Maryland Wholesaling Law: SB 160 / HB 124

State: Maryland | Bill: Senate Bill 160 and House Bill 124 (companion bills, Chapters 509 and 508 of 2025), adding Section 10-715 to the Real Property Article | Effective date: October 1, 2025, in effect now | Applies to: Owner occupied residential property improved by four or fewer single-family dwelling units | Bottom line: You can wholesale everything in Maryland. On owner occupied houses, add two short written disclosures (one to the seller that you may assign, one to your assignee about your equitable interest). On non owner occupied property, the law does not apply at all.

What the Law Says (Plain English)

Maryland took the lightest touch of the recent wave of wholesaling laws. No license requirement, no waiting period, no minimum earnest money, no separate disclosure document. It is a pure disclosure law, and it only covers owner occupied homes, meaning the seller lives in the property as their residence.

The law defines two roles, and you can be one or both on the same deal:

Wholesale buyer: a person who enters into a contract of sale with the owner of an owner occupied residential property in order to assign the contract to another person for a monetary assignment fee (10-715(a)(3)). That is the classic A to B contract with intent to assign.

Wholesale seller: a person who, without holding legal title to owner occupied residential property, does both of two things: (i) enters into a contract of sale for the property, and (ii) assigns their beneficial interest in the property to another (10-715(a)(4)). Read the statute literally, both prongs have to be true at once. So a "wholesale seller" is someone who signs a contract they never take title on and then assigns their interest out of it. That is the classic no-title assignment. It is not the same thing as a true double close, where you actually take title and convey that title (assigning nothing), which is why the double close arguably sits outside this definition (see Loophole #3).

What each role must do:

• A wholesale buyer must tell the homeowner, in writing, before entering the contract, that the wholesale buyer may assign the contract of sale to another person (10-715(c)(1)). That is the buyer's entire disclosure duty. Nothing about your equitable interest, your fee, or your license.
• A wholesale seller must tell the prospective assignee, in writing, before assigning the contract, that the wholesale seller holds an equitable interest in the property and may not be able to convey title to the property (10-715(c)(2)).

The statute requires only that each disclosure be "in writing." It does not impose a "clear and conspicuous," bold-type, or font-size standard, and it does not require a separate document, so the disclosures can live inside your purchase agreement and assignment paperwork. Maryland does not require you to reveal your fee or profit, does not require a "seek legal counsel" advisory, and does not require you to state whether you hold a license. As a practical matter, still make the disclosure easy to find; an owner who says they never saw it is the one who reaches for the rescission remedy below.

One carve-out: the law does not apply to a sale proceeding under Rule 14-215 of the Maryland Rules, which is the foreclosure-sale procedure (10-715(b)).

What You CANNOT Do

• Sign a purchase contract on a house the seller lives in, intending to assign it, without first disclosing in writing that you may assign the contract
• Assign your beneficial interest in a no-title contract on an owner occupied house without telling your assignee, in writing, that you hold only an equitable interest and may not be able to convey title
• Make either disclosure orally only: the statute requires it "in writing," so a verbal "by the way, I might assign this" does not satisfy it

What You CAN Still Do

• Wholesale non owner occupied property with no extra requirements at all. Vacant houses, tenant occupied rentals, inherited estates where nobody lives, land. If the seller does not occupy the home, this law does not apply (see Loophole #1)
• Wholesale owner occupied houses by adding two short paragraphs. Tell the seller you may assign, and tell your assignee about your equitable interest; both can live in your existing paperwork, no separate form, no waiting period, no fee disclosure
• Lock up a deal same day. There is no cooling off period and no pre-contract delivery window; the disclosure just has to exist in writing before or at signing
• Double close. On the statute's plain text, taking actual title means you assign no beneficial interest, so a true double close may fall outside the "wholesale seller" definition entirely. We still recommend the equitable-interest disclosure to your end buyer as a cheap hedge (see Loophole #3)
• Keep your fee private. Maryland does not force you to disclose your assignment fee or profit to anyone

The Loopholes

Loophole #1: Non Owner Occupied Property Is Not Covered (Clean, and It Is Most of Your Pipeline)

The definitions only reach contracts with "an owner of an owner occupied residential property." Our industry research report states it plainly: the law "does not apply to non-owner-occupied, investment, or vacant properties." If the seller does not live in the home as their residence, you are not a wholesale buyer or a wholesale seller, and no disclosure is required. Vacant houses, landlord sales, inherited property sitting empty, and vacant land are all outside the statute. Ask early in every seller call whether the seller lives in the property, and document the answer. Clean. One caution: the statute does not define the exact occupancy test or fix the moment it is measured, so treat borderline cases (seller moved out last week) as covered and disclose anyway.

