Definition
A double close is a transaction structure where a middle buyer purchases your house from you and then, often on the very same day, immediately resells it to a different end buyer, using two separate closings instead of one assignment. This keeps the two sale prices confidential from each side, since neither you nor the end buyer typically sees what the other paid. From your perspective as the seller, the closing looks completely normal: you sign your documents, transfer the deed, and receive your funds like any other sale. The complexity happens behind the scenes, often requiring the middle buyer to briefly use their own funds or a short-term loan to fund the first closing before the second one funds it. Double closes are common in the wholesale and flip world specifically because they hide the profit margin between transactions. As a seller, your main concern should simply be whether the party buying from you can actually close on the date promised.
Example
Janet agrees to sell her rental property for $215,000 to a buyer who explains upfront that they plan to resell it the same day. At 10 a.m., the buyer closes on the purchase from Janet using a short-term funding source arranged through the title company. At 2 p.m. that same day, that buyer resells the house to a new investor for $240,000, using the second buyer's funds to pay off the first transaction. Janet never sees or cares about the $240,000 number; her closing happened cleanly at 10 a.m. with her funds wired the same afternoon. Because she'd asked the title company in advance to confirm the first transaction was fully funded and recorded independently of the second, Janet felt confident her sale was complete regardless of whether the buyer's resale later that day succeeded.