How to Spot a “We Buy Houses” Scam in San Diego

Most cash home buyers in San Diego are legitimate. But the “we buy houses” space also attracts bad actors, and they tend to show up exactly when a homeowner is stressed and moving fast. We buy houses for a living, so telling you how to spot the bad ones makes our job a little harder, and we are telling you anyway. Here are the red flags, and the simple checks that filter almost all of them out.

The red flags

They pressure you to sign today

A real offer is still a real offer tomorrow. Anyone rushing you to sign right now, before you can think or get a second number, is managing you, not helping you. Urgency is the oldest pressure tactic there is.

They ask for any money up front

A legitimate buyer never charges you a fee to make an offer, run an inspection, or “hold” your file. If anyone asks you to pay something to move forward, walk away.

The offer is suspiciously high, then it drops

A common bait is a high number to get you under contract, followed by a “renegotiation” after an inspection that conveniently knocks the price down right before closing, once you are committed and out of time. A fair buyer gives you a number they intend to honor and shows you how they got there.

They insist on their own title company and tiny earnest money

You should be able to close through a neutral, licensed local title and escrow company. Pushback on that is a warning sign. So is trivial earnest money, a real buyer puts up a meaningful deposit, not a hundred dollars.

They are vague about who they actually are

If a buyer gets cagey when you ask for the name of the entity buying your home, whether they are assigning the contract to someone else, or for references, that is a problem. Real buyers answer those questions without flinching.

The checks that protect you

• Look up the buyer’s business entity on the California Secretary of State site. A real operator has a real registered entity.
• Ask for proof of funds or a bank letter if they are truly paying cash.
• Ask them to show their math, the comparable sales and the repair estimate behind the offer.
• Get the price, terms, and closing date in writing, and read whether the contract lets them assign it to someone else.
• Insist on a licensed local title and escrow company, and never wire money or sign based on a phone call.
• Check reviews and ask for references from past sellers.

Assignment is not automatically a scam

One thing worth understanding: many legitimate buyers use assignment contracts, where they put a home under contract and then assign that contract to another buyer. That is a normal, legal part of the business. It only becomes a problem when it is hidden from you or when the buyer never actually intended to close themselves. The fix is transparency, ask directly whether they plan to assign, and make sure your price and terms hold either way.

How we do it

The whole reason we walk sellers through this is that transparency is our actual advantage. When we make an offer, we show you the comparable sales and the repair estimate behind the number, we use a licensed local title company, we never ask for a dime up front, and we tell you honestly if listing would net you more. You should hold every buyer you talk to, including us, to that same standard.

The bottom line

You do not need to be an expert to avoid a bad cash buyer. Slow down, get the offer in writing, verify the entity and the funds, and close through a neutral title company. Do that and the scammers filter themselves out. When you want a transparent, no-pressure offer to compare against anyone else, you can request one here.