Cash offers on occupied houses. You do not have to evict first.

A house with people in it is still a house. It is a slower house, and it is a more honest house if you say so on day one.

Silverkey makes cash offers on occupied properties. He does not need you to run an eviction before you talk. He does need the truth: is there a lease, are they paying, who is on the utility bill, and does anyone think they have a life estate they never recorded.

Cash for keys, in plain language

Cash for keys is a voluntary agreement. The occupant is paid to leave by a date, in writing. It is not a threat and it is not an eviction. In California, eviction is a court process with its own timeline and cost. Cash for keys is often cheaper than that process when both sides would rather be done.

Typical ranges vary wildly — a month of rent on a cooperative month-to-month, more when the tenancy is long or the occupant has leverage. Anyone quoting a single “standard amount” for the whole state is selling you simplicity you do not have.

What to tell Sean

• Names of everyone living there
• Rent, if any, and whether it is current
• A lease, or the fact that there isn’t one
• Any notice you have already served
• Whether someone is a family member who was promised they could stay

The offer will be lower than a vacant house. That is the occupancy discount, not a punishment. Hiding a tenant until inspection is how the number changes after you already spent the money in your head.