A Wholesaler Asked Me to Sell a Fort Wayne Lot He Didn't Own. Here's What Indiana Law Says

Not long ago, a real estate wholesaler from out of state got in touch with me with what sounded like a simple request. He had a vacant lot in Fort Wayne tied up under an agreement with the owner, one that gave him a set amount of time to market the lot and sell it, and he wanted my help selling it.

He wasn't the owner. He had never owned it. What he had was a marketing agreement built on what investors call the novation model. In a typical novation deal, the owner agrees to a fixed price, the wholesaler goes looking for a buyer who will pay more, and the wholesaler keeps the difference.

On paper, it's an easy listing. A vacant lot, a motivated party, a clear deadline.

I haven't said yes. As I write this, the deal is still undecided, because before I put any property on the MLS, Indiana law and my own code of ethics make me answer a question this kind of deal makes surprisingly hard to answer: who, exactly, would be my client?

That question sent me into the Indiana Code, the rules of the Indiana Real Estate Commission, a new legal bulletin from the Indiana Association of REALTORS®, and the growing list of states that have rewritten their laws around wholesaling. This post is what I found. If you're a landowner who just got a "we buy land" letter, an investor thinking about wholesaling in Indiana, or a fellow agent who just got a request like mine, it's written for you.

Wholesaling, Assignment, Novation: The Words You Need#

Three different deals get called "wholesaling," and the differences decide who gets paid.

A wholesale assignment is the classic version. The wholesaler signs a contract to buy your property at a low price, usually with "and/or assigns" next to their name. They never intend to close. Instead, they sell their contract, the right to buy your property at that price, to an investor for an assignment fee. You still receive the price you agreed to. The investor closes, and the fee is the wholesaler's profit.

A double close gets to the same place differently. The wholesaler actually buys your property and resells it to an investor, often the same day, with short-term money. Two sales, two closings, and the wholesaler keeps the spread.

A novation is the newer twist, and it's the one that landed on my desk. The Indiana Association of REALTORS® (IAR) describes it this way in a legal bulletin sent to members: instead of assigning the contract to an investor, "the wholesaler seeks out a buyer willing to pay close to market value for the home and substitutes a new purchase agreement – the profit is the difference between the two contracts."

That last part is what makes novation different. An assignment sells to investors, who pay investor prices. A novation is built to reach retail buyers paying something close to full market value, and the best place to find retail buyers is the MLS. Which means a wholesaler running a novation deal needs a licensed agent to list a property that the wholesaler doesn't own.

Why a Vacant Lot Is the Perfect Target#

It's no accident that the request was about land.

A vacant lot has no one living on it, nobody notices a sign in the grass, and it's often owned free and clear by someone who lives somewhere else: an heir in another state, a retiree who bought it decades ago, a family that forgot it was in the estate. Land is also harder to price than a house. There are fewer comparable sales, and plenty of owners have no idea what their lot is worth today. That information gap is exactly where a wholesaler's spread lives.

Those same traits make vacant land the favorite target of seller impersonation fraud, where a criminal poses as the owner and sells property they have no right to sell. In its September 2026 study, the American Land Title Association (ALTA) found that 82% of title firms rated vacant land as at least a somewhat common target, more than any other property type, and 72% said the same about properties with absentee owners. The share of title firms reporting at least one impersonation attempt in the prior year jumped from 28% to 59%. In June 2026 the FBI warned that criminals "impersonate the owners of vacant property parcels" and "draft property-related contracts to market and sell" them.

I want to be fair here: nothing about my wholesaler suggests he's a criminal. Most wholesalers aren't. But a third party who wants to sell a vacant lot owned by someone I've never spoken to is precisely the shape that fraud takes, so the checks I owe the real owner are the same either way.

What Indiana Law Actually Says#

Indiana has no comprehensive "wholesaling statute" like Pennsylvania's or Ohio's. Instead, four pieces of existing law decide whether a deal like mine is clean or a problem.

