Sell your house fast in SF Bay Area, CA
We buy Bay Area houses as-is, for cash, from Oakland to Vallejo. Get a fair offer within 24 hours and skip the prep, staging and bidding wars.
- Any condition, any situation
- We pay all closing costs
- Close in as little as 2–3 weeks
Get your SF Bay Area cash offer
Takes 30 seconds. No obligation.
Prefer to talk? (312) 818-3954
Why SF Bay Area homeowners sell to us
Selling in the Bay Area usually means expensive prep, staging and inspections. If you’d rather skip all that, especially with an inherited home or a rental, we buy as-is.
Inherited homes & trusts
We work with executors, successor trustees and heirs.
Rentals & tenants
Sell a rental with tenants in place. We follow the local rules that apply.
Seismic & major repairs
Foundation, retrofit or structural work needed? We buy as-is.
Relocation
Moving out of the Bay Area? Close on your timeline.
Sold in 3 simple steps
Tell us about the house
Fill out the form or call. We’ll ask a few questions about the property and your timeline.
Get a fair cash offer
After a short walkthrough, you get a written offer within 24 hours, with the math explained.
Close on your date
California sales close through escrow. Close in as little as 2–3 weeks, or on the date you pick. We pay all of your closing costs.
We buy all over the Bay Area
We buy across Alameda, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Solano and San Francisco counties.
“I lost my job and got behind on my mortgage… We closed in 9 days and I avoided foreclosure.”
“My brother and I inherited our mom’s house… They handled the entire process.”
Reviews from BAM sellers. We’ll add SF Bay Area seller stories here as we close more deals locally.
What selling a house in San Francisco Bay Area looks like right now
The Bay Area mixes some of the oldest housing stock in California with decades of infill. San Francisco has Victorians and Edwardians from before 1906, plus postwar homes in the Sunset and Richmond built on sand dunes with shallow foundations. Oakland and Berkeley have 1900s to 1920s bungalows and Craftsman homes, many with knob-and-tube wiring or unpermitted in-law units in the basement. Contra Costa’s older cities like Richmond and Pittsburg have postwar tract homes, while newer suburbs sit closer to the Delta and carry more flood and levee risk. San Mateo County ranges from dense older homes in Daly City and East Palo Alto to pricier Peninsula suburbs. Earthquake risk runs through the whole region, and older homes without foundation bolting or retrofits can be costly to insure or finance. Property values are high almost everywhere, so an inherited or rental house can carry a large tax reassessment, and a dated house that needs a new roof, panel upgrade or seismic work often makes more sense to sell as-is than to renovate before listing.
San Francisco Bay Area market snapshot, August 2026
66.4% of homes sold above list price, with an average sale-to-list ratio of 113.2%
Data: Redfin, San Francisco County, August 2026.
Probate, taxes and foreclosure in the San Francisco Bay Area area
Each county runs these a little differently. Here’s what matters when you’re selling an inherited house, dealing with back taxes or trying to stay ahead of a foreclosure. General information, not legal advice.
San Francisco County County seat: San Francisco
- Probate
- Probate is handled by the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco, Probate Division, at the Civic Center Courthouse, 400 McAllister St. As of 2026, California estates under $208,850 can often skip full probate, and a primary residence worth up to $750,000 can pass by a simpler court petition for deaths on or after April 1, 2025.
- Property taxes
- The Office of the Assessor-Recorder sets property values and the Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector bills and collects. Because San Francisco is a consolidated city and county, appeals go to its own Assessment Appeals Board, with a regular annual filing period that closes in mid-September; taxes must still be paid on time while an appeal is pending.
- Foreclosure and tax sales
- California foreclosures are usually non-judicial trustee sales. At least three months must pass after the notice of default is recorded, then the trustee must give at least 20 days’ notice of a public auction. Property in tax default for five years becomes subject to the Treasurer and Tax Collector’s power to sell at public auction, and an owner can redeem by paying in full up to the last business day before the auction.
Alameda County County seat: Oakland
- Probate
- Probate cases are filed with the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda, Probate Court at the Berkeley Courthouse, 2120 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley. The same statewide small estate ($208,850) and primary-residence ($750,000) thresholds apply as of 2026.
