Want to Start Investing But Unsure About the Economy? Start Wholesaling

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Back in 2002, I made my first deal as a real estate wholesaler.

I was literally walking the streets looking for a deal when I came across a tired landlord looking to sell his property. 

Beforehand, I had already found a buyer and was able to sell the property to them. In the end, after all of the fees and titles, I ended up making a profit of $47k. 

To say this was life-transforming is an understatement. 

If you’re starting in real estate, you might be skeptical about where investing is headed. Reading the news, you can see that both the Dow Jones and the NASDAQ are down 6% and 17%, respectively. 

While I’ve never been a fan of the stock market, I am a trading man and do far better in Vegas than I do in stocks. If you do invest, you probably know that the market tends to react in times of uncertainty. 

And boy, were the last 2-3 years uncertain!

Because the market is so uncertain, be sure to check out the new On The Market podcast featuring Jamil and others as they talk about the market, economic trends, and prepare you for the next stage of real estate investing.

For instance, the International Monetary Fund recently held a meeting. Its chairwoman, Kristalina Georgieva, announced that they would become more aggressive on funding. 

When Chairwoman Georgieva speaks, investors listen carefully. 

With this announcement, plus the uncertainty we’re still facing in other sectors of the economy, bond yields rose, which directly correlates with the economy and explains the rise in mortgage rates. 

But even with all of this going on, you can still start investing in real estate. 

How? Wholesaling. 

Wholesaling is probably the easiest and fastest way to get your feet wet as a new real estate investor. Two big things can help kick start your business: 

1. Tools and resources 
2. Buyers ready to purchase

Let’s look at both of these.

1. Invest in a Tool That Helps You Find Properties 

When it comes to wholesaling, you don’t need to be at a location physically, at least not yet. 

One of the best things you can do is find a tool or resource, like BatchLeads, that can show you where investors are buying properties in a specific region. 

If you see a neighborhood where the market is hot, properties going for cash, or have a lot of attention, that’s a great sign of a hot market. 

With these tools, you can easily find these ideal markets without physically being there. 

2. Let the Buyers Do the Work for You 

You are a legitimate buyer since you have the money to purchase a property. So, if there is a property that has potential, lock it up with a nice due diligence period. 

Instead of flying out to the property, send the deal out with a $5,000 mark-up to other investors in the area. 

This gives you a pulse of what buyers are seeing and what they’re telling you about the wholesale market in that area. Let them do the work for you! 

Let them do your due diligence, bring the contractors, do the inspections, and then let them tell you if you’ve got a good deal or if you’re out to lunch. 

When you have a cash buyer, it helps legitimize you as a wholesaler and when you have a property with potential, ask the buyer what they believe would be a suitable selling price. 

You should also go a step further and learn how to underwrite and comp properties. By doing this, you can get a good idea of what housing is going for in that area.

If you’ve got a good deal, you could take that $5,000 wholesale fee and sell the contract to another investor and let them deal with the property themselves. 

Boom! You’ve made $5,000.

Or you could decide that all the buyers want this property, so you choose to keep it for yourself to sell. 

Either way, you’ve saved yourself some money from traveling, made $5k, or bought yourself a property. 

Despite what’s happening in the world or the stock market, there are so many opportunities to get started in real estate. 

There’s no better time to do so! You just need to take the first step.

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.