We buy houses cited for unpermitted work or code issues. Skip showings, repairs, and agent commissions. We make a fair cash offer in 24 hours and close in as little as 7 days, on your terms.
Code violations and California property sales
California cities can record code-enforcement violations against a property, and those violations follow the title until they're cured. Common ones: unpermitted additions, illegal ADUs, expired construction permits, AB-38 wildfire defensible-space failures, and red-tagged structures.
If you sell code violation property california through a traditional listing, retail buyers will require the violations to be cured before closing, meaning either you do the work (often $20K–$100K+) or you accept a deeply discounted offer. A cash buyer (us) takes the property as-is, including the open violations, and handles the cure ourselves after closing.
That doesn't mean you escape disclosure. California law requires you to disclose any known code violations on the Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS). We expect that disclosure and price our offer accordingly, it doesn't kill the deal.
Compare your options, read how to sell your house fast in California, or compare a cash sale vs. listing vs. iBuyer. For trust-related questions about cash buyers, our are cash home buyers legit guide is a quick read.
Why a cash sale fits this situation
If you're in this situation, the math usually favors a fast cash sale. Here's why.
A traditional California listing takes 60–120 days from list to close, and you're paying mortgage, taxes, insurance, and utilities the entire time. On a $600K California home with a $300K mortgage, that's roughly $4,000–$6,000 a month in carrying costs you don't recover. If your situation already has its own timeline pressure (a trustee sale, a relocation date, a probate court calendar), 60–120 days isn't a luxury you have.
Sellers searching "sell house with code violations" usually find that the listing route doesn't fit their timeline. Repairs, showings, agent commissions, financing contingencies, every one adds time and risk. A direct cash sale skips all of it.
Sellers searching "unpermitted work california sale" usually find that the listing route doesn't fit their timeline. Repairs, showings, agent commissions, financing contingencies, every one adds time and risk. A direct cash sale skips all of it.
Sellers searching "sell house code enforcement" usually find that the listing route doesn't fit their timeline. Repairs, showings, agent commissions, financing contingencies, every one adds time and risk. A direct cash sale skips all of it.
When you sell through a cash buyer like My Home Sold, the timeline compresses to 7–14 days. We pay all standard closing costs, we don't request repair credits, and we close on the date you choose. The discount we apply (10–20% below retail in most markets) is roughly the cost of the agent commissions, repair credits, holding costs, and price drops you'd pay on the listing route, so the net to seller is often comparable, with months less wait.
The decision usually comes down to certainty. A listed California home in this situation might sell for full retail, or it might sit and require a price drop. A cash offer is a number you can take to the bank, literally, in 7 days, when "might" isn't a word you have time for. That's the case for a cash sale when you're in this situation.
Most California sellers in this exact situation also worry about one of three things: what their family or co-owners will think, what the IRS or California Franchise Tax Board will think, and what the neighbors will think. Our answer to all three: a cash sale is a normal real-estate transaction, recorded the same way any sale is recorded, with the same disclosures and the same tax treatment. There's nothing about a 7-day cash close that flags the IRS, surprises a co-owner, or signals distress to neighbors any more than a traditional sale would. We've closed thousands of California homes; the mechanics are routine.
One more thing worth noting: every California cash sale we run is documented end-to-end. You get a written purchase agreement (the standard C.A.R. forms agents use, not some custom contract), a preliminary title report, a settlement statement at closing, and a recorded grant deed afterward. Nothing about the process is informal, we just move faster than retail because we're not waiting on a buyer's lender, an appraiser, or a buyer's inspector. The paperwork trail is identical to any other California real-estate transaction.
If you're weighing whether a cash sale is right for your situation, the honest answer is: not always. Sellers with strong equity, no timeline pressure, a property in retail-ready condition, and the patience for 60–120 days of listing usually do better with a traditional agent. The cash sale path is built for sellers who don't fit that profile, who have timeline pressure, condition issues, situational complexity, or simply don't want the listing experience. If you're not sure which describes you, get a cash offer and compare it to what a local agent estimates net to seller. The numbers will make the decision obvious.
