TCPA violations cost $500–$1,500 per message. A single automated blast to a do-not-call list can put a new wholesaler out of business. This guide covers the four compliance pillars every real estate SMS operator must understand in 2026 — consent, opt-outs, quiet hours, and state laws.
1. Consent rules
The TCPA requires prior express written consent before sending automated marketing texts. For wholesalers pulling cold lists, there is no express consent — which is why most rely on the Established Business Relationship (EBR) exemption, manual dialer workflows, and/or the argument that a property- specific inquiry is informational rather than telemarketing.
Safer path: scrub every list against the National DNC Registry and state DNC lists before you send. Never text cell numbers obtained from skip-tracing without a compliant workflow around them. When in doubt, consult a TCPA attorney — fines scale fast.
2. Opt-out handling
When a recipient replies STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, QUIT, or CANCEL, you must stop sending within a reasonable time — in practice, immediately. Maintain a permanent suppression list. Never re-add an opted-out number, ever, even on a new campaign or a new number. Opt-outs travel across your entire brand.
3. Quiet hours
Federal TCPA quiet hours are 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the recipient'slocal time zone. Several states have tightened this further (Florida: 8 a.m.–8 p.m.; Washington: 8 a.m.–8 p.m. weekdays). Your platform must enforce the stricter of the two — not the sender's time zone.
4. State-specific laws
- Florida Mini-TCPA: Express consent required; $500/text private right of action. The strictest state for SMS.
- Oklahoma Telephone Solicitation Act: Similar private right of action; scrub aggressively.
- Washington CEMA: Tight quiet hours and disclosure rules.
- Maryland, Virginia, and others: Disclose opt-out methods on every message.
Check each state where you operate. Rules change every legislative session.
The platform takes the stack
DealMako's SMS campaigns ship with 10DLC registration, DNC scrubbing, per-recipient timezone-enforced quiet hours, auto opt-out handling, and a 9-layer spam filter — so compliance is the default, not a checklist item. See the full wholesaling context in our complete guide.