Are cash home buyers legit? How to spot a real one

Here’s how to vet a cash home buyer: confirm it’s a registered business you can look up, get the full offer in writing, close at a licensed title company you’ve checked yourself, and never pay the buyer anything up front. A legitimate buyer won’t mind any of it. We expect you to check us the same way.

Most companies that buy houses are ordinary businesses. But a house is often a family’s biggest asset, and the Indiana Attorney General warns that many companies prey on homeowners in crisis (Indiana AG). Use the steps and checklist below with every buyer you talk to.

Step 1: Look up the business

Search the company’s legal name on the Indiana Secretary of State’s INBiz business search. You can search by business name, by registered agent, or by the name of a person who runs the company. Check that:

• The business is on file and shows an active status
• The name matches the name on the offer and the contract, exactly
• The people you’re talking to are connected to the company

If the name on the contract doesn’t match a business you can find, ask why before going further. If someone tells you they’re a real estate agent, you can confirm the license with the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency’s license lookup.

Step 2: Get the whole offer in writing

A number over the phone or in a text isn’t an offer. Ask for the written purchase agreement and read every line. It should state:

• The price
• Who pays which closing costs
• The closing date, or how it will be set
• The title company that will handle the closing
• The earnest money amount and who holds it
• Any inspection period or other ways the buyer can back out
• When you hand over the keys, and what you can leave behind
• The buyer’s exact legal name

There shouldn’t be any blank spaces. Fill them in or cross them out before you sign. Also ask, in writing, whether the company named on the contract plans to buy and close on the house itself. You deserve to know who you’re really selling to.

Step 3: Close at a title company you’ve checked yourself

A real closing runs through a title company. It searches the title, collects the buyer’s money, pays off your mortgage and any liens, records the deed, and pays you.

How to check it:

• Licensing. Title agents in Indiana are licensed through the Department of Insurance, which publishes a list of licensed title agents and title insurance companies.
• Call them yourself. Look up the title company’s phone number on your own, not from the buyer’s email or paperwork, and confirm it has an open file for your address. Do the same before trusting any wiring instructions.
• Closing protection letter. In Indiana residential closings where the title company issues the title policy and also handles the closing, it must issue a closing protection letter to the buyer and seller. That letter covers certain losses of settlement funds (IC 27-7-3-22). Expect a fee for it on the closing statement.
• Good funds. Indiana requires closing agents to hold “good funds” before paying out. When one party puts in $10,000 or more, the amount over $10,000 has to arrive by wire into the title company’s escrow account (IC 27-7-3.7-7). In plain terms, you get paid from money that’s actually there.

Sign the deed only as part of a closing the title company is running, whether at its office or through a mail-away signing it arranges. Walk away from any “buyer” who wants you to deed the house over first and settle up later.

Step 4: Never pay upfront fees

The buyer is the one paying. If anyone asks you for an “application fee” or “processing fee” to sell them your house, walk away. The FTC’s advice on mortgage relief companies is blunt: don’t pay any money until the company delivers the results you want. It also warns about requests to pay by wire transfer, cashier’s check or a payment app (FTC).

Step 5: Understand the earnest money

Earnest money is a deposit the buyer puts down to show they’re serious. It should be held by the title company or another neutral party, not by the buyer. The contract should say when it’s refundable to the buyer and when it goes to you if the buyer backs out. Read those terms as closely as the price.

Red flags that mean slow down or walk away

• Pressure to “sign today,” or an offer that expires in hours
• Blank spaces in the contract, or pages you weren’t given time to read
• Asking you to deed the house over before closing, or to close outside a title company
• Any upfront fee
• Telling you to stop paying your mortgage, or to pay them instead of your lender
• Telling you not to talk to your lender, an attorney or a housing counselor
• No legal business name, or a name that doesn’t match the paperwork
• Promises that sound too good, like “we’ll pay off everything, and you can stay and buy it back later”
• A price that suddenly drops right before closing, with no new information

Foreclosure rescue scams and Indiana law

If you’re behind on your mortgage, be extra careful. The CFPB warns that scammers may ask for fees upfront, ask you to sign over the title to your property, or tell you to stop paying your mortgage or pay someone other than your servicer (CFPB).

Indiana’s Mortgage Rescue Protection Fraud law, which moved to IC 37-4 in 2026 (formerly IC 24-5.5), adds protections:

• A foreclosure consultant can’t take payment until all promised services are done, unless it meets the state’s security requirements. It also can’t take a power of attorney from you except to inspect documents (IC 37-4-4-2). The Attorney General’s office says consultants who collect money upfront need a $25,000 surety bond, so ask for proof (Indiana AG).
• You can cancel a foreclosure consultant contract before midnight of the seventh business day after you sign it (IC 37-4-3-1).
• In an arrangement where you transfer the house and are promised you can stay or buy it back later, the buyer must verify you can realistically afford the buyback. Final papers must be signed at a face-to-face meeting run by someone not tied to the buyer (IC 37-4-4-3). You also get seven business days to cancel.

Free help is available from the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network at 1-877-GET-HOPE (877-438-4673) (877gethope.org). Selling can be a legitimate choice too. Our Indiana foreclosure timeline and foreclosure page explain the options.

Get a second opinion and a second offer

• Get at least one more offer. Compare what you’d walk away with after costs, not just the headline price. Our overview of cash home buyers in Northwest Indiana explains how different kinds of buyers figure their numbers.
• Compare with listing. If the house is in good shape and you have time, an agent may net you more. Our cash buyer vs. agent comparison lays out the trade-offs.
• Have someone read the contract. An Indiana attorney or a trusted family member should look it over before you sign. Indiana Legal Help lists legal clinics and a free online service for legal questions.

This matters most for older homeowners and families settling an estate. Our downsizing page covers selling a parent’s house.

How to vet a cash home buyer: the checklist

This works the same for every buyer in Gary or anywhere in Lake County, us included. If you’d like a written offer to compare, you can request one here.

Where to report a problem

• Indiana Attorney General: file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Division or call 1-800-382-5516.
• FTC: report scams at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
• CFPB: call (855) 411-2372.