Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2025 · 34 posts · 6 votes
Hello BP! I'm looking into the land wholesaling side of things. Would appreciate any feedback on the market here in California. Also what are your no -negotiables in this space. Let me know what is a must do or a definite no. Looking forward to hearing from the community.
My biggest no-negotiable with land: never confuse “cheap” with “valuable.”
The dirt is almost the easy part.
Access, zoning, utilities, water, septic, topography, flood/fire exposure, easements, parcel shape, entitlement path, buildability, and what the next buyer can actually do with it — that’s the deal.
I’d rather spend twice as much time killing bad parcels before contract than get really good at trying to sell problems afterward.
And in California, I’d have the transaction structure nailed down with the right title/escrow/legal people before scaling anything. There are too many ways to get cute with assignments or marketing and discover later that your process was the actual risk.
What we’ve found in property work generally is that the interesting advantage comes from turning all of that into a repeatable filter: parcel comes in, evidence gets pulled, constraints get surfaced, buyer/use cases get mapped, and only then does it deserve somebody’s attention.
Once you can do that consistently, land gets a lot more interesting because you stop looking for “deals” and start looking for parcels where you understand something the current owner or broader market hasn’t fully connected yet.
My biggest no-negotiable with land: never confuse “cheap” with “valuable.”
The dirt is almost the easy part.
Access, zoning, utilities, water, septic, topography, flood/fire exposure, easements, parcel shape, entitlement path, buildability, and what the next buyer can actually do with it — that’s the deal.
I’d rather spend twice as much time killing bad parcels before contract than get really good at trying to sell problems afterward.
And in California, I’d have the transaction structure nailed down with the right title/escrow/legal people before scaling anything. There are too many ways to get cute with assignments or marketing and discover later that your process was the actual risk.
What we’ve found in property work generally is that the interesting advantage comes from turning all of that into a repeatable filter: parcel comes in, evidence gets pulled, constraints get surfaced, buyer/use cases get mapped, and only then does it deserve somebody’s attention.
Once you can do that consistently, land gets a lot more interesting because you stop looking for “deals” and start looking for parcels where you understand something the current owner or broader market hasn’t fully connected yet.
Jorge, that's awesome! Good to see you here. Land wholesaling can be a great business. I primarily focus on houses, but every once in a while I come across a good piece of land, and I've done a few land deals too.
Like Michael said, due diligence is a must with land. It's a different set of questions than you'd ask with a house, especially when it comes to utilities and restrictions on what you can do with the property.
@Jorge Ruiz, I’ve invested in land and been on the lending side, and my first question is always, like @Michael Eskenasy said, who’s the end buyer, and why would they want this parcel?
I’d narrow California down to one county and learn actual sold prices. My non-negotiables are clear title, legal access, and verifying what the buyer can realistically do with the land, including zoning and utilities or well/septic.
A big discount means little if you can’t find a buyer. Build those buyer relationships early.
@G. Brian Davis thanks for responding! You speak of building relationships early. What advice as to what to say and/or what not to say when initially reaching out to a buyer? I look forward to your response.
Jorge, land wholesaling can definitely be a good opportunity, but I’d focus heavily on doing your due diligence before getting a property under contract. Zoning, legal access, utilities, environmental restrictions, and understanding what builders or investors are actually buying in your target market are all important.
I’d also recommend building relationships with cash buyers and developers before chasing deals. Knowing exactly what they’re looking for can save you a lot of time.
Another area I think gets overlooked is access to capital. I specialize in business funding, including 0% APR business credit cards, business lines of credit, and business loans. Depending on qualifications, these can help with eligible business expenses as you're building and growing your operation.
I’m curious, are you planning to focus strictly on assigning land contracts, or do you eventually want to purchase and develop properties yourself?