Ohio REALTORS® Supports Legislation Protecting Homeowners from Unregulated Wholesaling Practices
By Andrew Huffman, Ohio REALTORS Assistant VP of Government Affairs
Ohio homeowners are being harmed by the unregulated practice of real estate wholesaling, which is why Ohio REALTORS® is proud to support Senator Andy Brenner's introduction of Senate Bill 192 (R-Delaware). For years we have heard complaints about real estate wholesalers targeting lower-income, financially distressed, and elderly homeowners who are misled into entering a contract to sell their property at a much lower price than what the free market would dictate. A homeowner often doesn’t discover that a wholesaler assigned the contract to purchase the home until closing, at which point they find that the wholesaler received a fee and that the home is being sold to a third party. Wholesalers also enter contracts without the intent, or ability, to actually close, and if they cannot find an end buyer the deal falls through completely.
Unlicensed wholesalers also engage in activity that could be construed as requiring a real estate license, such as marketing the property to investors and, in some situations, have even been known to schedule walk-throughs.
The Division of Real Estate and Professional Licensing (Division) has had difficulty cracking down on predatory wholesalers, which is why Senate Bill 192 is critical to protect Ohioans from this unregulated practice. The proposed legislation would require those engaged in wholesaling activities to be licensed by the Division. The bill would also increase transparency by requiring disclosure to be provided to homeowners before they enter a contract with a wholesaler. The legislation would continue to permit wholesaling activity but would protect the public from unscrupulous actors who have been operating under the radar.
The full text of Senate Bill 192 can be found through the following link: Senate Bill 192 | 135th General Assembly | Ohio Legislature
Ohio REALTORS® will provide updates on the legislation as it makes its way through the committee process.