- Property taxes
- The Alameda County Assessor’s Office values property and the Alameda County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office bills and collects. Appeals go to the county’s Assessment Appeals Board through the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, with a regular filing period that runs July 2 through November 30 each year.
- Foreclosure and tax sales
- Foreclosures follow the same statewide non-judicial trustee-sale process: at least three months after the notice of default, then at least 20 days’ published and posted notice before the trustee’s auction. A five-year property-tax default lets the county Tax Collector sell the property at public auction, with redemption available up to the last business day before the sale.
Contra Costa County County seat: Martinez
- Probate
- Probate matters are heard by the Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa, Probate Division, in Martinez; check the court’s probate-departments page before filing, since courtroom assignments change. The statewide small estate ($208,850) and primary-residence ($750,000) thresholds apply as of 2026.
- Property taxes
- The Contra Costa County Assessor’s Office sets assessed values and the Contra Costa County Treasurer-Tax Collector’s Office issues and collects the bills. Assessment appeals are filed with the Clerk of the Board during the regular July 2 to November 30 filing period.
- Foreclosure and tax sales
- The same statewide non-judicial trustee-sale rules apply: a minimum three months after the notice of default, then at least 20 days’ notice of the public auction. Property that has been in property-tax default for five years can be sold at the Tax Collector’s public auction, with redemption possible until the last business day before the sale.
San Mateo County County seat: Redwood City
- Probate
- Probate is handled by the Superior Court of California, County of San Mateo, Probate Division, at the Southern Branch courthouse, 400 County Center, Redwood City. The same statewide small estate ($208,850) and primary-residence ($750,000) thresholds apply as of 2026.
- Property taxes
- The San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk-Recorder & Elections (ACRE) office assesses property and the San Mateo County Tax Collector bills and collects. Assessment appeals go through the county’s Assessment Appeals Board, with the annual filing period running from July 2 through November 30.
- Foreclosure and tax sales
- Foreclosures follow the statewide non-judicial trustee-sale process: at least three months after the notice of default, then at least 20 days’ notice before the public auction. A five-year property-tax default allows the county Tax Collector to sell the property at public auction, with redemption possible up to the last business day before the sale.
Where we buy houses around San Francisco Bay Area
We buy in every part of the metro, in any condition. These are some of the areas and ZIP codes we see most.
- Bayview-Hunters Point94124postwar single-family homes, some with deferred maintenance
- Excelsior941121920s-1940s stucco homes on hilly lots
- Sunset District94116, 94122rows of 1930s-1950s homes built on former sand dunes
- Richmond District94118, 94121early 1900s to 1940s homes near Golden Gate Park
- Oakland – Fruitvale94601early 1900s bungalows and small multi-unit lots
- East Oakland – Elmhurst94605, 94621postwar single-story homes, many with add-ons
- Berkeley94702, 94703Craftsman and brown-shingle homes from the early 1900s
- Hayward94541, 945441950s-1960s ranch tract homes
- Richmond (Contra Costa)94801, 94805older bungalows and postwar homes near the shoreline
- Antioch945091960s-1980s tract homes further from the Bay
- Pittsburg94565postwar and 1970s tract homes
- Concord945201950s-1960s ranch homes
- Daly City94014, 94015dense 1950s stucco rowhouses on fog-prone hills
- Redwood City94063older bungalows and postwar homes near downtown
- East Palo Alto94303smaller postwar homes, many owned for decades
- San Mateo94401, 944031920s-1950s homes on the Peninsula
What a San Francisco Bay Area seller actually walks away with
The list price isn’t what you keep. Here’s an illustrative example for a dated San Francisco Bay Area house that needs work. We set the example’s after-repair value near the middle of Bay Area suburban pricing, well under the City of San Francisco median, since most of the region outside the city core sells lower and a house that needs work sits below that.