My Home Sold has been buying California houses for cash since long before "iBuyer" was a category. We're not a venture-backed pricing algorithm running offers from a database, we're a local team that walks the comps, knows the cities, and underwrites every offer with a real person behind it. That's why we close on offers we send. National iBuyers retract or renegotiate offers regularly after their algorithm flags something during inspection. We don't. The number we send is the number you get at closing, every time you sell through us.
Your timeline with My Home Sold
Here's exactly what happens, step by step, when California sellers in this situation work with My Home Sold.
Step 1: Property condition known
Tell us about the violations up front. Active red tag, recorded liens, abatement orders, all OK, just disclose.
Step 2: Offer in 24 hours
We pull the city's permit history, factor the cure cost, and send a cash offer that accounts for what's open.
Step 3: As-is escrow
No buyer inspection contingency, no required cure pre-close. We open escrow with full knowledge of the code issues.
Step 4: We handle the cure
After closing, we work with the city to permit, abate, or restore, whatever the violation requires. That's our problem now.
Your options in this situation
Three paths, listing with an agent, an iBuyer, or a direct cash sale to us.
| Factor | Traditional listing | iBuyer | My Home Sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to close | 60–120 days | 14–60 days | 7–14 days |
| Repairs required | Yes, buyer-driven | Often | None, we buy as-is |
| Carrying costs while you wait | 2–4 months of mortgage, taxes, insurance | 1–2 months | Days, close fast, costs end |
| Risk of falling through | High (financing, inspection) | Medium | Low, cash, no contingencies |
| Fees / commissions | 6–9% of sale price | 5%+ service fee | $0 |
| Right path for this situation | No | Sometimes | Often the cleanest option |
How My Home Sold helps in this situation
We've handled this situation hundreds of times. Here's what makes a cash sale with us different.
A real cash offer in 24 hours
Tell us about your California home. We pull the comps, factor your situation, and send a written offer within one business day. No appraisal, no financing contingency, no waiting on a buyer's loan.
We buy as-is, problem and all
We buy houses cited for unpermitted work or code issues. We don't flinch at it. The condition, the situation, the paperwork, that's what we underwrite for, and that's what we close on.
Close on your timeline
Need to close in 7 days because the trustee sale is imminent or your relocation date is set? Done. Need 60 days to coordinate everything else? Also fine. The seller picks the close date.
Frequently asked questions
Will my California city block the sale because of code violations?
Usually no. Code violations slow buyers but don't freeze the title. Some cities require disclosure of open enforcement actions on the closing documents, but the sale proceeds. The exception: properties with active liens for unpaid abatement costs, those liens get paid out of escrow at closing, the same as any other lien.
I have an unpermitted addition. Will you still buy?
Yes. We've bought dozens of California houses with unpermitted additions, conversions, or ADUs. Either we permit them post-close, remove them, or sell with disclosure to a buyer who values them as-is. Don't hide it, disclose it on the TDS and let us factor it into the offer.
Do I have to fix the violations before selling to you?
No. We buy code-violation properties exactly as they are. Don't spend money on permits, abatement, or restoration before talking to us, those costs are usually higher than the discount we apply, and you might be paying twice.
What if I don't know whether my house has open violations?
Most California cities let you check online by address. We'll also pull the permit and code-enforcement history when we underwrite the offer. If there's something open, we'll tell you what we found. No surprises either direction.
Are there code violations you won't buy?
Rarely. We've walked from properties with structural condemnation that wasn't economically curable, and a couple where the lien stack exceeded the home's value. Everything else, unpermitted work, expired permits, abatement orders, red tags, has been buyable at the right number.
Sell your California house the easy way
Get a no-obligation cash offer on your California home in 24 hours. No fees, no commissions, no obligation to accept. Get your free cash offer or call (855) 699-6090.
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My Home Sold
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