1. Selling someone else's property for pay requires a license#

The Indiana license law, IC 25-34.1-3-2, says no person may, "for consideration, sell, buy, trade, exchange, option, lease, rent, manage, list, or appraise real estate or negotiate or offer to perform any of those acts in Indiana or with respect to real estate situated in Indiana, without a license."

Notice the last part: "with respect to real estate situated in Indiana." Living in another state doesn't put a wholesaler outside the rule when the lot is in Fort Wayne.

There's an exemption for "acts performed by a person in relation to real estate owned by that person," and this is where wholesalers make their case. Indiana defines "real estate" as "any right, title, or interest in real property," so a wholesaler can argue that a purchase contract is an interest they own, and that selling it is selling their own property. No Indiana court or Real Estate Commission ruling I could find has settled whether assigning a contract counts. That gray zone is why classic assignment wholesaling survives here.

A novation is harder to fit into that exemption. When the wholesaler goes out and markets the owner's lot to retail buyers, at a price the owner may never see, and gets paid from the proceeds, it starts to look a lot like listing and negotiating the sale of someone else's real estate for consideration.

The penalty for getting it wrong, under IC 25-34.1-6-2: performing the acts of a broker without a license is a Class A infraction. "Each transaction constitutes a separate offense," the court "shall add to any fine imposed the amount of any fee or other compensation earned," and a Class A infraction carries a judgment of up to $10,000. An unlicensed person also can't sue to collect a fee for those acts. On top of that, the state can seek a cease-and-desist order through the Attorney General under IC 25-1-7-14.

2. Since July 2024, wholesalers have to tell you they're not licensed#

This one surprises people, including some agents. In 2024 the legislature passed House Enrolled Act 1068, which created IC 32-21-16.5, effective July 1, 2024. It covers "unlicensed real estate solicitors," and its key rules are:

• Any solicitation of a residential, single-family home (a mailer, a yard sign, a website, a text, a call, a social media post) must include this sentence: "This solicitation is not from a licensed real estate professional."
• The disclosure must include the solicitor's legal name and, if someone else is expected to buy the home, that buyer's legal name too.
• Before signing, the solicitor must tell the homeowner if anything in that disclosure has changed.
• If the disclosure is missing or incomplete, the homeowner can cancel the agreement within two days by delivering a written rescission, with no liability.
• A violation is a deceptive act under Indiana's consumer protection law (IC 24-5-0.5-11), enforced by the Attorney General.

The law exempts buyers who intend to take title, record the deed, and keep the home as a residence or an investment. In other words, real buyers. It is aimed squarely at people who sign contracts they don't plan to close themselves.

Here's the catch for my situation: the disclosure rule is written for a "residential, single-family home." A vacant lot very likely falls outside it. Landowners have less statutory protection than homeowners do, which is one more reason land is attractive to this business model.

3. Only the owner can put a property on the market#

This is the rule that stops me cold. The Indiana Real Estate Commission's rule 876 IAC 8-1-8(f) says: "No broker shall place a sign on any property, advertise, or offer any property for sale, lease, or rent without the written consent of the owner or the owner's authorized agent." A companion rule, 876 IAC 8-2-7(6), makes "listing or offering real property for sale … without the written consent of … the owner or the owner's authorized agent" a form of incompetent practice.

Other pieces line up behind it:

• Indiana listing agreements must be in writing, carry a definite expiration date, and a copy must go to the owner within three business days (IC 25-34.1-12-1).
• The rules of the Indiana Regional MLS, which covers Fort Wayne, require the listing agreement to include "the seller's written authorization" to submit it to the MLS.
• The National Association of REALTORS® Code of Ethics, Standard of Practice 12-4: "REALTORS® shall not offer for sale/lease or advertise property without authority."
• When a would-be seller holds only an equitable interest, such as a contract to buy, IAR's legal guidance tells brokers to get the signatures of the title owners as well.

So a wholesaler's purchase contract, by itself, doesn't give anyone the right to list the lot. That's why, in many novation deals, a power of attorney appears: a document letting the wholesaler sign for the owner, including the listing agreement.