| List it yourself | Sell to BAM as-is | |
|---|---|---|
| Sale price after repairs | $900,000 | Your offer amount |
| Repairs before listing | −$75,000 | $0 |
| Agent commissions (5.5% assumed) | −$49,500 | $0 |
| Title, escrow, transfer tax and other seller costs (est. 1.5%) | −$13,500 | $0, we pay them |
| Holding costs for 3 to 4 months (est. 1%) | −$9,000 | $0 |
| Inspection repair credits and concessions (est. 1%) | −$9,000 | $0 |
| What you walk away with | $744,000 | Your offer, dollar for dollar |
Illustrative example, not an offer or appraisal. Commissions are negotiable and every house is different. Agent commissions are negotiable and not set by law; get the full amount in writing before you list. Who customarily pays for the owner’s title policy varies by county in the Bay Area, so ask your escrow officer what is typical in your city. Every county here charges the standard California documentary transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000 of price, and several cities add their own tax, most notably San Francisco’s tiered rate and Oakland’s tiered rate (1.0% to 2.5% depending on price).
Compare our cash offer to that bottom-line number, not to the list price. If it’s close, you skip the repairs, the showings and months of waiting. If listing will clearly net you more, we’ll tell you.
Sources for this page (19)
- sf.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate-court
- sf.gov/news-assessor-recorder-joaquin-torres-reminds-taxpayers-of-assessment-appeals-deadl
- sf.gov/departments–assessment-appeals-board
- california.public.law/codes/civil_code_section_2924
- california.public.law/codes/civil_code_section_2924f
- alameda.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate
- acassessor.org/homeowners/assessment-appeals/
- acgov.org/clerk/assessment.htm
- treasurer.acgov.org/taxes-faqs/
- contracosta.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate
- contracosta.courts.ca.gov/probate-departments
- contracosta.ca.gov/2924/Assessment-Appeals
- sanmateo.courts.ca.gov/divisions/probate-division
- smcacre.gov/assessor/appeal-assessment
- smcgov.org/ceo/about-assessment-appeals
- sf.gov/transfer-tax
- library.municode.com/ca/oakland/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT4REFI_CH4.20REPRTRTA_4.
- california.public.law/codes/revenue_and_taxation_code_section_11911
- redfin.com/county/340/CA/San-Francisco-County/housing-market
Facts checked September 2026. Laws, deadlines and fees change, so confirm details with the county or a local attorney before you rely on them.
Selling a house for cash in SF Bay Area
Can you buy a rental with tenants in the Bay Area?
Yes. Many Bay Area cities have their own tenant rules. We buy with tenants in place and follow the rules that apply.
Can you buy a house held in a living trust?
Yes. The successor trustee can usually sell without probate.
How long does foreclosure take in California?
Most California foreclosures are non-judicial trustee sales. After a notice of default, the lender generally has to wait about three months before scheduling a sale, then give at least 20 more days’ notice. That window is your chance to sell first.
Who handles the closing?
A California escrow and title company handles the closing. We pay all of your closing costs.
I inherited a house in the Bay Area. Will my property taxes jump?
Usually, unless you move in. Under Prop 19, a parent’s low Prop 13 tax base only transfers if the home becomes your principal residence and you file for the homeowners’ exemption within one year. Even then, for transfers from February 16, 2025 to February 15, 2027, the exclusion is capped at the prior taxable value plus $1,044,586. Keep it as a rental or leave it vacant, and the county assessor reassesses it to current market value, which can mean a much larger bill given how much Bay Area homes have appreciated.
Does San Francisco or Oakland charge extra tax when I sell?
Yes, on top of the standard California county transfer tax of $1.10 per $1,000. San Francisco uses a tiered city rate that rises with the sale price, and the top tiers apply to very expensive properties. Oakland’s city rate runs from 1.0% on lower-priced homes up to 2.5% on the most expensive sales. Who pays is usually set in the purchase contract, and your escrow officer will show the exact amount on the closing statement.
My Bay Area house has an unpermitted addition or in-law unit. Can I still sell it?
Yes, but it affects how you sell. A traditional buyer using a lender may have trouble getting the whole property appraised or insured if square footage isn’t permitted, and disclosure laws require you to tell buyers what you know about unpermitted work. Some sellers price the home to reflect the risk and sell as-is rather than pull permits and pay for inspections after the fact.
Get your SF Bay Area cash offer today
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