A checklist for sellers
Before you sign with any cash buyer, including us.
Most cash sales are simple and fair. Some are not. These are the questions we would want our own parents to ask before signing anything, whoever the buyer is. Print it, keep it next to the contract, and check each box.
Seller checklist: Indianapolis and Marion County
General information, not legal advice. Laws change and every contract is different. When in doubt, ask an attorney before you sign.
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Find the Indiana sentence and the company's legal name
Since July 2024, Indiana law has required buyers who are not licensed real estate agents, and who may sell your contract to someone else instead of keeping the house, to put this exact sentence on every letter, text, call, sign, website and ad asking to buy your house:
"This solicitation is not from a licensed real estate professional."
It must come with the company's legal name, and the legal name of whoever is expected to actually buy the house if that is someone else. Before you sign, the company must also tell you if any of that has changed. (A buyer who will take title and keep the house as a home or an investment may not have to use it. Ask which one they are.)
If it is missing or wrong: as we read the law, you can cancel the agreement within two days of entering it by giving the company a written cancellation, and you owe nothing for canceling. The Indiana Attorney General can also treat a missing disclosure as a deceptive act. Talk to an attorney about your own contract.
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Ask: will you buy it, or sell my contract to someone else?
Many cash buyers are wholesalers. They sign a contract with you, then sell ("assign") that contract to another investor who closes instead. That can be fine, if you know it up front. A contract that names the buyer as "Company LLC and/or assigns" allows it.
Ask: Will you assign this contract? To whom? How much will you be paid for it? What happens if you cannot find a buyer?
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Get the offer in writing, with the math
A number said out loud is not an offer. Ask for the price in writing, plus how they got there: what similar fixed-up houses nearby sold for, what they think the repairs cost, and what they subtract for their costs and profit. If the math does not make sense to you, ask again, or ask someone you trust.
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Earnest money: how much, and who holds it
Earnest money is the buyer's deposit showing they are serious. It should sit with a neutral title company or attorney, not with the buyer. Get the title company's name, look it up yourself, and call them to confirm they have the deposit.
Ask: How much is the deposit? Which title company holds it? Who keeps it if the buyer backs out?
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The inspection period: how long, and what can change
Cash contracts usually give the buyer a set number of days to inspect the house and back out. During that time your house is tied up. A short, specific period is better for you than a long or open-ended one.
Ask: How many days? Can you cancel for any reason during it? After it ends, can the price change? If the answer is "the price will not change," ask them to write that into the contract.
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Closing costs: who pays what
The contract should say which closing costs you pay and which the buyer pays. Ask the title company for an estimate of what you will walk away with after any mortgage, back taxes and liens are paid. You should not pay the buyer any fee: not to make an offer, not to "process" anything.
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Never sign a deed or power of attorney at the kitchen table
A deed hands over ownership of your house. A power of attorney lets someone else sign for you. Sign a deed only at closing, in front of a title company or attorney, when the money is being paid. Do not sign blank pages, and do not sign anything you have not read. A buyer does not need a power of attorney to buy your house.
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Look the company up yourself
Search the company's exact name on the Indiana Secretary of State business search. Check that it is registered, that its status is active, and that the name matches the name on your contract. Search the name online with the word "complaints", and look for lawsuits on Indiana's public court site, MyCase. If someone says they are a licensed agent, you can check on the state's license lookup.
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Know your moving date, and do not leave early
Get the closing date and the day you must be out in writing. Do not move out, hand over keys, or let anyone move in or start work before closing and before you are paid, unless your attorney has approved a written agreement for it.
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Talk to an agent or attorney first
A real offer will still be there tomorrow. Take the contract home. A local real estate agent can tell you what the house might sell for listed. A real estate attorney can read the contract for you. If listing would put much more money in your pocket, you should know that before you sign with anyone, us included.
From Bro Investors LLC, https://broinvestorsindy.com/before-you-sign. Free to copy and share.
This solicitation is not from a licensed real estate professional. Solicitor: Bro Investors LLC. Expected purchaser: Bro Investors LLC, or an investor it assigns its purchase contract to, whose legal name we give you in writing before you sign.
Red flags: slow down or walk away
- Pressure. "Today only," "this offer expires tonight," or "I have another house I can buy instead." A fair buyer gives you time to think and to ask someone.
- They want you out early. Asking you to move out, leave the keys, or let them in to start work before closing and before you are paid.
- Surprise liens that shrink your price. Late in the deal, the buyer says there are liens or problems you never heard of and cuts the price. Ask the title company for the title report and read it yourself.
- Fees you pay. Application fees, "processing" fees, or any money from you to the buyer. In a normal cash sale, money flows to you, through a title company.
- A deed or power of attorney before closing. Or a request to sign papers to be "recorded" at the county. Ask an attorney before you sign any of them.
- Rescue promises. Offers to stop a foreclosure or tax sale, or to let you rent the house back or buy it back later. Indiana has special rules for these deals because they have hurt homeowners. Talk to an attorney first.
- Nothing in writing. No written offer, no legal company name, no title company name, no answer about assigning the contract.
- The price drops after inspection for reasons that are vague, or for things you told them about from the start.
- A missing Indiana sentence on their letters, texts or website (item 1 above).
Our answers to this checklist
We are a new company, so we would rather show you than ask you to trust us. Here is how Bro Investors LLC answers each question today.
| The Indiana sentence | On every page of this site and on our forms, with our legal name. The law requires it on anything we mail, text or say to you too. |
|---|---|
| Will you assign the contract? | Sometimes. If we plan to assign, we tell you in writing before you sign, with the other buyer's legal name. Your price and closing date stay the same. |
| Offer in writing, with the math | Yes. Your written offer shows the recent sales and repair numbers behind it. |
| Earnest money and closing | The closing and the money go through a local title company, not through us. You can call them yourself. |
| Fees you pay us | None. No fee to make an offer, and no fee to sell. |
| Closing costs | Spelled out in your written offer, before you sign anything. |
| Talk to someone first? | Please do. Take our written offer to an agent or attorney. If listing would clearly net you more, we will tell you. |
See also our questions and answers and how it works.
Want a written offer you can check against this list?
No pressure and no obligation. Send the address, and a real person here in Indianapolis will call you back. Then hold us to every item above.