Straight Answers — Florida
Everything you need to check a buyer is public. Here is the list — and how to run it on us.
Published · Tampete Homes, St. Petersburg
Florida does not license cash home buyers who buy for their own account, so the burden of checking is on you. The good news: everything you need is public and free. This is the list we would want a seller to run on us.
Go to search.sunbiz.org → Search by Entity Name → type the company name on the offer. You want Status ACTIVE, a principal address that matches what they told you, and a manager or authorized person whose name matches the person you're dealing with. If the name on the contract is a person, not an LLC, ask why. (Ours: Tampete Homes LLC, document L25000252906, manager Alpkan Cakici, 433 Central Ave 4th Floor.)
bbb.org → search the company + city. A rating with zero complaints is a good sign. Accreditation is optional and paid, so "not accredited" alone means little — read the rating reasons and the complaint history. No profile at all for a company claiming years in business is worth a question. (Ours: A-, not accredited; BBB's stated reason is our short operating time as an LLC.)
Search the company name in Google Maps. Read the newest three and the oldest three. Look for reviews that describe a specific transaction and for the owner responding. Ten real reviews beat two hundred one-liners.
Pinellas: officialrecords.mypinellasclerk.gov. Hillsborough: publicrec.hillsclerk.com. Search the company name as Grantee (buyer). Recorded deeds with the company as grantee are proof of closed purchases. A buyer who "closes 50 houses a year" here but has no deeds recorded is either a wholesaler or exaggerating.
Ask for a recent bank or lender letter showing funds for the purchase price. Real buyers expect this. A wholesaler who can't close without finding an end buyer usually can't produce it.
Ask: "Will your company be the buyer on the deed at closing, or will you assign the contract?" Assignment is legal in Florida, but it means the price you were quoted is not what the house is worth to the end buyer — the difference is their fee. You are entitled to know.
Buyer name matches Sunbiz. Closing date is a date, not "TBD." Inspection period — how long, and can they cancel for any reason? (Long and open-ended is where retrades come from.) Earnest money — real, held by the title company, and how much? "And/or assigns" after the buyer's name means step 6 is a yes.
Ask which licensed Florida title company or attorney will close. Call them; ask if they've closed with this buyer before. Never close at a kitchen table with a notary the buyer brought.
Ask for a card, match the name to Sunbiz. If they're "with" the company but not on Sunbiz or the website, ask who the decision-maker is and talk to that person before signing anything.
Active LLC · address matches · manager name matches the person · BBB profile with no complaints · dated Google reviews with owner replies · recorded deeds as grantee · proof of funds on request · a straight answer to the assignment question · a named title company. A buyer who clears all nine is a real business — negotiate price with confidence.
We would rather you check than trust. Sunbiz: Tampete Homes LLC (L25000252906). BBB: Tampete Homes LLC, Saint Petersburg. Google: Tampete Homes, 433 Central Ave. Pinellas official records: grantee "Tampete Homes LLC." Title: we close through licensed Florida title companies and will name the one for your file. Assignment: we buy for our own account.
Send it over — we'll tell you what it says, even if it isn't ours.
Many are. Florida does not license buyers who purchase for their own account, so verify each one yourself: active LLC on Sunbiz, BBB profile, dated Google reviews, recorded deeds as grantee at the county Clerk, proof of funds, and a licensed title company for closing.
No license is required to buy property for your own account. A real estate license is required to broker transactions for others. Ask any buyer whether they are buying for themselves or assigning the contract.
Search the name on search.sunbiz.org (status ACTIVE, manager name), bbb.org (rating and complaints), Google Maps (dated reviews), and the county Clerk's official records (deeds with the company as grantee).
A recent bank or lender letter showing the buyer has the money to close the purchase. Legitimate cash buyers provide it on request; wholesalers who depend on finding an end buyer usually cannot.
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