Wholesaling Contracts: Free Templates & How to Customize
Where to download free wholesaling contracts, the exact clauses that matter, and how to customize the purchase agreement and assignment per deal and state.
Austin Beveridge
Tennessee
, Goliath Teammate
Free Wholesaling Contracts: Where to Download and How to Customize Them
Wholesaling a deal takes two contracts, not one: a purchase and sale agreement between you and the seller (with an assignability clause), and an assignment of contract that transfers your position to your end buyer for a fee. You can download free templates for both, but a template is a starting point, you have to customize the parties, price, contingencies, and your state's disclosure language before it's safe to sign. This guide is for wholesalers who want the real clauses, not a generic PDF.
Grab the template first: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1B21cy4JIOCvIA_PA0XT3uDcKRYaJtHDD?usp=drive_link
What contracts wholesaling actually uses (and when)
There are only three structures you need to know:
Assignment (the standard play). You put the property under contract with the seller using a purchase and sale agreement that says the contract is assignable ("and/or assigns"). Before closing, you sign an assignment of contract with your cash buyer. At closing, the buyer pays the seller your contract price, pays you your assignment fee, and takes title directly. You never own the property. This is 90% of residential wholesale deals.
Double close (when assignment won't work). You actually buy the property from the seller (the A→B transaction), then immediately resell to your end buyer (B→C), often the same day. You use this when your fee is large and you'd rather not show it, when the seller's contract forbids assignment, or when a title company or lender won't fund an assignment. It costs more, two sets of closing costs, sometimes transactional funding, but it's clean.
Novation / builder-style (occasional). The original contract is replaced by a new one between the seller and end buyer, releasing you. Rare, more paperwork, mostly used where assignment is legally restricted.
Pick the structure first, because it dictates which contract you customize.
Where to download free wholesaling contracts
Free purchase agreement + assignment templates are widely available. Use them to learn the anatomy, not as-is on a live deal:
Your state real estate commission publishes standard purchase-and-sale forms (e.g., TREC in Texas). These are court-tested but rarely include assignment language, so you'd add it.
Investor education sites (Real Estate Skills, Property M.O.B., and similar) offer free purchase-agreement and assignment PDFs, usually gated behind an email.
A real estate attorney in your state is the only source that produces a contract already compliant with your local disclosure rules. Expect roughly $100–$1,000 to draft or review one, cheap next to a blown deal.
Goliath's template: here are a few templates to get you started, an editable purchase agreement + assignment you can fill per deal.
We won't reproduce copyrighted forms here. Below is the part most "free download" pages skip: what each clause does and how to change it.
Clause-by-clause: the wholesale assignment contract (the original asset)
This is the anatomy of the two documents and how to customize each line for your deal and state. Not legal advice, have a local attorney confirm before you sign.
Clause | What it does | Customization tip |
|---|---|---|
Parties | Names the seller and you (buyer/assignor) on the purchase agreement; you (assignor) and end buyer (assignee) on the assignment | Put your entity, not your personal name, as buyer where possible; it's what you assign |
Property & legal description | Identifies the exact parcel by address and legal description from the deed | Copy the legal description verbatim from the recorded deed, not the tax record, mismatches stall title |
Purchase price & earnest money | Sets your locked-in price and the deposit showing you're serious | Keep earnest money low ($10–$1,000) but real; specify it's held by the title company or attorney |
Assignability ("and/or assigns") | The clause that makes wholesaling possible, lets you transfer the contract | State it explicitly: "Buyer may assign this contract." If assigning, get seller acknowledgment. Omit and switch to a double close if the seller's form bars assignment |
Inspection / due-diligence contingency | Lets you (or your buyer) exit if the property doesn't check out | Set 7–14 days; this is also your primary out if you can't find a buyer in time |
Financing contingency | Lets a financed buyer exit if their loan falls through | Delete for cash buyers; keep if your end buyer uses hard-money or DSCR loans |
Title / marketable-title contingency | Lets you cancel if liens or defects make title uninsurable | Non-negotiable, order a title search early so a hidden tax lien doesn't surface after you've assigned |
