Yes, a house can be sold while the owner is incarcerated.

Yes. An incarcerated person keeps the right to own and sell property. Florida's rule against inmates running a business specifically allows them to communicate as needed to protect property they owned when they were committed. Selling a house you already own is exactly that. I am not a lawyer, and I encourage every owner to have one look at the paperwork, but there is nothing unusual or improper about this sale.

Not always. There are two ways to sign. The owner can sign the deed personally at the institution in front of a notary and two witnesses. Or the owner can sign a limited power of attorney naming one trusted person to sign for this property only. In Florida a power of attorney has to be signed before two witnesses and a notary to be valid. Either way, the title company reviews the documents before closing. I will tell you which path fits the institution and the situation.

Every Florida Department of Corrections institution has staff who can notarize, and most county jails do too. Where that is slow, a mobile notary can be scheduled to visit. Documents go in through legal mail or with the notary, get signed, and come back out. It takes longer than a normal closing because the institution sets the schedule, which is why I say three to six weeks instead of seven days.

Wherever the owner directs, and never through me. A licensed Florida title company receives the purchase money, pays off the mortgage, taxes and any liens, and sends the balance by wire or check to the person or account the owner names in writing: a family member, an attorney's trust account, the owner's own bank account, or a deposit to the owner's inmate trust account. You will see every number on the closing statement before anything is signed.

Sometimes part of it. Court-ordered restitution, fines, and certain liens recorded against the owner or the property get paid at closing like any other lien, and the owner keeps the rest. Florida can also file a lien for the cost of incarceration in some cases. This is why I pull the clerk's records before I give a number: you will know about anything like that before you decide, not at the closing table. If a lien would eat most of the equity, I will tell you so plainly.

Everyone on the deed has to sign, and everyone gets the same written offer and the same paperwork. A spouse on the outside signs at the title company or with a mobile notary. The owner inside signs as described above. If the co-owners do not agree, there is no sale, and nobody can be forced.

That is normal. I buy as-is. The mortgage, delinquent taxes, code fines and liens are paid out of the sale at closing. You do not fix anything, clean anything, or bring money to the table. If the debts are bigger than the value of the house, I will tell you that too.

Nothing. No commissions, no fees, no repairs. I pay the standard closing costs, the notary, and the recording. The written offer shows the price and what the owner nets after the mortgage and liens are paid. That number is the number.

A written offer within a few days of our first conversation. Closing usually takes three to six weeks, because getting documents in and out of an institution runs on the institution's schedule. If someone promises you seven days on a sale like this, ask them how.

Public records. Florida property records are public, and so is the Department of Corrections inmate list. When the same name is on both, I write to the owner, because almost nobody else will. The letter is an option, not an obligation. If the owner is not interested, the reply slip has a box for that, and I will not write again.

I am not a lawyer, a bondsman, a bail agent, or anyone connected to the owner's case. I cannot give legal advice and I will not pretend to. I am a local buyer who has built a clean way to do this one thing, and I want the owner's family or attorney to look at everything before anyone signs.