells that contract to a third party — collecting a fee you may never see on your closing statement. Your contract was assigned. You had no say in who ultimately bought your home.
A novation is different. CFD signs the initial contract with you. Then we find the real buyer — a pre-approved FHA or conventional homebuyer. Before any closing happens, the contract is formally amended to place that buyer directly in place of CFD. You see the replacement. You sign the amendment. The end buyer is on record.
One closing follows. The buyer's lender funds the purchase. Title Guaranty of South Florida conducts the closing. Title transfers once: from you to the buyer. CFD's fee is a visible line on the closing statement — not a hidden margin baked into the price before you see it.
The three things that matter.
One closing.
No double close. No second set of closing costs. One signing, one wire, one transfer.
Your buyer is real.
An FHA or conventional homebuyer who wants to live in the home — not a cash investor buying to flip.
Full price transparency.
CFD's fee is a separate, visible line on the closing statement. Not hidden. Not embedded. You see it before you sign.
Novation vs. the other paths.
Four ways to sell. One closing statement that shows who takes what.
| Novation (CFD) | Assignment | Double Close | iBuyer | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closings required | 1 | 1 (buyer inherits contract) | 2 (A-to-B, then B-to-C) | 1 per leg (corporate buy + relist) |
| Title transfers | Once: seller to end buyer | Once, but on assigned terms | Twice: seller to investor, then investor to buyer | Twice: seller to iBuyer, then iBuyer to buyer |
| End buyer visible to seller | Yes — on the novated contract | Sometimes — depends on disclosure | No — seller only sees first buyer | No — iBuyer holds and relists |
| Bank financing eligible | Yes (FHA, conventional, VA) | Rare — lenders typically reject assigned contracts | Yes on the B-to-C leg only | N/A — iBuyer pays cash, then resells |
| Seller closing costs | One set (standard Florida doc stamps, prorations) | One set, but assignment fee may reduce net | Two sets — seller pays closing A costs | One set + service fee (commonly 5-8%) |
| Price basis | Lender appraisal supports market-rate price | Cash buyer sets price, not lender appraisal | Cash buy price on A leg, often below market | Algorithm with resale margin built in |
| Florida licensed professional required | Yes — licensed agent handles the novation | Varies — assignment without license can violate FL law | Yes — two separate closings, title each time | Yes — iBuyer operates under brokerage license |
iBuyer fees sourced from published fee disclosures (Opendoor, Offerpad). Actual fees vary by market and offer date. CFD fee is a separate line on the closing statement, visible before signing.
Legal in Florida. Licensed to do it.
Novation is recognized Florida contract law. The requirements are simple: mutual consent of all parties, a valid substituted obligation, and consideration. In a real estate novation, that means you — the seller — agree to the replacement buyer on record, a contract amendment reflects that replacement, and the closing proceeds as a single transaction with a licensed title company.
Cash Flow Deals operates through Camilo Palacio, a licensed Florida real estate professional (License #3280644), affiliated with Silver Door Realty, LLC (License #CQ1064903), Pembroke Pines, Florida. Every transaction is handled by the title company — Title Guaranty of South Florida — which prepares the closing statement you review before signing.
Questions about how this works.
The full picture: novation vs. other sale structures
Florida sellers have four practical options when selling outside a traditional listing: a novation, a contract assignment, a double close, or an iBuyer program like Opendoor or Offerpad. Each structure produces a different outcome for the seller on price, transparency, and closing costs.
Contract assignment is the most common wholesale method. The wholesaler signs a contract with the seller, then transfers that right to purchase to a third-party buyer for a fee. The seller's price is set by the initial contract — the assignment fee the wholesaler collects is typically paid by the end buyer outside of the seller's closing statement. The seller may not know who the end buyer is. FHA and conventional lenders will generally not fund an assigned contract, so the buyer is typically a cash investor, which anchors the price below what a financed homebuyer would pay.
A double close requires two transactions. The wholesaler or investor closes on the property from the seller (closing A), takes title briefly, then closes again with the end buyer (closing B). The seller pays documentary stamp tax and closing costs on closing A. Two sets of title insurance, two sets of deed transfers. The seller's net is reduced accordingly. The end buyer on closing B does not appear on the seller's closing statement.
iBuyers operate at institutional scale. Opendoor, Offerpad, and similar platforms buy directly from sellers using algorithm-set prices, hold the property, and relist on the open market. Published service fees range from 5 to 8 percent of the sale price, in addition to the normal closing costs a seller would pay. The iBuyer model also builds a resale margin into the purchase price — the platform needs to profit on the relist. The result is a price that is predictable but priced for the iBuyer's resale, not for the seller's net.
A novation places the end buyer — a real FHA or conventional homebuyer — directly on the contract before closing. The buyer's lender appraises the home and underwrites the loan at a market-rate purchase price. There is no resale margin built in, no double closing cost, and no assignment fee paid outside the closing statement. CFD's fee is a single, transparent line on the settlement statement you review before signing. Florida doc stamps on the deed are paid once. Title transfers once.
This is the structural advantage a novation holds over every competing method: the pricing benchmark is a lender appraisal for a live homebuyer, not a cash investor's resale calculation. For a seller who wants the highest honest number without the six-month wait of a listing, the novation path is the only structure that achieves both.
This page is informational only and does not constitute legal advice. The novation structure is subject to the specific terms of each transaction. Camilo Palacio (License #3280644) is licensed in Florida only. Nothing on this site constitutes an offer to purchase. The final price and terms appear in your written contract. Call 786-891-9111 with questions.