How to spot a "we buy houses" scam, and how to check any buyer

A real cash buyer shows you the money, puts every promise in the contract and pays you at a closing run by a title company you can check. It never asks you for a fee, or for your signature on a deed before you're paid. And since August 1, 2026, Louisiana law makes anyone who plans to resell your contract say so in writing and give you at least five days to cancel.

Red flags

Stop and get advice if a buyer:

• Asks you for money. A buyer pays you. The FTC lists upfront fees as a sign of mortgage relief scams, which target the same owners.
• Promises to stop a foreclosure. HUD warns that signing with a firm that says it can stop yours "immediately" can mean "signing over the title to your property and becoming a renter in your own home." If you're behind, start with your real options.
• Rushes you, or tells you to stop talking to your lender. The FTC warns about both.
• Won't show proof of funds or name a title company.
• Writes "and/or assigns" after its name, or shows your house to other investors. It probably plans to sell your contract.
• Cuts the price just before closing, after you've turned other buyers away.

Louisiana's 2026 wholesaling law

Some "we buy houses" companies don't buy. They sign a contract with you, then sell it to another investor for more. That's wholesaling. It's legal, and since August 1, 2026, Act 807 (La. R.S. 37:1448.5) sets rules for it:

• Disclosures first. Before you sign, the wholesaler must tell you in writing that it plans to sell its rights to your house for more than it's offering you, that you should get legal advice, and that you can cancel.
• Five days to cancel. You can cancel for any reason, without penalty, for at least five calendar days after you've both signed.
• The notice. Next to your signature, the contract must say "NOTICE REQUIRED BY LOUISIANA LAW" and give the date your right to cancel ends. Until then, the wholesaler "CANNOT ask you to sign or have you sign any cash sale, conveyance or deed, or any other document." It must also give you the Louisiana Real Estate Commission's (LREC) cancellation form, free.
• A real deposit. At least 1% of the price, kept in your account or in escrow at a federally insured financial institution in Louisiana.
• Limits. It can't pose as your advisor, claim a license it doesn't hold, or put a lien or anything else on your title.

If a wholesaler breaks these rules, you can void the contract by written notice any time before you transfer title. If you void it for a violation after the five days, you keep the deposit; if you cancel within them, the wholesaler gets its deposit back. LREC can fine it up to $5,000 per violation.

How to check any buyer

1. Look up the exact name on the contract in the Secretary of State's free business search.
2. Ask for proof of funds (see below), and ask in writing whether it's buying with its own money or assigning the contract.
3. Check the title company yourself. Find its number on your own, call to confirm it has your file, and look up its license with the Louisiana Department of Insurance.
4. Check any real estate license it claims with LREC.
5. Get every promise in the contract. As the state's notice says, "You should not rely upon any other written or oral agreement or promise."
6. Have a lawyer or a HUD-approved counselor read it before you sign.
7. Turn on deed alerts. eClerks Alert is free and tells you when a document is recorded in your name in any Louisiana parish.

Check us too

Passkey Properties, LLC works from an office at 769 Robert Blvd, Ste 1030, in Slidell. Check us the same way. We buy with our own money, we'll show you proof of funds, and every purchase closes through a title company or closing notary.

Our offer will usually be below what your house could sell for after repairs on the open market. Compare the real costs before you decide, and know what you still have to disclose.

Free help

• Attorney General's consumer hotline: 1-800-351-4889, to report a buyer who misled you.
• Louisiana Real Estate Commission: (225) 925-1923, about a wholesaler.
• Federal Trade Commission: report a scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

How Passkey can help

If selling for cash fits, we'll walk through the house and put an offer in writing within 24 hours. There are no fees or commission, and you pick the closing date, as soon as 5 days out. Ask for an offer with the form on this page, or call (985) 317-2695.

Questions

Is wholesaling legal in Louisiana?

Yes, if the wholesaler follows Act 807. The law covers buyers who plan to sell your contract, not buyers who close with their own money, so you won't see the five-day notice in every cash offer.

How do I cancel a wholesaling contract?

In writing, before 11:59 p.m. on the date in the contract's notice. The cancellation form the wholesaler must give you works. Keep a copy and proof of when you delivered it.

What counts as proof of funds?

Louisiana's 2026 standard purchase agreement asks an all-cash buyer for a bank letter or a recent bank statement showing at least the price. It lets you call the bank to check, and cancel if the buyer doesn't deliver. A letter from a "partner" who might fund the deal isn't proof.