How to Check a Texas Cash Home Buyer

Before you sign with a cash home buyer in Texas, run six checks: look up any license on TREC, ask whether the company will close in its own name or assign the contract, check its state records, use a licensed title company, ask for proof of funds, and watch for upfront fees and deed transfers.

Most of these checks are free, and one costs $1. This guide explains Texas rules in plain language. It is not legal advice.

1. Look up any license on TREC, and know what it does not tell you

The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) licenses real estate brokers and sales agents. Its License Holder Search is free and needs no login. A record shows the license type and status, the sponsoring broker for a sales agent, and any disciplinary actions.

A missing license is not a red flag on its own, and a license is not an endorsement. A broker is someone who, for pay, buys, sells or negotiates for another person (Occupations Code 1101.002). A buyer purchasing a house for itself usually is not. A sales agent may broker only while sponsored by a licensed broker, which is why the record names a broker (section 1101.351).

When a license holder buys for themselves, or for a company they own more than 10% of, they must disclose in writing that they are licensed and acting for themselves, in the contract or before it (TREC rule 535.144). The Texas resale contract has a paragraph for this, paragraph 8 (TREC form 20-19). TREC can discipline a license holder who buys in their own name and “engages in misrepresentation, dishonesty, or fraud” (Occupations Code 1101.652).

What to do: search the name on the business card or contract, check that the license is active, and look for disciplinary actions. If a licensed person is buying, look for the written disclosure.

2. Ask: “Will you close in your own name, or assign the contract?”

Some cash buyers sign a contract with you, then sell their right to buy your house to another investor. This is assigning the contract, or wholesaling. It is legal in Texas when the buyer makes the written disclosures the law requires. TREC’s 2017 notice said wholesaling “remains legal if these ‘truth in advertising’ rules are adhered to” (TREC).

A person without a license may assign a contract to buy if they disclose in writing “the nature of the equitable interest” to any seller or potential buyer. Without that disclosure, it counts as “engaging in real estate brokerage” (Occupations Code 1101.0045).
Before entering a contract to assign, the person must tell the owner in writing that they intend to assign, and tell a potential buyer in writing that they do not have legal title (Property Code 5.0205). A license holder who assigns must make the same written disclosure (TREC rule 535.6).

These rules date from 2017 and were last amended effective January 1, 2024. No 2025 law changed them; the 2025 laws in check 6 are about deed fraud.

Read the buyer line on the contract. The words “and/or assigns” after the buyer’s name mean the buyer kept the right to assign (Texas Real Estate Research Center at Texas A&M University).

Questions to ask before you sign:

Will your company close in its own name at the title company?
If you might assign this contract, will you tell me in writing before you do?
If someone else ends up buying, does my price or my closing date change?

Assigning is not wrong by itself. What matters is that you know before you sign, in writing.

3. Check the company’s standing with the State

Search the exact company name on the contract, letter for letter, in the state’s records:

The Texas Comptroller’s Taxable Entity Search is free. It shows whether the company has the right to transact business in Texas, a status that “may be required to conduct real estate or financial transactions” (Comptroller).
The Texas Secretary of State keeps the company’s formation filings. A search there has a $1.00 fee set by law.

“Active” is what you want to see. A company whose right to transact business is forfeited “shall be denied the right to sue or defend in a court of this state,” and its officers and directors can become liable for some of its debts (Tax Code 171.252 and 171.255). If you see “forfeited,” or the name on the contract does not match the record, ask why before you sign.

4. Use a licensed title company, and pay earnest money only to the escrow agent

A title company usually acts as the escrow agent. On the standard Texas resale contract, TREC form 20-19, the buyer must deliver the earnest money and the option fee to the escrow agent named in the contract within 3 days after the effective date. Both are “payable to Escrow Agent” (paragraph 5A).

If the buyer does not deliver the earnest money on time, the seller “may terminate this contract” or use the remedies in paragraph 15 (paragraph 5C).
During the option period, the buyer has “the unrestricted right to terminate” the contract (paragraph 5B). Check how many days it gives.

Check the title company before you sign. The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) says “It’s illegal to sell title insurance without a license in Texas,” and you can check a license by calling 800-252-3439 or online (TDI title insurance FAQ). Before you wire money, TDI says to “Verify the electronic payment instructions with your title agent” (TDI title insurance tips). TREC does not oversee title companies; complaints about one go to TDI (TREC FAQ).

5. Ask for proof of funds, and know what it can and cannot show

A cash price should not depend on a loan. On the Texas resale contract, the cash portion of the price “does not include proceeds from borrowing of any kind” unless the contract says so (paragraph 3A, TREC form 20-19).

Proof of funds is a document showing the buyer has the money, such as a recent bank statement. We found no official Texas form for it, so these are practical tips:

Is it recent, and does it cover the price?
Does the name on it match the buyer’s name on the contract?
If the contract may be assigned, the proof you see may not come from whoever ends up buying (see check 2).

Two of our guides cover proof of funds when you sell on your own: selling a house without a realtor in Texas and selling land by owner in Texas.

6. Red flags: upfront fees, deed transfers and deed fraud

The Federal Trade Commission warns about foreclosure rescue offers. “If you transfer the deed, you’re not likely to get it back,” and you would still owe the mortgage. Such a company may not charge you upfront for promises of mortgage relief, and it “can’t tell you to stop talking to your lender” (FTC, Mortgage Relief Scams). The Texas Attorney General says: “Title scams - Always use a title company” (Texas Attorney General).

