Question 1

Who closes a double close in Atlanta?

Accepted Answer

A licensed Georgia attorney, on both legs. The Supreme Court of Georgia held in In re UPL Advisory Opinion 2003-2 that preparing or facilitating the execution of a deed is the practice of law, and the attorney has to be physically present. Telephonic supervision of a non-lawyer closer does not satisfy it. Conducting a closing and disbursing funds in violation is a misdemeanor and carries civil liability for damages. There is no "the title company closes it" path here: the attorney holds and disburses the escrow on the A-to-B and the B-to-C alike. Practically, that makes the closing attorney the gatekeeper on your deal, and Atlanta wholesalers pre-clear the attorney before the contract rather than after.

Question 2

My closing attorney wants separately sourced funds on the A-to-B leg. Is that what this is for?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Because one Georgia attorney holds the escrow for both legs, the willingness to run a same-day double close and the requirement that the A-to-B leg be funded from a separate source are the two questions that decide whether your structure works. Some attorneys will not let the end buyer's money fund the first closing. Transactional funding covers that first leg at up to 100% of purchase and is repaid out of the simultaneous resale, which is exactly the separately sourced money the attorney is asking to see. Ask the attorney for their double-close requirements in writing before you sign, then send them to us with the closing docs.

Question 3

Do I need a real estate license to wholesale in Georgia?

Accepted Answer

Georgia has no standalone wholesaling licensing statute. Unlike Texas, Ohio or Indiana, there is no separate license or registration regime for wholesalers, and assigning contractual rights in a purchase agreement does not by itself require a real estate license. The line gets crossed when you market the property rather than the contract. The practice norm here is to disclose the assignment fee to all parties and to state in the purchase agreement that you are acting in your own capacity, do not represent the seller, and intend to assign. Bills adding wholesaler licensing or disclosure have been introduced in recent Georgia sessions, and none had passed as of early 2026. We're a lender, not your counsel: have a Georgia real estate attorney review your contract and your disclosure language before you use it.

Question 4

What do Georgia closing taxes add to a double close?

Accepted Answer

Transfer tax runs $1.00 for the first $1,000 of consideration plus $0.10 per additional $100, which works out to 0.10% of the price. On a $400,000 purchase that is $400. Under the Georgia Association of REALTORS form the seller customarily pays it, but it is negotiable, and a double close is two separate transfers, so price it on each leg and let the closing attorney figure the exact amount on the settlement statement. Georgia also charges an intangible recording tax of $1.50 per $500 of a note's face amount, about 0.30% of the loan, capped at $25,000. Short-term notes are exempt, and HB 586 moved that short-term threshold from 36 months to 62 months effective July 1, 2025. Confirm both lines with your closing attorney before you build them into a spread.

Question 5

How does the Georgia foreclosure calendar feed Atlanta wholesale deal flow?

Accepted Answer

Georgia forecloses without going to court, and the sales happen on the first Tuesday of the month between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at the county courthouse. Same cadence a Texas investor already knows. The secured creditor has to give the debtor notice of initiation of the power of sale no later than 30 days before the sale date under O.C.G.A. section 44-14-162.2, and advertise once a week for four weeks in the county's official legal organ with at least 21 days between the first advertisement and the sale under O.C.G.A. section 44-14-162. That puts the practical minimum from first publication to auction around 37 days. Distressed supply therefore arrives in a predictable monthly batch, and the advertising window is your lead time to line up an end buyer and confirm funding against a date that will not move. Georgia also has no statutory post-sale right of redemption on a non-judicial foreclosure of a security deed, so title after the sale is clean of that particular problem.

Question 6

If my end buyer is a big single-family rental operator, does the new federal law change my exit?

Accepted Answer

From January 7, 2027, yes, and Atlanta is where it lands hardest. The 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law on July 11, 2026 and bars a large institutional investor, defined as an entity with investment control of 350 or more single-family homes, from purchasing or contracting to purchase a single-family home, with civil penalties up to the greater of $1,000,000 per violation or three times the purchase price. Build-to-rent is exempt, and there is no divestiture requirement for homes already owned. Metro Atlanta has the largest institutional single-family rental footprint in the country, on the order of 72,000 homes, so a wholesaler whose B-to-C buyer list leans on the big operators should assume that channel narrows for existing homes. The reasonable read, and it is a read rather than a forecast, is that institutional capital moves toward the exempt build-to-rent channel.

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