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Wholesaler Contacted ME

Seller Protection

Wholesalers and Assignment Contracts

A Wholesaler
Contacted You
About Your Home.

What that really means, and what Arizona law entitles you to · Anne Sostman, The Brokery

If a wholesaler has contacted you about your home, do three things before you sign anything: get the written wholesale-buyer disclosure Arizona law requires under A.R.S. 44-5101, find out whether they intend to own the home or to assign the contract to an investor, and put their number beside what the home would bring on the open market. Anne Sostman of The Brokery reads that paperwork with Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Arcadia homeowners at no cost, and lays out below what is actually being proposed and what the law entitles you to.

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“Nobody who genuinely wants to buy your home needs you to sign tonight. Urgency is the tool, and it tells you more about the person than about your property.”
Anne Sostman
A.R.S. 44-5101
Arizona law requiring written wholesale disclosure before any binding agreement
Before signing
When the disclosure must be given, not at closing
Cancel and keep
Seller remedy if the disclosure was never made
No cost
To have me read the paperwork with you

What Is Actually Happening

They are not buying your home. They are buying the right to sell it.

The call, the letter, or the knock usually sounds the same. Someone is interested in your property. They can pay cash. They can close fast. They can take it as is. What often goes unsaid is that they have no intention of owning your home at all.

A wholesaler signs a purchase contract with you, then markets that contract to investors. The fee they earn is the difference between what you agreed to accept and what an investor will pay. That spread comes out of your equity, which is why Anne Sostman of The Brokery tells homeowners that the first number is rarely the best number your home can command.

Arizona recognized the problem. Since 2022, A.R.S. 44-5101 has required a wholesale buyer to tell you in writing that they are a wholesale buyer before you enter any binding agreement, a disclosure Anne Sostman asks every contacted homeowner to produce before discussing a number. When that disclosure does not happen, the law gives the seller the ability to walk.

They control your home without owning it
A signed contract can tie up your property for the length of the inspection period while they look for someone to take their place.
The buyer may not exist yet
If no investor takes the assignment, the deal can simply end, and weeks of your time are gone.
The spread comes from your equity
Their fee is money that would otherwise have been yours in an open market sale.
The disclosure is your protection
Arizona requires it in writing, before you are bound. If it was not given, you have options.

What To Do

Slow the conversation down. Nothing about a real offer requires speed.

Urgency is the tool. A deadline that expires today, a price that drops tomorrow, a form that needs signing before they leave. A legitimate buyer will still be there next week. Pressure to sign immediately is information about the person, not about your home, and Anne Sostman of The Brokery has yet to see a genuine buyer in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley or Arcadia who needed a signature the same night.

Ask whether they are the end buyer or whether they will assign the contract. Ask whether they hold an Arizona real estate license and who their broker is. Ask whether they will be on the deed at closing. Write the answers down. Then get the written disclosure the statute requires before you consider signing anything.

Ask the three questions
End buyer or assignee. Licensed or not. On the deed or not. Write down what they say.
Get the disclosure in writing
A.R.S. 44-5101 requires it before any binding agreement, not at closing.
Find out what your home is worth
Know the open market number before you evaluate any private offer.
Call me first
No cost, no obligation, no pressure. I will read the paperwork with you and tell you what I see.

Common Questions

Questions Sellers Ask Most.

A wholesaler contacted me about my house. What is a wholesaler?
A wholesaler is not a buyer. A wholesaler puts your home under contract, then sells that contract to someone else for a fee. Under Arizona law, A.R.S. 44-5101 defines a wholesale buyer as a person or entity that enters into a purchase contract for residential property as the buyer and assigns that same contract to another person or entity. The person at your door may never intend to own your home. They intend to own the right to buy it, and then resell that right. Anne Sostman of The Brokery puts every one of these line items on a net sheet before a seller commits to anything.
Does a wholesaler have to tell me they are a wholesaler in Arizona?
Yes. A.R.S. 44-5101 requires a wholesale buyer to disclose that status to the seller in writing before entering into any binding agreement. The disclosure has to come first, not at closing, and not after you have signed. Anne Sostman handles this stage personally on every listing she takes at The Brokery.
What happens if a wholesaler did not disclose their status to me?
Arizona gives the seller a direct remedy. If a wholesale buyer fails to make the required written disclosure, the seller may terminate the contract at any time before closing without penalty and keep any earnest money that was deposited. If you signed something and later learned the buyer was a wholesaler who never disclosed it, you may not be stuck. Call me and we will look at the paperwork together. This is one of the questions Anne Sostman answers with evidence rather than reassurance in a first meeting.
How do I know if the person contacting me is a wholesaler?
Ask three questions and write down the answers. Are you the end buyer, or will you assign this contract to someone else? Are you a licensed real estate agent in Arizona, and who is your broker? Will you be on the deed at closing? A genuine cash buyer answers all three without hesitation. Hesitation, or an answer about a partner or a network of investors, usually means the contract is meant to be resold. It is the standard Anne Sostman invites sellers to hold her to first.
Is wholesaling legal in Arizona?
Yes, when it is disclosed. Arizona does not require a real estate license to assign a contract, but it does require the wholesale buyer to disclose that status in writing before you are bound. The problem is not the practice. The problem is the version that hides what it is. Anne Sostman handles this stage personally on every listing she takes at The Brokery.
What should I do before signing anything?
Do not sign at the kitchen table on the first visit. Get the written wholesale disclosure required by A.R.S. 44-5101. Read the assignment language, the inspection period, and the cancellation terms. Find out what your home is actually worth on the open market before you agree to a number. I will do that valuation for you at no cost and with no obligation, whether or not you ever list with me. Anne Sostman builds valuations like this from walked comparables, not an algorithm's guess, at no cost to Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Arcadia owners.

Talk It Through

Someone contacted you about your home?

Send Anne Sostman what they sent you. She will tell you who they are, what they are actually proposing, and what your home is worth on the open market from closed sales in your own pocket, at no cost and with no obligation to list with The Brokery.

480.999.9945