Slow down, or walk away, if a buyer:

asks you for a fee up front, or to sign over your deed before a title company closing;
wants the earnest money paid to them instead of the escrow agent;
will not name a title company, or names one TDI has not licensed;
will not say whether it may assign the contract;
signs as a company whose state status is forfeited.

Deed fraud: tools Texas added in 2025 and 2026

Owner’s affidavit. Since September 1, 2025, an owner can record a sworn affidavit that they did not convey the property and mail a copy to the people named in the false deed. They have until the 120th day after the certificate of mailing is filed to dispute it (Property Code 5.0206). If no one does, the owner can ask a district court to rule, and the district clerk may not collect a filing fee for it (Government Code 51.9035).
Clerk notice. When a county clerk has a reasonable basis to believe a document is fraudulent, the clerk must send written notice to the people named in it, and to the last known owner if that owner’s address is different from the grantor’s. The notice goes out no later than the second business day after the document is submitted (Government Code 51.901).
Photo ID. Since December 4, 2025, county clerks must require photo ID from anyone filing real property records in person (Local Government Code 191.010). If a deed filed after January 1, 2026 is reported as fraudulent, the clerk sends the report and the filer’s ID information to law enforcement (Government Code 51.901).
Notaries. Since September 1, 2025, knowingly notarizing for a signer who did not appear is a state jail felony when the document transfers real property (Government Code 406.0091).
County alerts. Tarrant County calls its Property Fraud Alert “a free on-line automated service.” It “will not prevent fraud” but works as “an early warning system” (Tarrant County Clerk). Ask your county clerk whether your county has one.

A contract for deed (the buyer pays over time and gets the deed later) is legal in Texas (Texas Attorney General), but no TREC form is meant for one (TREC FAQ), so have an attorney read it. Report a scam at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

7. Before you sign: there is no 3-day cooling-off period

Texas has no automatic three-day period to change your mind after you sign a real estate contract. TREC’s FAQ says “Any rights that you have to terminate the contract will be contained in the contract” (TREC). The option period in paragraph 5B is the buyer’s right, not the seller’s.

Paragraph 23 of the resale contract says “CONSULT AN ATTORNEY BEFORE SIGNING” (TREC form 20-19). Take that advice for any part you do not understand.

If a buyer wants to buy “subject to” your loan, so the loan stays in place, Texas requires a separate written disclosure about each loan to the buyer and each lender, with some exceptions (Property Code 5.016). See selling a house subject to the mortgage in Texas.

8. How Cash Home Advisors answers these checks

Here is what our site already says, check by check. Ask us any question on this page before you sign.

License: Adrian Luna, who runs Cash Home Advisors, is a licensed real estate agent in the State of Texas (TREC #675272-SA).
Who signs: Cash Home Advisors, LLC signs the purchase contract with you and buys as a principal. It is not acting as your agent, lender or advisor.
Assignment: We may buy your home ourselves or with a partner investor, and we tell you which before you sign.
Title company: Every sale closes at a Texas title company on a standard TREC contract.
Costs: Sell as-is, no repairs. We pay all closing costs. No agent commissions.
Timing: Close in 7–14 days once title is clear.
The offer: Free, no obligation. A real person calls you back, in English or Spanish.

To see how a cash offer is put together, read how a cash offer is calculated. To compare a cash sale with listing, see the three ways to sell your Texas house. For each step from first call to closing, see how it works, and for other questions, our FAQ.

Questions sellers ask

How do I know if a we-buy-houses company is legit in Texas?

Run the six checks above, starting with TREC’s License Holder Search, and never pay an upfront fee or sign over your deed outside a title company closing.

Does a cash home buyer need a real estate license in Texas?

Usually not, if it is buying for itself. A license is needed to broker, which means acting for another person for pay, and a person who assigns a contract must disclose that in writing (Occupations Code chapter 1101).

Is wholesaling legal in Texas?

Yes, when the wholesaler makes the written disclosures Texas law requires. The rules are in Occupations Code 1101.0045 and Property Code 5.0205.

What is an assignment of contract when selling my house?

The buyer sells its right to buy your house to someone else. Before entering a contract to assign, the person must tell you in writing that they intend to assign (Property Code 5.0205).

Who should hold the earnest money?

The escrow agent named in the contract, usually a title company. On the Texas resale contract, the earnest money is “payable to Escrow Agent” (TREC form 20-19, paragraph 5A).

Can I choose the title company?

The title company is named in the contract, so it is agreed before you sign. TDI says a title policy buyer does not have to use a company picked by an agent, builder or lender. Check its license with TDI (TDI title insurance FAQ).

Is there a 3-day cancellation period after I sign?

No. Your rights to end the contract are the ones written in it, and the option period belongs to the buyer (TREC FAQ).

What is deed fraud, and how do I protect my house?

It is a forged deed or other document recorded to claim your property. Sign up for your county’s fraud alert if it has one. If a false deed is recorded, Texas law lets you record an owner’s affidavit and then ask a district court to rule (Property Code 5.0206).

How to check a Texas cash home buyer before you sign