Committee hears testimony backing disclosure requirements for real estate wholesaling (Senate Bill 155)

Proponents of Senate Bill 155 told the House Development Committee that disclosure requirements and other safeguards are needed to curb deceptive real estate wholesaling practices that can harm vulnerable homeowners.

Jamie Kenton Sluss, co‑owner of Sluss Realty in Mansfield, described multiple cases she said illustrate aggressive and deceptive wholesaling tactics that often target seniors. "This is exactly who wholesalers target. Those without support, those who are unaware, and those who are easily misled," Sluss told the committee, and she urged regulators to empower title companies and underwriting to block closings when a power of attorney contains self‑sealing language or when sellers have not been made aware of back‑to‑back closings.

Brian Bambridge, a licensed realtor with CRT Realtors, said wholesaling can surface properties for investors but lacks accountability: "In many cases, the victim with wholesaling is the homeowner," he said, describing cases in which buyers were not given disclosure documents or time to inspect properties before offers were required. Bambridge urged heightened accountability, including disclosures, penalties and licensing.

Seth Task, past president of Ohio Realtors, also supported the bill and recounted a case in which an elderly homeowner was misled by someone who presented as a cash buyer and then assigned the contract, leaving the homeowner without the expected sale and in financial distress. "This is the kind of misleading behavior that's exactly why safeguards are needed in place to protect Ohio's homeowners," Task told the committee.

Deborah Collins, association manager for the Ohio Real Estate Investors Association, urged the committee to consider the role wholesalers play in facilitating sales of heavily distressed or uninsurable properties and said investor groups support core disclosure language in SB 155 while noting bad actors exist. Collins said an amendment that explicitly affirms sellers and buyers are entitled to seek legal or professional advice would further empower people considering wholesale contracts.

Ben Webb of AARP Ohio testified in favor of the bill, saying required disclosures would help prevent older Americans from unknowingly giving up rights to their primary asset. "A required disclosure is a step in the right direction," he told the committee, while AARP also supports additional provisions to strengthen protections.

Witnesses generally supported disclosure requirements; some asked for stiffer penalties and additional title‑company safeguards, while investor groups emphasized that ethical wholesalers provide services for sellers with difficult, blighted or otherwise hard‑to‑market properties. Committee members asked clarifying questions about differences between related bills and whether industry groups had developed voluntary standards; several witnesses said education and disclosures are important and that stakeholders were discussing potential amendments.

The chair noted there were multiple written testimonies on members’ iPads and concluded the second hearing on Senate Bill 155; no final vote was recorded.