Home / Sell Your House for Any Reason / Unfinished Construction
Unfinished Construction? Sell Your House Fast for Cash
If a renovation or an addition stalled and the permit went quiet, we will look at your Pensacola house where it stands and tell you plainly what we can do.
Understanding Unfinished Construction and Open Permits
Unfinished construction covers a lot of ground. An addition framed and dried in but never trimmed out, a bathroom gutted two years ago, a garage conversion stopped halfway, a re-roof nobody ever called a final inspection on. The reason is almost always the same: the money ran out, the contractor walked, or life changed in the middle.
Permits in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties run on the Florida Building Code clock. A permit becomes invalid if the work is not commenced within 180 days of issuance, or if work is suspended or abandoned for 180 days, and failing to get an approved inspection within 180 days of the previous approved inspection counts as abandonment. Santa Rosa County spells this out in Ordinance 2006-37, Section 105.5.
How a Florida building permit goes inactive
- No work started within 180 days of the permit being issued.
- Work suspended or abandoned for 180 days after it began.
- No approved inspection within 180 days of the last approved inspection.
- Extensions are possible, in writing, in periods of up to 180 days, with justifiable cause shown.
Closing out an open permit in Escambia or Santa Rosa County
- Pull the permit history first: Escambia County Building Services, 850-595-3550 or permits@myescambia.com; Santa Rosa County Development Services in Milton, 850-981-7000; City of Pensacola, inspections@cityofpensacola.com.
- Ask whether an extension, or a reinstatement for final inspection only, is enough before paying for new work.
- Hire an appropriately licensed contractor to finish the outstanding items and call the inspections, as section 553.79(15) allows.
- If the permit is over 6 years old and nothing looks unsafe, ask about closing it under section 553.79(15).
Expired does not mean unfixable. The building official can grant written extensions in periods of up to 180 days where you show justifiable cause, and Santa Rosa will reinstate a long-expired permit when the only outstanding item is the final inspection.
Florida law gives you a clearer path than most people expect. Section 553.79(15), Florida Statutes, lets a property owner close a permit by rehiring the original contractor or bringing in a different appropriately licensed one, and that replacement contractor is not liable for the first one's defects. It also stops a local enforcement agency fining or refusing permits to an arms-length purchaser only because a previous owner left a permit open.
Unlicensed work is the harder version of this problem. Under section 489.128 an unlicensed contractor has no enforceable contract or lien rights against you, and under section 489.127 unlicensed contracting is a first-degree misdemeanor on a first offense and a third-degree felony on a second. Work buried without a permit often has to be opened back up so an inspector can see it.
So here is where we land. Deciding to sell an unfinished house instead of finishing it is a normal call, and a house that is livable with one stalled project, or a dried-in addition needing finish work, is often a fit for us, because we hold long term and can take the time to finish it correctly. A studs-and-subfloor gut, a shell with no roof or no systems, or a job with an engineering problem is a renovation buyer's project, and we will say that out loud and hand you a name.
You can sell with the permit still open. Title companies flag open permits, buyers ask about them, and under Johnson v. Davis you are expected to disclose known material defects a buyer could not readily observe. Tell us up front, let us take the close-out on, and talk to a Florida attorney if a contractor dispute or a lien is in the picture.
How Selling to Us Helps With Unfinished Construction
- You stop paying to carry a house you cannot live in or list, while the permit clock keeps running against you.
- We take the open permit and the close-out on ourselves, so you are not hiring a second contractor to finish a job you already paid for.
- No lender is involved, so an unfinished kitchen or a missing certificate of occupancy does not sink the appraisal.
- We hold what we buy rather than flipping the contract, so the markup a wholesaler needs can stay with you instead.
Why Sell to Us
A stalled project makes a normal listing nearly impossible, so here is what a direct sale changes for you.
- We buy and hold: real offers based on long-term value, not flip-margin math.
- Local to Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, not a call center reading a script.
- Upfront about fit: if your home is not right for us we say so, and can refer you to a buyer it is right for.
- No fees, no commissions, ever. We cover standard closing costs.
Simple and fast
How It Works
Three steps, no obligation, and no repairs or cleanup on your end.
