Four States, Four Different Approaches to the Same Problem
Every state legislature that has taken up wholesaling in 2026 is chasing the same underlying complaint, sellers who did not understand a contract could be assigned for profit rather than the buyer closing directly. How each state has chosen to answer that complaint varies widely, from a disclosure requirement with a cancellation window to a proposal that would require a real estate license to wholesale at all. Tracking which state is where in that range matters for anyone taking contracts across state lines.
Louisiana: Already in Effect
Louisiana’s HB 468, sponsored by Rep. Troy Hebert, passed with no opposition and became Act 807, taking effect August 1, 2026. It enacts La. R.S. 37:1448.5, requiring wholesalers to disclose their intent to assign a residential contract for profit, advise sellers to seek legal counsel, and give sellers at least five calendar days to cancel without penalty. Enforcement runs through both the state Attorney General and the Louisiana Real Estate Commission, meaning this is not a law with a single, narrow enforcement path.
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Book a Real Estate Fit CallMissouri: Disclosure With Real Teeth
According to reporting on the newly passed bill from St. Louis real estate trade press, Missouri lawmakers passed SB 973 on the final day of the 2026 legislative session. As reported, wholesalers of 1 to 4 unit residential properties must give sellers a separate written disclosure at least 14 days before contract execution stating the buyer is acting as a wholesaler, that the contract may be assigned to another buyer for a profit, and that the wholesaler may never take title. The same reporting states violations become actionable claims under the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, a consumer protection statute with real litigation teeth, and that parts of the law take effect August 28, 2026. The final signed text is worth checking against Missouri’s own bill tracker before relying on the specifics.
California and Mississippi: The Bills Still Moving
California’s AB 1850, introduced February 11, 2026 and amended in the Assembly on April 15, 2026, is the most aggressive proposal on this list. It would require that a person not engage in wholesaling unless they hold a valid real estate license, and would force wholesalers to disclose in writing to any property owner they contract with, and in every advertisement, that they do not hold legal title. As of its last amendment, the bill had not yet been chaptered into law.
Mississippi’s HB 1682, introduced in the 2026 Regular Session, would amend the statutory definition of "real estate broker" to include wholesaling activity, formally define "wholesaler" for the first time in state law, strip wholesalers of licensing exemptions that currently apply to them, and require written disclosures to homeowners, a structural change rather than a disclosure add-on.
Why This List Needs Rechecking Every Session
This is a snapshot of one legislative session, not a permanent state of the law. Bills die in committee, get amended past recognition, or pass with an effective date months out, all of which happened somewhere on this exact list within a single year. A wholesaler operating in, or expanding into, any of these four states should check current bill status directly before assuming last session’s summary still applies, and the site’s own state by state law reference is the place to check the settled, already enacted rules this tracker is watching turn into law in real time.
Whichever direction a state’s legislature goes, a compliant, well trained caller still has to know which disclosure applies before that seller ever picks up the phone. That is the standard VA Horizon’s callers and in-house SDR are trained to operate inside, not around.
Sources
The external data in this article draws on the sources below. Figures described in the text as estimates or industry triangulations are directional and are not attributed to a single dataset.
- California Legislative Information, AB 1850 bill text
- St Louis Real Estate News, "Missouri Just Passed A New Law Targeting ‘We Buy Houses’ Deals And Contract Flipping"
- Mississippi Legislature, HB 1682 (As Introduced, 2026 Regular Session)
- Louisiana REALTORS, "New Wholesaling Law - Effective August 1"