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I received a text asking to buy my house: Is it legit or a scam?

Yahoo Personal Finance· Getty Images
7 min read

"I want to buy your house," the text message says right out of the blue. "I'll pay cash."

You may not know who is on the other end of that text, but if you really are trying to sell your house, you may be excited to learn more about what they have to offer.

Sometimes, the texter says they're looking to move into your neighborhood and saw your house — others claim to be or represent a real estate investor. They may mention your home's actual address and might even know your name. It can be very convincing. Is it legit?

Read more: Is it a good time to sell your house?

"Well, it's tough to say, usually. There are certainly scammers out there that are pretending to be anyone for any reason and will get your information and phish you," Eric J. Troutman, founding partner of law firm Troutman Amin in Irvine, Calif., said in an interview. "But there are also companies and investors that really are looking to purchase people's homes. And they will sometimes work with marketers, some of whom will use cold text messaging as a way to get in contact with homeowners who might be interested in selling their home."

Troutman is nationally recognized for litigation and compliance issues regarding the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which regulates telemarketing.

In fact, private equity and commercial investors are buying a record share of homes — nearly 15% of all house purchases in the first quarter of 2024, according to Realtor.com. So, no doubt a share of those cold texts could be coming from actual investors.

Looking for properties to buy is relatively simple. Property ownership is a matter of public record in most jurisdictions, so individual home buyers or investors can contact the owner of a house they are interested in fairly easily.

Professional investors can make a compelling pitch, often promising to buy your house as-is, with a quick closing and without paying a commission. However, it's common for them to offer only up to about 70% of your home's current market value, according to Clever Real Estate.

Potential buyers could be wholesalers shopping for an investment company. Perhaps house flippers looking to improve a property and sell it for a quick profit. Or, an iBuyer — online companies using algorithms to purchase homes and spin them off.

The text could also be from a real estate agent.

Yes, they absolutely do.

"Real estate agents are constantly sending out text messages, cold call solicitations, as well as legitimate messages to their prospects," Troutman said. "They're out there trying to make a business for themselves, and they certainly do make mistakes. There's no question about it."

Which means …

"Some of these messages are completely legal, and of course, many of them are completely illegal," he added.

Americans are receiving nearly 4.5 million robotexts each week, according to Robokiller. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) bans text messages sent to a mobile phone using an automated telephone dialing system unless you've agreed to accept such messages.

  • If a message is sent from a business, they must have your consent in writing.

  • For non-business-related texts, your acceptance can be verbal. That can also include emergency texts issued by governments and agencies, for school closings, and even texts from nonprofits — and get this: political texts.

The ban applies even if your number is not on the national Do Not Call list.

Remember, this applies only to texts coming from automated systems. If it's a one-to-one text, it's likely legal.

"So, if these texts are coming manually and they're going to a number that is not on the national DNC list, then at least at the federal level, that is not going to be illegal, even if it is a cold call," Troutman said.

An offer to buy your house is technically not a marketing text, at least according to many courts, because they're not trying to sell you anything, he added.

Read more: How much does it cost to sell your house?

However, there are bad actors who attempt to get your personal information with ploys tied to real estate transactions. The scam may be:

  • Trying to "wire money to your bank account."

  • Requesting identity verification and financial account information by sidestepping official channels to "quickly complete a purchase."

  • Offering to rescue you from foreclosure by having you "temporarily" sign over your deed.

Some state-based justice departments have called out the "we buy houses" industry — you've probably seen the bootleg yard signs saying as much. North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein said that instead of buying houses, some companies are trying to get you to sign over control of your home.

"The company then leases the property out to a new tenant. As a result, the owner loses rights to their home but is still responsible for making the mortgage payments," Stein said in a scam alert.

"If I wasn't in the market, I would assume [the text message] was a scam and simply ignore it," Troutman said. "If I was interested in selling my house, then depending on the level of information that's provided, then you might consider dealing with this person. For instance, if there's a clear identification in the text message of who is sending the text, that is an important indicator that this might be legitimate."

Signs that you have received legit interest in the purchase of your house:

  • The buyer offers an official contract.

  • The real estate investor sends you a company profile that you can verify.

  • The offer is near market value — not a low-ball offer or an extraordinarily high bid.

  • The buyer deposits earnest money into an escrow account.

Warning signs that you might be dealing with a scammer include:

  • The texter doesn't provide an identity.

  • If the buyer asks you for cash or a direct electronic payment, discontinue communication. Refunds for an earnest money payment or a purchase price "overpayment" are typical schemes.

  • Someone who identifies themselves as a "foreign buyer" might be illegitimate.

  • Be wary of sharing your phone number or other personal information with unknown texters.

  • Before you submit your number to a website, read the privacy policy and the permissions you are granting with your information. Be sure to opt out of receiving texts.

  • Digging into the fine print on a website might reveal that they can sell or share your information. Don't agree to that.

  • Don't click on links in unexpected texts.

How to stop bogus text messages

  1. Add your number to the Do Not Call registry.

  2. Reply "STOP" to the text message.

  3. Forward the text to 7726 ("SPAM"). Also, check with your phone provider about additional spam-blocking apps and options. Here's how to block numbers on an iPhone and how to do the same with an Android.

  4. Erase the text and report it as junk.

If text messages continue, take action. File a complaint with the FCC if the unwanted text messages continue.

Troutman said that often, the issue with unwanted texts is not necessarily the fault of the sender but of third-party companies that are providing the phone numbers.

Troutman's firm has formed a trade organization called REACH that is designed to set standards for the lead generation industry, which is essentially completely without regulation. "Up until recently, no court or agency had tried to regulate data brokers," he added.

"Every business in America wants to be able to contact their consumers. And in theory, the law should be very black-and-white. It should be very easy for a business to understand what's legal and what's not legal. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the case."

This article was edited by Laura Grace Tarpley