A power of attorney can be perfectly legitimate. Indiana has formal signing requirements for one (IC 30-5-4-1, a notary or qualifying witnesses), and families use them every day. But IAR's senior staff counsel, describing the calls coming in to its legal hotline, put it bluntly: the wholesaler "is usually not in Indiana," the offer "is usually well below market value," and "even though the wholesaler may have a power of attorney, it is likely by fraudulent means." The bulletin adds that "the actual property owners' agreement is often secured by deceptive or fraudulent means."

The wholesaler who contacted me isn't in Indiana either. That's when this stopped being theoretical for me.

4. A listing agent works for the owner, and that's the conflict#

Under Indiana's agency law (IC 25-34.1-10), a listing broker represents the seller and owes them specific duties, including seeking a price and terms that are satisfactory to the seller, presenting every offer, and disclosing adverse material facts the broker actually knows.

Put those duties next to a novation deal and you can see the problem. The owner's interest is to get the highest price for their lot. The wholesaler's interest is the biggest possible gap between what the owner gets and what the buyer pays. If I represent the owner, my duty is to make sure the owner knows what the lot can actually sell for, which may be the end of the wholesaler's deal. If I'm really working for the wholesaler, I'd be marketing a property whose owner isn't my client, on terms the owner may not understand.

Two more Indiana rules close the side doors. A broker can't pay a commission or referral fee to an unlicensed person for services that require a license (876 IAC 8-2-7(12)), so the wholesaler's spread can't be dressed up as a referral. And a broker who becomes the middle buyer must disclose in writing both their interest and the fact that they hold a license (876 IAC 8-2-6), and can't act "in dual capacity of broker and undisclosed client" (876 IAC 8-2-7(4)).

What the Indiana REALTORS® Are Telling Agents Right Now#

The bulletin I mentioned, "Legal Bulletin: Novation Buying," says IAR has received "a growing number of reports from members across Indiana" about novation deals. A few lines from it are worth reading slowly:

• Novation is "only legal with the explicit consent of all parties; in practice, the actual property owners' agreement is often secured by deceptive or fraudulent means."
• REALTORS® approached by novation wholesalers "may not have the authority to list these properties under Indiana law or professional standards of practice."
• "The wholesaler cannot substitute a new buyer and extinguish the original contract unilaterally." Without the owner's full consent, "any Listing Contract or authority to sell is invalid."
• In short, "this practice is fraught with legal liability and professional conflict."

IAR says it is consulting with the Office of the Indiana Attorney General on how novation buying fits state law, and that any proposed changes would go through its policy process for its 2027 legislative agenda. Its advice to brokers until then: verify true ownership before listing, treat a power of attorney that's digitally signed or doesn't appear notarized as a red flag, be wary of any "representative" who tries to keep you from talking to the owner, and report suspected fraud to the Attorney General's Homeowner Protection Unit.

Indiana Is Behind Many Other States#

Indiana's 2024 disclosure law was a start, but a long list of states has gone further, several of them in just the last year.

Ohio is the one I'd watch. It's the first law I found that names novation outright, and it's already in effect right next door. Meanwhile in Indiana, bills that would have limited unsolicited calls to homeowners and slowed investor purchases died in committee in 2024, and bills aimed at deed fraud died in 2025 and 2026. For now, Hoosier landowners rely mostly on the license law, the Real Estate Commission's rules and their own caution.

The Honest Case for Wholesaling#

I don't think every wholesaler is a villain, and I'd be doing you a disservice if I pretended these deals never help anyone.

For owners, a wholesale or novation deal can offer real things: no cleanup, no showings, no repairs, a firm date, and a buyer for property the open market tends to ignore. Think of a landlocked parcel, a lot with back taxes, or land you inherited three states away and never want to think about again. Novation's specific pitch is that the owner gets more than a typical cash-investor offer, because the property is exposed to retail buyers, without paying anything up front. Sometimes that's true.

