MLS Listings Wholesaling through real Estate Agent

[Savannah King]

Hello, Im new to breaking out into the real estate world. I am trying to wholesale properties. I have a real estate broker sending me investment properties to my MLS...

I haven't not acted on them yet, simply because I don't know where to start. I'm not sure exactly what to tell the agent.

Also, I've been told if the property is listed on the MLS or on the market, more than likely there's already competition for the property. Can anybody advise how to go after properties through an agent and if it may or may not even be worth going through an agent?

[Nicole A.]

Hi Savannah. Wholesalers almost always get their deals from properties that are off market. So getting an agent to send you MLS properties is likely not going to get you anywhere.

What you do basically is know a good area to invest and send letters to the owners of those properties. You tell them that you buy homes in just about any condition/situation and you can close quickly. Once you get a response from someone, you can be more specific and let them know that you have a network of buyers and one of them will actually be the end buyer.

You would need to negotiate a low enough price with the owner so that  you can get your fee and still sell it at an attractive price to investors. So you'll need to know the market well, what fixed up homes sell for, and how to generally estimate repair costs to know if you can make a deal or not. 

So for wholesaling, this is really you finding the deals. Not an agent. You will be finding homeowners on your own and contacting them and signing a sales contract with them. I recommend you go to local REIA meetings and to read a lot on this website as well as listen to podcasts. Use the search feature and search "wholesale" to study. Good luck!