Tennessee Warns Home Sellers About Memo of Sale Schemes

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Homeowners across Tennessee who get a fast cash offer on their house are being told to read the fine print first, after state regulators flagged a growing scheme that can leave a property tied up on paper with no sale ever closing.

The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance issued the alert Tuesday. The state Real Estate Commission and the Attorney General’s Office signed on, as did the statewide REALTORS group, a national land title trade association, the state bankers group and the association representing county officials. Seniors and the people who care for them are a main audience for the warning.

Here is how it works, according to the regulators. A company advertises that it buys homes for cash and offers the owner a quick, sure deal. Once the contract is signed, it files a memorandum of sale with the county, which puts a notice on the title telling anyone else the home is already under contract.

Then the buyer never closes. Because that notice is still sitting on the record, the owner cannot sell to someone else. The same company then asks to be paid to remove it, often a demand in the tens of thousands of dollars, even though it walked away from its own deal.

Some of these operators describe themselves as wholesalers. In a wholesale deal the original buyer lines up a third party who pays more, and the original buyer keeps the gap rather than the seller. Tennessee law requires wholesalers to clearly disclose that they plan to bring in another buyer.

The state’s advice for sellers is practical. Look for any clause about recording a memorandum and negotiate a firm date for its removal. Ask directly whether the buyer plans to wholesale the home. Put every agreement in writing, and check the person’s license status through the department’s public search tool before going further.

A seller who is asked to pay to release a memo should talk with a licensed Tennessee attorney. Anyone who believes they were caught in one of these deals can file a complaint with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Attorney General’s Office.

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