Tell Us About Your Home
Share the address and a few quick details by phone or the form. It takes a couple of minutes and costs you nothing.
Get a Real, No-Obligation Offer
We look at your home and the local Pensacola market and come back with a genuine cash number. Already have an offer? Bring it and we will try to beat it.
You Pick the Closing Date
If it works for you, we close with a local title company on the day you choose. Need two weeks or two months? Your call.
Your options, side by side
Agent vs Wholesaler vs Us
Three ways to sell a Pensacola home in good condition. Here is how they compare.
| Traditional Agent | Wholesaler | Selling to Us | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to close | 60 to 90+ days | Fast, but then they resell it | As fast as 7 to 14 days, your date |
| Fees and commissions | About 5 to 6 percent | None to you, markup is hidden | None, we cover closing costs |
| Repairs and cleanup | Often required to list | None | None, sell as-is |
| Showings and open houses | Yes, ongoing | No | No, private sale |
| Typical price | Highest, if you can wait | Lowest, they need room to flip | More than a wholesaler for the right home |
| Best for | No rush, home is market-ready | Heavy fixers and distressed homes | Good homes, sold fast, fair price |
We Buy Unfinished Homes Across Pensacola and Nearby Areas
Stalled projects turn up everywhere we buy, but we see the most of them in the growth corridors north and east of Pensacola: additions and second-story builds around Pace and Milton, garage conversions and shop buildings out toward Cantonment. If you need to sell your house with an unfinished renovation in Pensacola or either county, the open permit is a detail for us to handle, not a reason to walk.
Areas We Serve · We Buy Houses in Pace · We Buy Houses in Milton · We Buy Houses in Cantonment
Unfinished Construction FAQ
What Counts as Unfinished Construction, Exactly?
Any permitted or unpermitted project that was started and never completed. A dried-in addition, a gutted bathroom, a half-done garage conversion, new windows without a final inspection, a re-roof that was never signed off. It also covers work a previous owner left open on the permit record without telling anyone.
How Fast Can You Move on a House With a Stalled Project?
We can usually walk it within a few days and give you an answer on the spot or shortly after. Pulling the permit history from Escambia or Santa Rosa County takes a little longer, but that is our job, not yours. Cash closings here typically run about 7 to 21 days once you accept.
Do I Need to Finish Anything First?
No. Do not spend another dollar on a project you are selling out of. Finishing work to a lender's standard costs far more than it returns on a distressed sale, and every new trade you hire is one more schedule to wait on. Leave it exactly where it stopped and let us price it.
Can You Sell a House in Florida With an Open Building Permit?
Yes. An open permit is a title and disclosure issue, not a bar to selling. Section 553.79(15), Florida Statutes, even protects an arms-length purchaser from being fined or refused permits solely because a previous owner left one open. Disclose what you know under Johnson v. Davis and we will close the permit out after we buy.
What Does the Process Look Like for My Situation?
You tell us what was started and roughly when, we pull the permit record and walk the property, and you get a cash number with our assumptions about what it takes to finish. If you accept, a local title company handles closing on a date you choose. We deal with the county afterward.
Are There Fees or Costs Involved?
None from us. No commission, no listing costs, no permit fees passed back to you, no final bill for finishing the work. Your mortgage payoff, property taxes and any contractor liens are settled out of the proceeds at closing. A construction lien dispute is worth a conversation with a Florida attorney before you sign anything.
What If I'm Not Sure My House Is Far Enough Along for You?
Call anyway and let us look. Roughly speaking, livable with one unfinished area is usually a fit and a full shell usually is not, but plenty of houses sit between those and we will not know until we see it. If it is not for us, we will say so and point you to a renovation buyer.
Do You Buy Unfinished Homes Everywhere You Serve?
Yes, across Escambia and Santa Rosa counties: Pensacola, Pace, Milton, Cantonment, Gonzalez, Molino, Gulf Breeze, Navarre, Ferry Pass and the smaller communities around them. Permits sit with the county in unincorporated areas and with the city inside Pensacola limits, and we work with all of those offices.
Other Situations We Help With
Bring Us Your Best Offer
If your Pensacola home is in good shape and you need to sell fast, let us take a look. Worst case, you get a real number to compare. Best case, we beat what you already have.