A Shot of Clarity: What the Coffey Ruling Means for the Real Estate Industry

The housing market is buzzing, and agents are racing to get listings any way they can. But even with off-market deals and cash offers flying around, real estate pros need to be careful. A recent ruling out of Arizona shows that not every outreach effort runs afoul of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

In Coffey v. Fast Easy Offer LLC, No. CV-24-02725-PHX-SPL, 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106786 (D. Ariz. June 5, 2025), Vicki Coffey sued Fast Easy Offer (FEO) and affiliated Keller Williams entities, alleging that she received multiple calls and texts asking if she wanted to sell her home while her number was listed on the national Do-Not-Call Registry. She claimed the messages were illegal solicitations, arguing that FEO contacted her not only to buy her house but to generate leads, reassign contracts, or offer real estate representation.

The court, however, disagreed. It focused on the statutory definition of “telephone solicitation,” which under the TCPA means a call encouraging the purchase or investment in goods, services, or property. The court noted that the messages Coffey received were offers to buy her property—not solicitations to sell her anything. Even if FEO stood to profit from the transaction or charged what Coffey called an “effective fee” deducted from the offer price, she would still be receiving money, not spending it.

Furthermore, simply directing Coffey to a website with advertised real estate services didn’t change that conclusion. As the court explained, “the mere inclusion of a link to a website on which a consumer can purchase a product does not transform the whole communication into a solicitation.”

Though sympathetic to the idea that companies like FEO ultimately profit from these exchanges, the court held firm: the TCPA doesn’t prohibit businesses from contacting consumers to make offers to buy their homes. That might feel like a loophole to some, but as the judge wrote, “this Court cannot rewrite what Congress wrote simply to make the outcome fairer to Plaintiff.”

For real estate pros, the takeaway is clear. If you are making genuine offers to buy property and not pitching a service or asking the homeowner to pay or sign up, you are likely safe from TCPA “solicitation” claims. But once your message starts encouraging someone to spend money or use your services the legal risks start brewing.