Cash Offers and Wholesalers in San Antonio: How to Tell a Real Buyer From a Contract Flipper

If you own a house in San Antonio, you already know the pitch. A postcard from "we buy houses fast," a spray-painted bandit sign at the Loop 410 exit, a text at 7:47 a.m. from an unknown 210 number. Most of these are not cash buyers. They are wholesalers — people who want to put your house under contract at a discount, then assign that contract to an investor for a fee before closing. Sometimes that works out fine. Often it wastes 30 days, ties up your title, and leaves you back at square one with a stale listing.

This is how to tell the difference before you sign a TREC 20-17 or, worse, a non-TREC "purchase agreement" a wholesaler brings on their own letterhead.

What a wholesaler actually is

A wholesaler is not a licensed buyer, and usually not a licensed agent. They are a middleman. Their business model:

1. Get your house under contract for, say, $180,000 with a long option period and a low earnest money deposit.
2. Market that contract to their investor list — flippers, buy-and-hold landlords, out-of-state funds.
3. Assign the contract to an end-buyer for $195,000 and keep the $15,000 spread.

If they can't find an end-buyer inside your option period or before the closing date, they terminate and walk. You get their (small) earnest money at best, and a month of lost listing momentum at worst.

Wholesaling itself is legal in Texas, but under Texas Occupations Code § 1101.0045, marketing someone else's property to third parties without disclosing you only have an equitable interest can cross into unlicensed brokerage. Ask them straight up whether they hold a TREC license — most don't.

Six signals you are dealing with a wholesaler, not a buyer

• The offer arrives on a non-TREC form. Real cash buyers and their agents use TREC 20-17 (One to Four Family Residential Contract – Resale). A one-page "purchase and sale agreement" with vague inspection language is a wholesaler tell.
• "And/or assigns" after the buyer's name. This is the giveaway. It means they intend to assign the contract to someone else. Strike it, or refuse the offer.
• Earnest money under $500 on a $200k+ house. Real buyers put down $1,000–$5,000 in Bexar County. Wholesalers try to get in for $100.
• A 14–30 day option period. The standard TREC option period in San Antonio is 5–10 days. Anything longer is time to shop your contract.
• They ask for the title company they use. Fine on the surface, but the title company they "use" is often one that has closed hundreds of assignment deals and will not blink. Insist on your own — Alamo Title, Independence Title, Texas National Title, or another Bexar County-based office you pick.
• No proof of funds, or a screenshot of a business account with the top redacted. A real cash buyer will send a current bank letter or brokerage statement showing settled funds, not a Cash App balance.

Ask these four questions before you sign anything

1. "Are you the end-buyer or do you plan to assign this contract?"

Watch the pause. If the answer is anything other than a clean "I am buying it in my name and closing in my name," you are being wholesaled. That is not automatically bad — but it changes what terms you should accept.

2. "Can you send proof of funds dated within the last 30 days?"

A real cash buyer has this ready in five minutes. A wholesaler will send a template letter from a hard-money lender that says "up to $500,000" with no property address. That is not proof of funds for your deal.

3. "Which title company, and can we use mine?"

You have the right to choose title in Texas. If they refuse, that tells you the deal depends on a specific closer who is comfortable handling last-minute assignments.

4. "What is your earnest money and is it non-refundable after the option period?"

Ask for earnest money to go hard (non-refundable) after option expiration. A real cash investor with capital will often agree. A wholesaler almost never will, because they need the exit ramp.

Structure the contract so you are protected either way

If you decide to work with an investor or a possible wholesaler because the number is right, use the TREC 20-17 and add these terms:

• Strike "and/or assigns." Buyer takes title in the entity or name on the contract, period.
• Non-assignability clause in the Special Provisions or via a separate addendum drafted by a Texas real estate attorney. TREC Special Provisions is narrow — do not draft legal language yourself as a non-attorney.
• Larger earnest money, going hard after option. $2,500–$5,000 minimum in Bexar County for a median-price home.
• Short option period, 3–5 days, with a realistic option fee ($100–$300).
• Proof of funds attached as an exhibit, dated within 30 days, in the buyer's name.
• Your choice of title company, named in Paragraph 6.

Those six moves cost you nothing and eliminate roughly 90% of the pain wholesalers cause.

What most people get wrong

• Treating "cash offer" as a magic phrase. Cash means no financing contingency and no appraisal. It does not mean fast, clean, or certain. A financed buyer with a Veterans United or USAA pre-approval closing at Fort Sam is often more reliable than a "cash" wholesaler.
• Accepting a lowball offer because closing is in 10 days. Wholesalers dangle speed. Then they extend closing twice while they hunt for an end-buyer. A shorter closing means nothing without earnest money that goes hard and a real proof of funds.
• Not calling the title company. Once you have a contract, call the title company on day one. Ask the escrow officer if they have closed with this buyer before and whether earnest money is deposited. If it hasn't hit escrow within 3 business days per Paragraph 5, you have grounds to terminate under Paragraph 15.
• Skipping the MLS to "save the commission." Wholesalers target off-market sellers precisely because there is no competing bid. A 3-day listing on SABOR's MLS with a firm offer deadline will almost always beat the wholesaler's number, even after commission. If you still want to try direct, list FSBO with real exposure before signing.
• Believing the "as-is, no repairs" line means you can hide defects. You still owe a completed Seller's Disclosure Notice (OP-H) under Texas Property Code § 5.008 to any buyer, cash or financed, wholesaler or end-user. Foundation history, roof leaks, prior flooding — all of it. Selling to an investor does not erase that duty.
• Ignoring the property tax and homestead angle. If you're selling mid-year, prorations at closing depend on BCAD's certified tax roll. A rushed wholesale close in December, before the new tax year, can shift thousands in prorations. Ask your title company for a tax certificate and read it.

When a real investor sale makes sense

Sometimes an investor is the right buyer: inherited property in probate, a house with active foundation movement you don't want to repair, a rental with a difficult tenant in place, a hoarder situation, fire damage. In those cases, price the discount honestly. In Bexar County, a legitimate as-is investor offer typically lands in the 70–80% of ARV range after repair costs, not 50%. If the number is well below that, you are subsidizing the wholesaler's spread.

The cleaner path

Before you sign the first postcard offer, put the house in front of the actual market. Even a 7-day exposure on SABOR's MLS, with photos and a Saturday open house, will surface competing bids — including from the same investors the wholesaler was going to flip your contract to, minus the middle layer. You can browse comparable active listings and recent solds around your ZIP on HomeFinder at /homes-for-sale, list your home FSBO for free at /list-your-home, or find a Bexar County agent who has closed investor deals at /agents. The wholesalers will still be there next week. Your leverage is highest before you sign anything.