There is one question worth asking before any question about price, and almost nobody asks it out loud. Who is actually buying the house? Here is my answer, and the rest of what usually goes unasked.
THE SHORT ANSWER
I am, and you will know if that ever changes.
I sign the purchase agreement in my own name as the buyer, and I close under my own name. There is nobody standing behind me waiting to be introduced, and the money is mine.
I also keep the option to assign the agreement to another buyer when that is the right way to get a particular house closed. Some houses suit what I buy myself and some are a better fit for another investor, and saying so plainly is better than pretending the option does not exist. If the buyer named in your agreement changes, you are told in writing who it is before you sign anything, and the price and terms you agreed to do not change because of it.
That is the whole disclosure. It is three sentences long, and most sites that buy houses do not print it at all.
WHAT ASSIGNMENT ACTUALLY MEANS
Somebody else steps into the buyer’s side of the contract.
An assignment transfers the buyer’s position under a signed purchase agreement to another buyer. It is not a second sale of your house, and it does not reach into your side of the deal. The escrow and title company close the transaction the same way they would have closed it, and the only thing that differs is who is sitting on the other side of the table at the end.
- Your price is the price in the agreement. An assignment moves the buyer’s position, not the seller’s.
- Your closing date is the date in the agreement. It does not get renegotiated because the buyer changed.
- Your costs are the costs in the agreement. Which is why the written breakdown is worth more than any verbal assurance, mine included.
- None of it is secret. Whoever holds the buyer’s side is named in writing, and you can ask at any point in the process.
If a buyer will not answer this question, that is the answer. It is the first thing worth asking anybody, and I would rather lose a deal than dodge it.
WHY IT IS WORTH ASKING
Some people in this business are selling your contract, not buying your house.
That is the suspicion, and it is not paranoia. Somebody who signs a contract without the money to close it needs to find another buyer to take it, and if they cannot, the result is that your house sat off the market for two months with nothing to show for it. That outcome is avoidable, and it is avoided by asking two questions before you sign anything.
- Are you buying this yourself, or assigning it to somebody else? A straight answer takes one sentence. Dodging takes longer than answering, and tells you more than the answer would have.
- Can I see proof of funds? A redacted bank statement or a letter from a lender is normal and reasonable to ask for. A serious buyer expects the question and is not offended by it.
- What happens if you cannot close? There should be an answer about money, not a plan to go and find some.
Ask those of me, and of anyone else who offers to buy the house. The answers should be short.
WHO IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE TABLE
A licence, a role, and what the role is not.
I am Kevin Lucano, a California real estate licensee (DRE #02430847) affiliated with Windermere Signature Properties. When I buy a house from you I am buying it as the principal, for my own account. I am not your agent on that purchase and I am not representing you in it.
- You are entitled to your own representation, and I will work with an agent, an attorney, or both if you want one.
- Nothing about a direct purchase requires you to be unrepresented, and asking for independent advice is not an insult to me.
- Brokerage representation is a separate path with a separate agreement, and it deserves its own conversation rather than being folded into this one.
When I say compare the routes and look at the numbers, that is why. A buyer telling you his own offer is the better one is worth exactly as much as the arithmetic behind it.
THE MECHANICS, SO NOTHING ABOUT CLOSING IS A SURPRISE
An escrow and title company runs the closing. Not me.
The money moves through escrow, the title work is done by a title company, and the closing documents are theirs. That is true whether the buyer is me, whoever I assign to, or a stranger with a mortgage, and it is the reason a direct purchase is not a private arrangement between two people in a kitchen.
What I can tell you about a specific house is the price, what I am responsible for, what you are responsible for, and the estimated net to you, in writing, before you decide anything. If that written breakdown and the verbal version ever disagree, believe the paper.
QUESTIONS ABOUT WHO IS BUYING
Straight answers.
Are you buying the house yourself, or assigning it to somebody else?
Both are possible, and which one it is gets said to you in writing. I sign the agreement as the buyer. If another investor is the better fit for that particular house, I can assign the agreement, and you are told who they are before you sign anything.
Does an assignment change what I get paid?
No. Your price, your closing date, and your costs are the ones in the agreement you signed. An assignment moves the buyer’s side of the contract. It does not change the seller’s.
Will I know who is buying before I sign?
Yes. The buyer is named in the agreement, and if that changes you are told in writing before closing. Ask for it on paper rather than taking it from a phone call.
What happens if the buyer cannot close?
Then the agreement does not perform, and what happens next is whatever the written terms say. It is why asking to see proof of funds up front is worth the small awkwardness of the question.
Do I need my own agent or attorney?
You are entitled to one, and for anything involving probate, heirs, tax, or a contract you are unsure about, you should have one. I will work with whoever you choose, and nothing about buying a house directly requires you to be on your own.
Is this the same as being a wholesaler?
A wholesaler sells contracts rather than buying houses, and often without the money to close. I buy houses, and when I assign one it is disclosed rather than hidden. If that distinction sounds thin, ask the two questions above and the difference shows up quickly.
NEXT STEP
Ask me the question directly.
You do not have to take any of this on faith from a page. Ask it on the phone, ask it in writing, and ask it again before you sign. If the answer ever stops matching what is written here, that is worth telling me about.
KEEP READING
