Yes, when it follows the rules. A person can put a house under contract and sell that contract position to another buyer without a real estate license if they do not use the contract to act as an unlicensed agent and they tell the seller and every potential buyer, in writing, what interest they hold (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045). A wholesaler who skips that written disclosure is treated as an unlicensed broker.
The Real Estate License Act lets a person acquire an option or a contract to buy real property and then sell the option or assign the contract without a license if two conditions are met. The person must not use the option or contract to engage in real estate brokerage, and must disclose in writing the nature of the equitable interest to any seller or potential buyer (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045).
Offering or assigning the contract without that disclosure is real estate brokerage under the statute (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045(b)), and brokerage without a license is prohibited (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.351). The Property Code sets what the disclosures must say and requires them before the person enters into the contract to sell the option or assign the interest (Tex. Prop. Code 5.0205). The Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC) rule mirrors the License Act (22 Tex. Admin. Code 535.6).
The seller must be told in writing that the person intends to sell an option or assign an interest in the contract (Tex. Prop. Code 5.0205(2), Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045(a)(2)). You must be told on paper that your contract may be handed to a different buyer.
Any potential buyer must be told in writing that the person is selling only an option or assigning an interest in a contract and does not have legal title to the property (Tex. Prop. Code 5.0205(1)).
A Texas license holder who wholesales for their own account must make the same written disclosure (22 Tex. Admin. Code 535.6(c)) and must also disclose in writing that they are a licensed broker or sales agent acting on their own behalf (22 Tex. Admin. Code 535.144(b)).
The wholesaling statutes give the seller no right to cancel. Neither Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045 nor Tex. Prop. Code 5.0205 creates a cooling-off period, and neither says a missing disclosure voids the contract. Texas's three-day cancellation law for sales solicited outside a merchant's place of business applies, by its wording, to a consumer's agreement or offer to purchase (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 601.002, 601.051). A homeowner selling a house is the seller in that deal.
Your rights to end the deal come from the contract terms, such as the closing date, default provisions, and any termination clause. Read those and the assignment language before you sign.
If a wholesaler never gave the written disclosure, the statute treats the activity as brokerage. The License Act lets an aggrieved person sue someone who received consideration for acting as a broker without a license, for the amount received up to three times that amount (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.754). A Texas real estate attorney can tell you whether that fits your facts.
TREC accepts complaints against people doing regulated activity without a license, filed within four years of the incident (TREC). For unlicensed brokerage, TREC can impose an administrative penalty of up to $5,000 per violation, and each day can count as a separate violation (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.702), and can issue a cease and desist order (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.759). TREC, the Attorney General, or a local county or district attorney can seek an injunction (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.751, 1101.752).
A person paid for acting as a broker without a license owes the state a civil penalty of the amount received up to three times that amount (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.753). Acting as a broker without a license is a Class A misdemeanor (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.758), punishable by up to a $4,000 fine, up to one year in jail, or both (Tex. Penal Code 12.21). Unless licensed or an attorney, a person cannot sue to collect a fee for broker acts (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.806(b)).
TREC draws the line at what you are selling. When the 2017 law passed, TREC said a person who offers a property for sale without owning it is engaged in brokerage and must be licensed, and that a person offering an option or contract assignment must accurately describe the interest offered (TREC, 2017).
Market your contract interest and say plainly that it is an assignment. Offering the house itself for sale when you do not own it is the conduct TREC calls brokerage. Give both disclosures in writing every time, because a verbal disclosure, or one given only to buyers, falls short of the current statute (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045).
In TREC's 2022 survey, sellers with bad experiences often said they were unsure whether the wholesaler was the actual buyer, and a few said the sale never closed because no end buyer was found (TREC).
2017. SB 2212 created the wholesaling exemption and required disclosure to potential buyers, effective September 1, 2017 (SB 2212).
2023 law, effective January 1, 2024. SB 1577 required the disclosure to be in writing and extended it to the seller. It also moved the Property Code disclosure to Section 5.0205 and added the written notice to the owner (SB 1577). TREC amended its rule to match on the same date (22 Tex. Admin. Code 535.6).
2024. A TREC advisory committee discussed the written disclosure rules in July 2024 and said it would recommend that the Broker-Lawyer Committee consider related contract changes (TREC).
2025. A search of bill text from the 89th Legislature's regular session and both special sessions found no bill amending Section 1101.0045 or Property Code 5.0205 and no real estate wholesaling bill. SB 1968, the 2025 TREC licensing bill effective January 1, 2026, left the wholesaling provisions unchanged (SB 1968).
Pending. None. Texas Legislature Online lists the 2025 second called session as the latest session, and the official statutes site is current through it.
This is information, not legal advice.
Not if they stay inside the exemption. A person can sell an option or assign a purchase contract without a license if they do not use the contract to engage in brokerage and they disclose the nature of their interest in writing to the seller and any potential buyer (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045). Skipping the disclosure makes the activity brokerage. Doing broker acts for another person for a fee, such as finding a buyer for someone else's property, requires a license (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.002(1), 1101.004).
Ask whether they plan to close with their own money or assign the contract to someone else, and ask for the answer in writing. Texas law requires a person who intends to assign your contract to tell you so in writing (Tex. Prop. Code 5.0205). Look for an assignment clause in the contract. If they say they hold a real estate license, confirm it with TREC's online license holder search before you sign anything.
Texas has no official form. The buyer's notice must say the person is selling only an option or assigning an interest in a contract and does not have legal title to the property. The owner's notice must say the person intends to sell an option or assign an interest in the contract (Tex. Prop. Code 5.0205). Both must be in writing (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.0045). A Texas real estate attorney can review your wording.
File a complaint with the Texas Real Estate Commission through its online REALM portal. TREC's complaint page says people who engage in regulated activity without a license can be subject to a complaint, and complaints must be filed within four years of the incident. TREC can impose administrative penalties and cease and desist orders (Tex. Occ. Code 1101.702, 1101.759). TREC's FAQ says it cannot order a license holder to pay you damages, so recovering money is a civil matter for a private attorney.
Texas is one of 51 jurisdictions in our state-by-state wholesaling law table, which covers licensing, seller disclosures, and cancellation windows everywhere in the U.S. If you already have a cash offer, here is how to compare cash offers line by line.