For investors, finding off-market deals is real work. Good wholesalers knock doors, make calls and find inventory nobody else is looking at, and assigning a contract is a legitimate way for a lot of people to start in real estate.

For agents, a wholesaler can be a steady source of buyers and listings.

But every one of those benefits survives full transparency. A deal where the owner knows what the property is worth, knows who the final buyer is, knows exactly what the wholesaler will make, and signs anyway, is a deal that holds up. The trouble starts when the business model depends on the owner not knowing.

The Risks, Party by Party#

If you're the owner#

• The spread is your equity. Every dollar between your price and the end buyer's price is money your property earned that you won't see. IAR's bulletin calls it a "potentially devastating loss of long-term wealth."
• Long exclusive periods. A marketing window of months can take your property off the market while the wholesaler shops it, sometimes with little earnest money at risk on their side.
• Clouded title. Some wholesalers record a memorandum or "affidavit of equitable interest" against the property to protect their position. That can make it hard to sell to anyone else. In March 2026 the Kansas Attorney General sued a home-buying company, alleging among other things that it filed liens on homeowners' properties to claim an interest in them. The company denies any wrongdoing.
• A power of attorney is a blank check. Signing one for a sale can let someone else sign the listing, the new contract and closing documents in your name.

If you're the buyer#

• You may be contracting with someone who doesn't own the property. If the owner never truly consented, the deal can collapse, or worse, end up in a title dispute after you've paid.
• Ask for the chain. Who is on the deed? Who is signing the deed at closing? A clean answer is quick to give.

If you're an agent#

• Listing without the owner's written consent violates 876 IAC 8-1-8(f) and can be treated as incompetent practice.
• Agency confusion. If you can't say in one sentence who your client is, you have a problem.
• No fee splitting with an unlicensed wholesaler (876 IAC 8-2-7(12)).
• Fraud exposure. If the power of attorney turns out to be bad, "the broker is exposed under state law," in IAR's words. Your errors and omissions coverage may have something to say about that too.

If you're the wholesaler#

• Unlicensed brokerage risk, as a Class A infraction for each transaction, with your fee added to the fine and no right to sue for it.
• Cancellation and Attorney General enforcement under the 2024 disclosure law when single-family homes are involved.
• Agreements that may not hold. Without informed consent from every party, a novation can unravel, along with the agent and title company who relied on it.

Before I'll List a Property Someone Else Brings Me#

Here's the standard a deal like mine has to meet before I put it on the MLS. Fellow agents, steal it.

1. Confirm the owner of record myself. I pull the deed and the tax records from the county (in Fort Wayne, the Allen County Recorder and Auditor), not from documents the third party hands me.
2. Talk to the owner directly. I use contact information I find independently, not the phone number or email the wholesaler provides. ALTA's study ranks direct seller contact among the most effective defenses title companies use.
3. The owner signs the listing agreement. If a power of attorney is involved, I verify with the owner that they understand who they've authorized and what that person is about to do, and I have my managing broker or an attorney review the document.
4. The owner sees the numbers in writing. What the lot is likely to sell for, what they'll receive, and what the wholesaler will keep.
5. Everyone knows who my client is, in writing. And nobody without a license gets paid for brokerage.
6. I ask before I guess. Managing brokers and designated agents can call the IAR Legal Hotline at 1-800-444-5472.
7. Some things end the conversation. A power of attorney that's digitally signed or not notarized, a "representative" who won't let me reach the owner, pressure to rush, documents notarized abroad, or a request to wire money somewhere unusual.

