{"id":121535,"date":"2020-01-29T14:30:10","date_gmt":"2020-01-29T21:30:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/?p=121535"},"modified":"2021-03-16T14:58:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-16T20:58:11","slug":"wholesaling-flipping-which-more-lucrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wholesaling-flipping-which-more-lucrative","title":{"rendered":"Which Is More Lucrative: Wholesaling or Flipping? (From Someone Who Tried Both)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Like everyone else, I was captivated by the glitz and glamour of <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2014\/01\/07\/flipping-houses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">flipping<\/a>. Now I believe fix and flipping is overrated, and wholesaling is more lucrative in the long run.<\/p>\n<p>Let me provide a little perspective before I dive into this thesis. Formerly, I was a firm believer in fix and flipping.<\/p>\n<p>The remarkable transformations flippers did were enticing. And along with all the beautiful rehabs, flippers were making sizable profits.<\/p>\n<p>I was hooked, like many other newcomers to the industry. So, I got started.<\/p>\n<h2>Starting Out in Real Estate Investing<\/h2>\n<p>Believing all the money was in fix and flipping, I was dying to find an entry point into the world of real estate investing. But not having much money myself, I chose the low-hanging fruit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/ultimate-beginners-guide-real-estate-wholesaling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">wholesaling<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-121845\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/compare-contrast.jpg\" alt=\"Young handsome man wearing glasses over isolated background Smiling showing both hands open palms, presenting and advertising comparison and balance\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/compare-contrast.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/compare-contrast-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<h3>Beginning as a Wholesaler<\/h3>\n<p>I dove into wholesaling with the mindset of it being temporary. I wanted to be a flashy fix and flipper with the nice cars and stacks of cash, so I could make it rain in the club. (Just joking. I&#8217;m very reserved. Lol.)<\/p>\n<p>Like most things, it took some time to build momentum. This is not told by most of the gurus, so I became discouraged and had to deal with self-doubt.<\/p>\n<p>After months that felt like years, momentum did happen. I grew to be a successful wholesaler. I had the marketing down to a science, I was building relationships, and things were moving. I was considered successful by most wholesaling metrics.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2016-04-16-take-action\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Why the Strategy You Choose Won\u2019t Make or Break Your Investing Career (But Your Inaction Will)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Taking that deep dive into flipping was naturally the next step, right?<\/p>\n<p>I was seeing what I got a property under contract for, how much I sold it for, and then how much the flipper sold it for. It felt like I was earning pennies on the dollar compared to what flippers were making off my deals.<\/p>\n<p>So, I dove in&#8230;<\/p>\n<h3>Transitioning Into Flipping<\/h3>\n<p>Without going into the numbers of the flips I&#8217;ve done, I was not impressed by the margins. After the title fees, rehab cost, buyer concessions, attorney fees, holding costs, and on and on and on\u2014these deals were not as profitable.<\/p>\n<p>Considering the amount of risk and the time spent on each project, the returns were too low, the money was slow to come, and it was just tons of work. I came to the conclusion that it was much more beneficial for me to continue wholesaling and using the proceeds to build a portfolio.<\/p>\n<p>After all, creating passive income was the goal.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-112579\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victory-house-hack.jpg\" alt=\"Silhouette of male on the mountain. Leadership Concept\" width=\"702\" height=\"336\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victory-house-hack.jpg 702w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/victory-house-hack-300x144.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 702px) 100vw, 702px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Why Wholesaling Is the Winning Strategy<\/h2>\n<p>After analyzing a few of the flips and wholesale deals I had done, the decision was made: I&#8217;m all in on wholesaling!<\/p>\n<p>This is not the attractive thing to say, but I determined that wholesaling was much more lucrative. I love the returns I saw on my wholesale deals versus flipping. On average, our close amount is just over $10,000 per deal (with some outliers where we made less and others where we hit home runs of $20K to $40K).<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Related: <\/em><\/strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/2015-05-08-type-property-investor-adding-portfolio\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Type of Property That Every Investor Should Be Adding to Their Portfolio<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>With the time and energy it took to finish the work and close the deal on a flip, we could have completed numerous wholesale deals. Plus, there have been wholesale deals where I&#8217;ve made more assigning or double closing the transaction than the flipper made. This was not because it was a bad deal, but I was in, out, and on to the next deal.<\/p>\n<p>In conclusion, many people talk about the disadvantages of wholesaling versus flipping. But I will stand on a mountain and shout it to everyone: Give me the wholesale cash, so I can buy more <a href=\"\/renewsblog\/2013\/01\/04\/how-to-rent-your-house\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rentals<\/a>!<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/store\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-114267 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2.jpg\" alt=\"ad-bookstore\" width=\"706\" height=\"125\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2.jpg 706w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2-300x53.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/5.2-702x125.jpg 702w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 706px) 100vw, 706px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>Which strategy do you prefer: wholesaling or flipping? Why?<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Let&#8217;s talk in the comment section below!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a real estate investor, I have experience in both wholesaling and fix and flips. But after reflecting on past projects in terms of time, effort, and returns, I now know which I prefer. Forget what&#8217;s popular, forget what&#8217;s glamorous. This is the strategy that will help me achieve my end goal. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1580,"featured_media":121846,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5526],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-wholesaling"],"acf":[],"comment_count":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1580"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biggerpockets.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}