Two people knock with what sounds like the same offer. One is going to buy your house. The other is going to sign a contract with you and then look for somebody else to take their place in it, at a higher price.
Both are legal. They are very different transactions for you, and Ohio changed the rules on this in 2026.
What a wholesaler actually does
They put your house under contract at a price, then market that contract to investors. If they find a buyer at a higher number, they assign the contract and keep the difference. If they do not find one, the deal frequently dies and you have lost the weeks.
The money for that spread comes out of your sale price. It is the fee you did not know you were paying.
What Ohio requires now
Ohio Senate Bill 155 took effect in March 2026 and applies specifically to residential wholesaling: someone signing an assignable contract on a one-to-four unit residential property intending to transfer their interest for a profit.
Before you sign the purchase contract, they must give you a signed written disclosure, in bold type, at minimum 12 point, stating that they are acting on their own behalf, do not represent you, and may assign their interest to a third party without your consent.
Failing to provide it is treated as an unfair or deceptive practice, the seller has a legal remedy, and the Ohio Real Estate Commission can impose penalties of up to $1,000 per day of violation.
The practical takeaway for you: if nobody handed you that disclosure, you are either not dealing with a wholesaler, or you are dealing with one who is not complying. Both are worth knowing.
Three questions that reveal it
- Are you buying this house yourself, or assigning the contract? Direct question, and it should get a direct answer
- Does the contract contain an assignment clause? Look for the words and/or assigns next to the buyer name. That is the tell
- Whose money closes this? An actual buyer names their funds. A wholesaler has to find someone else first
Two more signs: a long inspection or due diligence period, which is really time to find a buyer, and earnest money that is very small or nonexistent, because they do not want much at risk in a deal they may not close.
Where we stand on it
We are buyers, not wholesalers. We do not assign contracts. When we agree on a number, we are the ones closing, and the name on the deed at the end is ours.
Because we do not assign, SB 155 does not apply to us, and we are saying that here rather than waiting for you to ask.
To be fair about it
Wholesaling is not fraud and a competent wholesaler can genuinely find a seller a buyer. The problem is not what they are, it is not knowing what they are: you think you have a closing date, and what you actually have is a marketing period on your own house.
If you are working with one, ask when your contract expires, what happens if they do not find a buyer, and whether the price can change.
What we do
- Toledo, Maumee, Perrysburg and Sylvania only. Not a national company, not a call center
- No agent commission. Zero, and no assignment spread either, because there is no assignment
- Any condition. Nothing repaired, nothing cleaned
- Closing in 7 to 14 days, or a later date you choose
- Closing costs handled case by case and written into the offer before you sign
- We buy with tenants in place and with back taxes owed. We do not buy severe structural damage, condemned houses, or foreclosures with a sale date already set
How our number is built is in how a cash offer is calculated, so you can check it rather than trust it. And a national platform is a different animal again: iBuyer vs local buyer.
General information, not legal advice. SB 155 describes what applies to residential wholesaling; whether a particular transaction falls under it is a legal question. If you believe you were not given a required disclosure, a real estate attorney can advise you.