If Someone Offers to "Sell Your Land for You"#

If you own land or a house in Indiana and a wholesaler, cash buyer or "land company" reaches out, here's how to protect yourself:

• Find out what it's worth first. A licensed agent can give you a free opinion of value in a day. Compare that number with the offer before you sign anything.
• Ask directly: Are you licensed? Who is the actual buyer? Do you plan to assign or resell this contract, and for how much? For a single-family home, Indiana law requires the written disclosure. For land, ask anyway.
• Read for these words: "and/or assigns," "novation," "exclusive marketing period," "memorandum," "affidavit of equitable interest," "power of attorney," and anything about damages if you back out.
• Don't sign a power of attorney to sell your property to someone you've just met. If you need someone to act for you, have your own attorney prepare it.
• Use your two days. If you signed with an unlicensed solicitor for a single-family home and the disclosure was missing, you can nullify the agreement in writing within two days.
• Turn on the county's free alert. The Allen County Recorder's Property Fraud Alert notifies you by email, text or phone when a document with your name is recorded. It costs nothing.
• Report problems. The Indiana Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division, Homeowner Protection Unit, takes complaints at 317-232-6330 or IndianaConsumer.com.

If You're Wholesaling in Indiana#

If you're an investor, the path that keeps you out of trouble is the same path that builds a reputation:

• Be a real principal. Buy with your own money or real transactional funding, take title, and resell. A double close is a cleaner story than marketing property you don't own.
• Market your contract to investors, not the owner's property to the public, and never put a property on the MLS without the owner's own signed listing agreement.
• Put your spread in writing. If the owner knows what you'll make and signs anyway, your deal is far harder to unwind.
• Use the disclosure even when it might not apply. "This solicitation is not from a licensed real estate professional" costs you one sentence on a land mailer and buys you a lot of credibility.
• If wholesaling is your business, get licensed, or partner with an agent who properly represents the owner. And watch the 2027 session: IAR has said changes could go on its 2027 policy agenda.

If you're investing in Fort Wayne, our Fort Wayne investment properties guide is a better starting point than a contract you can't close.

Where My Deal Stands#

As I finish this post, that Fort Wayne lot is still where it was, and my answer hasn't changed: I'm glad to help sell it, for the person whose name is on the deed, with that person knowing exactly what the lot is worth and exactly who gets paid what. If the deal can't survive that, it was never a deal I could take.

That's not me being difficult. It's what the license on my wall is for.

Frequently Asked Questions#

If a wholesaler, land company or cash buyer has contacted you about property in Fort Wayne or anywhere in Northeast Indiana, send me the address and the offer. I'll tell you what I think it's worth and walk through the contract with you, at no cost and with no obligation to list with me. If it's a house rather than land, read what "We Buy Houses" companies don't tell Indiana sellers too, and if you're weighing an auction, here's how auctions compare with a listing. You can also start with a free home valuation.

Sources#

1. Indiana Code 25-34.1-3-2: license required; exemptions
2. Indiana Code 25-34.1-6-2: unlicensed brokerage penalties
3. Indiana Code 25-34.1-10: real estate agency relationships
4. Indiana Code 25-34.1-12-1: listing agreements
5. House Enrolled Act 1068 (2024), creating IC 32-21-16.5 and IC 24-5-0.5-11
6. 876 IAC 8: Indiana Real Estate Commission standards of conduct (8-1-8(f), 8-2-6, 8-2-7)
7. Indiana Association of REALTORS®, "IAR Legal Bulletin: Novation Buying" (member bulletin)
8. Indiana Association of REALTORS®, "Beware Of Wholesalers" (video, May 20, 2025)
9. Indiana Association of REALTORS®, Legal Q&A: listing for someone who isn't on the deed
10. American Land Title Association, "Seller Impersonation Fraud" study (September 14, 2026)
11. FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center, PSA I-061626-PSA (June 16, 2026)
12. Ohio Revised Code 5301.95: wholesaler disclosures (effective March 2, 2026)
13. Illinois Public Act 101-0357 (2019)
14. Pennsylvania Act 52 of 2024
15. Allen County Recorder, Property Fraud Alert
16. FOX 4 Kansas City, "House Max accused of scamming Kansas homeowners in AG's lawsuit" (March 20, 2026)

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws and rules change; verify the current text, and consult a licensed Indiana attorney about any specific contract or transaction.