@Brock Marosz I would start by learning the basics of wholesaling, contracts, ARV, repair estimates and how to find motivated sellers. Also, join a local REIA group in the Charlotte area to network with active investors and wholesalers as that can help you learn much faster and make real connections.
Hey Brock, welcome! Charlotte's a solid market to learn wholesaling in. I'd focus first on understanding how to find distressed properties, analyze deals, and build a buyers list. The local REI meetups around Charlotte can be huge for meeting cash buyers and experienced wholesalers. Hope you're able to connect with some people in the area.
At a high level it comes down to three things: finding motivated sellers, getting properties under contract at a discount, and then assigning that contract to a cash buyer for a fee.
I wouldn’t even think of it as a strict order because in practice you’re kind of building all three at the same time. You’re learning lead generation strategies (driving for dollars, cold calling, texting, direct mail, networking with agents and other investors), while also starting to understand how to quickly evaluate deals and estimate spreads, while at the same time building relationships and growing your buyers list.
That buyers list piece especially comes from networking. Talking to cash buyers, landlords, rehabbers, and active investors in your market so when you do get something under contract, you already know who it can go to.
Wholesaling has also gotten a bit of a bad reputation because of the “quick money” marketing you see online, but if you’re serious about it, it’s really just a consistent, grind-heavy business like anything else in real estate. The people who treat it like a real business usually separate themselves pretty quickly.
Hey Brock, great that you're looking to get into wholesaling. Charlotte is actually a solid market for it.
The way we got started was pulling data from PropStream or Propwire (Propwire is free) and reaching out to homeowners through texts and calls to see if they'd be open to selling. We used scripts from experienced wholesalers as a foundation for those conversations. Once we found an interested seller, we'd bring a buyer in and watch how they analyzed the deal.
Over time we learned exactly what buyers wanted and took over that side ourselves. We started this in college and closed 25+ deals in about 2 years. We now average around 8-10 closed deals a month across Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and other major metros, so Charlotte is a market we know well.
First, make sure wholesaling is legal in your area. In Pennsylvania, they passed a law a couple of years ago making it illegal unless real estate transfer taxes are paid for both transactions...when the wholesaler buys, and when the wholesaler sells. So, the wholesaler must be able to fund the transaction to buy.