A cash buyer purchases your house with their own funds and closes. A wholesaler puts your house under contract, then markets that contract to actual buyers for a fee, and cancels if nobody bites. Ask whether they are assigning the contract, ask for proof of funds, and read the assignment and inspection clauses — those three checks separate one from the other.
If you have a property in San Diego that looks even slightly distressed, you already know: the postcards, the yellow letters, the "I'd like to make you a cash offer" texts. Some of those come from people who will actually buy your house. Rather a lot of them come from people who will not.
What wholesaling actually is
A wholesaler signs a purchase agreement with you at a price, then markets that contract — not the house, the contract — to a network of investors, and assigns it to whoever pays them a fee, typically $10,000 to $40,000. They never own your house and they never intend to. If no investor takes it at a price that covers their fee, they cancel during the inspection period and walk away with no consequence.
Wholesaling itself is not inherently wrong, and a good wholesaler with real buyers can close a deal that genuinely helps a seller. California also now requires that assignment intent be disclosed on many residential deals. The problem is what the model does to your timeline and your certainty when it goes badly, and it goes badly often.
The three ways it hurts sellers
The late renegotiation
This is the classic. You agree at $600,000. Ten days pass. Your house is off the market and you have made plans. Then the call comes: "our inspector found some issues, we can do $545,000." What actually happened is that nobody would take the assignment at $600,000. You are now three weeks behind where you started, with a decision to make under pressure.
The disappearance
They cancel in the inspection period, you get your house back, and you have lost a month of market time for nothing. If you were up against a foreclosure date, that month may have been the one that mattered.
The stranger at the closing table
The person you met, trusted and negotiated with is not the person buying. You find that out when the escrow documents come through with a name you have never heard, an LLC with no history, and no relationship with you at all.
Five questions to ask, and the answers you want
- "Are you buying this yourself, or assigning the contract?" This is the whole question. A real buyer says "we're buying it, in our own name or our entity." Anything that sounds like "we work with a network of investors" is your answer.
- "Can you send me proof of funds before I sign?" A bank statement or a letter from their bank showing the money exists. A real buyer sends it the same day without any awkwardness. A wholesaler either cannot, or sends a "proof of funds" letter from a transactional lender that is not the same thing.
- "What's your inspection period, and what can you cancel for?" A genuine buyer wants a short, specific due diligence window — often three to seven days, sometimes none at all if they have already walked the property. A long open-ended contingency with broad cancellation rights is a marketing period in disguise.
- "Which escrow and title company do you use, and can I call them?" An established buyer has closed dozens of deals with the same local escrow officer and will happily put you in touch. That call takes five minutes and tells you almost everything.
- "Can I see the last few properties you bought?" Property records are public. A real buyer can name addresses in your county and you can verify them independently.
Three clauses to read before you sign anything
The assignment clause
Look for language allowing the buyer to assign the contract "to any party" without your consent. That is the wholesale model written into the paperwork. You are entitled to strike it, or to require your written approval of any assignment. Watch how they react to that request — the reaction is more informative than the answer.
The inspection or due diligence period
How long, and what can they cancel for? "Buyer's sole and absolute discretion" for thirty days means you have granted a free option on your house. Ten days with a defined scope is a real buyer doing real diligence.
The earnest money deposit
How much, when is it deposited, and when does it become non-refundable? A $500 deposit refundable for a month is not a commitment to anything. A meaningful deposit that goes hard after a short inspection period is a buyer with something to lose.
What a straight answer looks like
For what it is worth, ours: we buy in our own name with our own funds, we do not assign contracts, we will send proof of funds before you sign, we use established local escrow and title companies, and our purchases are a matter of public record in this county. You are welcome to verify every part of that before we talk about price — and you should do exactly the same with everyone else who contacts you.
If you would like a number to compare against, ask us for one. If you would rather understand the arithmetic first, start with how we calculate an offer.
Published March 24, 2026 · Updated July 30, 2026. General information about San Diego County real estate, not legal, tax or financial advice.