Loophole #2: Just Disclose (Clean, Near Zero Cost)

On owner occupied deals, full compliance is one clear paragraph in your purchase agreement plus one in your assignment or B to C contract. No waiting period to burn, no separate document to deliver, no fee to reveal, no license status to state. Compared to Missouri's 14 day wait or Louisiana's 1 percent deposit, Maryland compliance costs you nothing but ink. This is the default play, and it also moots most of the risk in every gray area below. Clean.

Loophole #3: True Double Close (Gray, and Cheap to Over-Disclose)

The "wholesale seller" definition is conjunctive. It reaches a person who, without holding legal title, (i) enters a contract of sale and (ii) assigns a beneficial interest in the property (10-715(a)(4)). Both prongs have to be met. A true double close does neither cleanly: you actually take title (even for minutes) and then convey that title to your end buyer, rather than assigning a beneficial interest out of a contract. On the statute's plain text, a true double close assigns nothing and may fall outside this law entirely. The same logic reaches the buyer side: if you intend to double close rather than assign, you never meet the "wholesale buyer" definition (which turns on intent to assign the contract for a fee), so the homeowner-side disclosure may not be triggered either. That is the narrow reading, and it is defensible.

We still recommend disclosing to both sides anyway. The disclosures cost nothing, an owner who feels surprised is the one who reaches for a rescission, and no Maryland court or regulator has yet blessed the double-close-is-outside reading. Novation lands in the same gray zone (whether it "assigns a beneficial interest" is fact-specific), so treat it the same way. Gray, and pointless to fight over.

Loophole #4: Vacant Land, 5+ Units, Commercial (Clean)

The law covers residential property of four or fewer dwelling units that is owner occupied. Land, larger multifamily, and commercial are outside it twice over (wrong property type, and no owner occupant). Clean.

Loophole #5: Entity Sale / LLC Drop (Gray, Unnecessary)

Selling the membership interest of an LLC that holds the contract is not addressed in any of the sources. The "wholesale seller" definition covers assigning a "beneficial interest," and a lawyer can argue an LLC interest sale transfers exactly that. Because compliance is a free paragraph, there is no reason to buy this fight in Maryland. Gray, talk to an attorney, and ask yourself why you would bother.

Penalties If You Violate It

• The homeowner can rescind before closing, without penalty, but only if two things are both true: you did not give the required written notice and you actually assigned the contract of sale (10-715(d)). Miss the disclosure but never assign, and this rescission right does not attach
• Your assignee can rescind before closing and take back their full deposit if you did not give the wholesale seller disclosure (10-715(e)). Your assignment fee and their deposit both walk
• That is the entire penalty scheme. Rescission is the only remedy. The statute carries no civil damages, no fines, no attorney general enforcement, and no criminal exposure
• Under Real Property 14-117(f), leaving the disclosure out does not, by itself, invalidate the contract. Omitting the notice just exposes you to the rescission rights above, it does not void the deal automatically

Required Disclosure Language

Maryland mandates the content of two disclosures but does not prescribe exact wording, a form, a font size, or a separate document. You draft your own language; it only has to be in writing and convey the required substance (Md. Code Ann., Real Property 10-715(c)(1) and (c)(2)). Do not treat any script below as an official form.

1. Wholesale buyer to the owner (before entering the contract). The statute requires you to disclose in writing "that the wholesale buyer may assign the contract of sale to another person" (10-715(c)(1)). In plain terms: state that you may assign this contract to another person. Nothing more is required of the buyer, not your fee, not your interest, not your license status.

2. Wholesale seller to the prospective assignee (before assigning the contract). The statute requires you to disclose in writing that "the wholesale seller holds an equitable interest in the property and may not be able to convey title to the property" (10-715(c)(2)). In plain terms: tell your assignee that you hold only an equitable interest and may not be able to convey legal title.

Formatting: the statute says only "in writing." There is no bold-type, font-size, separate-document, or signature requirement in 10-715, so the disclosures can sit inside your purchase agreement and assignment paperwork. Exact wording is not mandated.

Quick Reference

This summary is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your specific deal structure with a Maryland real estate attorney, especially the owner occupancy test and how the conjunctive "wholesale seller" definition applies to a true double close.

Sources: Md. Code Ann., Real Property 10-715 and 14-117(e)(24), official Maryland General Assembly statute text, as enacted by 2025 Chapters 508 (House Bill 124) and 509 (Senate Bill 160); supplemented by a third-party industry report and a deep research report on Maryland wholesaling regulation.