A homeowner searching “HomeWise scam” after an offer or a text can settle the question with six checks that apply to any cash buyer: no upfront fees, proof of funds on request, an independent title company holding the deposit, a registered business, a written purchase agreement, and time to review it before signing. Below, each check is applied to HomeWise, with the pattern a fraud shows instead.
Consider a homeowner in Marietta, Georgia, with a 1979 ranch house. In March 2026 she gets two offers in one week. The first buyer sends a one-page letter of intent at $262,000, asks for a $1,800 “title search deposit” by wire, and wants a signature within 48 hours. The second sends a full purchase agreement at $255,000, names a title company in Atlanta, and tells her to take the week. The higher number has the shape most cash home buyer scams take: money moving from seller to buyer before anything has closed.
What do searches for “we buy houses scams” turn up?
The same few patterns. The Federal Trade Commission’s September 2022 guide on mortgage relief scams opens its warning signs with one sentence: “Scammers will demand payment upfront, before you get any services.” It adds, “Scammers may try to convince you to transfer the deed to your home to them.” The guide also describes schemes in which an owner is talked into selling for cash far below what nearby houses bring. None of those schemes survive the six checks.
How does each check apply to HomeWise?
- No upfront fees. A legitimate buyer never asks the seller for money before closing: no application fee, no processing charge, no deposit to hold the price. HomeWise’s published terms state that requesting an offer is free and carries no obligation and that it charges no agent commissions, listing fees or service fees. Prorated property taxes and HOA dues owed at settlement may apply, at closing, not before.
- Proof of funds on request. A bank statement or lender letter, dated within the last 30 days, in the buyer’s own name. A seller can ask HomeWise for it before signing, as with any buyer; a company advertising a closing in as little as seven days needs the money on hand. A fraud stalls, sends a cropped screenshot, or names a funding partner nobody can reach.
- An independent title company holds the deposit. Earnest money goes into escrow at the title company or closing attorney named in the contract, never to the buyer. The seller looks up that company’s number independently and confirms the file is open. For HomeWise, the purchase agreement should name the title company handling the closing.
- A registered business. Every state’s Secretary of State keeps a searchable business registry, and the name on the contract should match an entity in good standing. HomeWise does most of its buying in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona and Georgia; a search of the relevant registry takes minutes.
- A written purchase agreement. Price, closing date, the earnest money amount and where it is held, who pays which closing costs, and any contingency. HomeWise’s stated terms, standard closing costs covered in most cases and a closing date up to 60 days out, belong in that document, not in a text message.
- Time to review it. The same Federal Trade Commission guide describes the pressure pattern in its section on rescue loan schemes: “They may pressure you to sign the papers quickly, without giving you a chance to read them thoroughly or giving you time to follow up on any sections that you don’t understand.” A no-obligation offer with a closing window of up to 60 days leaves room for that review; a signature demanded inside 48 hours is the commonest sign of fraud.
A seller unsure about a clause can have a licensed attorney in that state read the agreement first; a flat-fee review costs little next to a house.
Where does the money sit before closing?
In a legitimate cash sale the seller never sends money anywhere. The buyer’s earnest money and purchase funds go to the title company, which pays the seller and the mortgage payoff out of those funds at closing. According to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s June 2019 report on mortgage closing scams, attempts to redirect closing funds rose 1,100 percent between 2015 and 2017, and 2017 alone brought an estimated loss of nearly $1 billion in real estate transaction costs. The method is a spoofed email with changed wiring instructions, and the Bureau is blunt: “Never follow instructions contained in an email.”
|
Stage |
What a legitimate cash buyer does |
What a fraudulent buyer does |
|---|---|---|
|
First contact |
Company name, business address, a number that matches its website |
First name, spoofed number, a link to click |
|
Offer |
Price and terms in a purchase agreement |
Letter of intent plus a fee to lock in the price |
|
Deposit |
Earnest money to the title company’s escrow account |
Seller asked to wire money, or deed signed before funds arrive |
|
Closing |
Title company disburses proceeds at closing |
Wiring instructions change by email the day before |
Where does HomeWise fit?
HomeWise, a direct home-buying company that purchases distressed single-family houses in California, Texas, Florida, Arizona, Georgia and other states, has bought more than 500 homes and publishes the terms a seller needs for the checks above: a free offer that carries no obligation and can arrive within an hour, a closing in as little as seven days once title is clear or on a date the seller picks up to 60 days out, and no commissions, listing fees or service fees. The HomeWise cash home buyer homepage lists those terms. Published terms are a starting point; the checks are the seller’s to run.
Fraudulent offers sometimes borrow a real company’s name, so a seller who gets a letter or text from a known buyer should confirm it through that company’s own site. For HomeWise, the HomeWise contact page lists its published channels. Buyers such as HomeWise have no reason to object to that call; a fraud under a borrowed name cannot survive it.
Frequently asked questions
Is HomeWise a legitimate cash buyer or a scam?
HomeWise publishes the terms a seller needs to verify it: a free offer with no obligation, no service fees, a closing in as little as seven days once title is clear, and more than 500 homes purchased. Whether any buyer passes the six checks is decided by the seller’s own verification, which takes under an hour.
How can a seller tell honest cash buyers for houses apart from house buying scams?
By watching where the money moves. Honest cash buyers for houses send earnest money to a title company and pay the seller at closing; house buying scams ask the seller to send money first or sign the deed before funds arrive. The second tell is pressure; a real buyer allows time to review the contract.
Should a seller ever pay a fee to a cash buyer before closing?
No. Application fees, processing fees, title search deposits and appraisal charges paid to the buyer are all signs of fraud. Legitimate costs of a sale, such as prorated property taxes or a mortgage payoff, are deducted by the title company from the proceeds at closing, and the seller never wires money to the buyer.
What should a seller do if wiring instructions change before closing?
Stop and call the title company at a number found independently, never one from the email. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s guidance is to ignore wiring instructions that arrive by email. If money has already gone, the bank should be asked for a wire recall at once and a report filed with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center.
