Lender · Dundalk, MD · Member since 2016 · 15 posts · 7 votes
What is the best way to find deals from wholesalers have to offer?
Craigslist seems full of spam, deals where the "comps" only look like comps to the same person buying oceanfront property in Arizona.
Looking to begin networking at local REIA.
Still looking but haven't seen anything on my local MLS (looking in Baltimore or Harford County, Maryland) that seems to fit the mold of aquisition + repair = 70% or less of ARV. While this is a rule of thumb, it's actually quite important for me at this point in order to get the 0% financing I want. Anything that looks to fit or be close to 70% ends up being bid higher.
@Don Warfield your local REIA is the best place to look. Keep in mind that most wholesalers do not have legitimately good deals. Some will, but they may still have buyers willing to pay more than you want to pay.
The 70% MAO formula is just a rule of thumb. It is a hard target to hit, especially in this hot sellers market. You may need to find your own off-market deals to hit that mark.
@Don Warfield your local REIA is the best place to look. Keep in mind that most wholesalers do not have legitimately good deals. Some will, but they may still have buyers willing to pay more than you want to pay.
The 70% MAO formula is just a rule of thumb. It is a hard target to hit, especially in this hot sellers market. You may need to find your own off-market deals to hit that mark.
One of the best ways to go about getting whole sale deals is to, as you mentioned, go to network at local REI meet up groups as well as call the We Buy Houses signs in your local area. Most of the times these are wholesalers. Look for quality signs that may indicate that the wholesaler has at least some degree of professionalism in regards to advertisement. That can be the difference in getting a more thorough wholesaler than a fly by night one. Also as @Larry Turowski mentioned to get the criterion you are targeting you may want to advertise for your own leads in the particular markets you are looking for. Hope this helps, prosperous investing to you!
Thanks @Larry Turowski and @Jamal L. I had the idea to call those signs yesterday but wasn't sure if the deals they bring in are mostly kept by an investor or sold by wholesaler. I was thinking about trying them, myself; I've heard mixed reviews on them.
You can call the signs. Any deals as you get being new to a wholesaler e-mail list will not be stellar. Another rub is wholesalers are very unsophisticated players in the market so the deals you do get will have issues/problems/etc. that you will have to solve if you want to close the deal.
The wholesalers who have a more sophisticated business structure will keep the good deals for themselves and resell the deals that are near market once the wholesaler's markup is added. So while they have deal flow, the deals won't be for you and will waste your time.
If you want deals 30% off ARV you'll need to have funding ready and start your own marketing program to find someone ready to ditch their house quickly. I suggest you go into the District Court and ask to inspect the eviction filings. Look up the property owners, try to call, write, go knock on their door if you have to.
@Don Warfield you have probably heard this before but real estate is a numbers game. Most properties you evaluate simply will not be deals. You just have to look at more properties. Also many of the best deals are not found - they are negotiated. Keep this in mind when you look at listings or other deals.
Most wholesalers are not very good at what they do. Right now even the good wholesalers know some buyers will pay a premium price.
You may have to decide are you going to pay a little more and hope the market rises and things work out, or are you going to be more patient and wait for the better deals.
Text me your name and describe what you are looking for (rehabs, rentals, areas, etc.) and I will add you to my text service. I have tons of stuff come across my desk everyday. I can't do every deal so I share them with the people I know are good buyers.