Closing date | Sets the deadline; drives your marketing window | 30 days is typical; build a buffer so you're not forced to close a deal you couldn't assign |
Default / liquidated damages | Defines what happens if either side walks | Cap your downside: buyer's default forfeits earnest money as liquidated damages |
Disclosure of equitable interest / intent to assign | Tells the seller you hold a contract right (not title) and may assign it | State-specific and mandatory in a growing number of states, see below. Add the exact bold-faced language your state requires |
Lead-based paint disclosure | Federally required for housing built before 1978 | Attach the Lead Warning Statement and EPA pamphlet; give the buyer the 10-day inspection window (EPA rule) |
Assignment fee (assignment contract only) | Documents your profit and when it's paid | Spell out the split, e.g., non-refundable deposit at signing, balance at closing through the title company |
Assumption of obligations (assignment contract only) | Assignee takes on all buyer duties under the original agreement | State it plainly and attach a full copy of the original purchase agreement |
How to customize per deal and per state
Per deal: change the parties, property, price, earnest money, closing date, and contingency windows every time. Match the financing contingency to your buyer (cash = delete it; hard-money = keep it). Set the assignment fee and payment split in the assignment contract.
Per state: this is where free templates get people in trouble. Contract rights are assignable by default in the U.S. unless the contract says otherwise, so assignment itself is legal everywhere, but a growing list of states now require you to disclose in writing that you only hold an equitable interest and intend to assign, and several give the seller cancellation rights if you don't.
Texas requires written disclosure of the "nature of the equitable interest" to any seller or potential buyer; skip it and you're deemed to be brokering without a license (Tex. Occ. Code § 1101.0045).
Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Maryland, and others enacted 2025 wholesaling laws adding mandatory disclosures and seller cancellation windows (PA Association of Realtors overview).
Before you use any template, confirm your state's current rule and whether you need a license after a certain number of assignments, we break that down in do you need a real estate license to wholesale.
From the field: how customizing a contract actually goes
The mistake I see most is treating the downloaded PDF as done. On a real deal the sequence is: lock the property with the purchase agreement, immediately open title and order the search, then market the contract (not the property) to the buyer list while due diligence runs. The two clauses that save deals are the inspection contingency (your clean exit if no buyer shows) and the title contingency (your exit when a lien surfaces, and one usually does on distressed property).
The disclosure line is the one people fabricate confidence about. In disclosure states, leaving it out doesn't just void the deal, it can reclassify you as an unlicensed broker. I add the required equitable-interest language to the purchase agreement itself so the seller signs it up front, not as a surprise at assignment. If you're fuzzy on what "assignment" legally transfers, read understanding assignment in real estate before you sign anything.
Where Goliath helps is upstream of the contract: our pipeline surfaces motivated sellers and skip-traced contacts, and the AI acquisitions agent works the outreach so you're customizing contracts on deals that are actually live. See what's included on pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Are wholesaling contracts free to download? Yes, free purchase-agreement and assignment templates are available from state commissions and investor sites, and from Goliath. Treat any free template as a draft and have a local attorney review it before a live deal.
What contracts do you need to wholesale a house? Two: a purchase and sale agreement with the seller that includes an assignability clause, and an assignment of contract that transfers your rights to the end buyer for your fee. If assignment is restricted, you do a double close instead.
Is an assignment of contract legal? Yes. Contract rights are assignable by default in the U.S. unless the contract prohibits it. Assignment is legal in all 50 states, but several now require written disclosure that you hold only an equitable interest and intend to assign.
Do I have to tell the seller I'm going to assign the contract? In a growing number of states, yes, in writing, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Maryland and others require it, and missing it can void the deal or expose you to unlicensed-brokerage claims. When in doubt, disclose.
Can I just edit a free template myself? You can fill in the deal-specific fields (parties, price, dates, contingencies), but the state disclosure language and default terms should be confirmed by a local real estate attorney. This article is not legal advice.
