Houston, TX · Member since 2014 · 22 posts · 1 vote
Hello everyone! I've been researching quite a bit about wholesaling lately & am trying to figure out if this is for me at this time. Right now, I'm going to college part time (3 classes per semester) & working at a job part time. In the future, I'm planning to go for my master's degree so I'm going to be pretty busy with that. What I'm wondering is, how much can be made by wholesaling only part time if you do a good job at it? Can one make in the neighborhood of enough to live off of?? I'd like to make more money & leave my current part time job behind. And I have other financial goals as well. Do any of you do this part time only?
What I'm wondering is, how much can be made by wholesaling only part time if you do a good job at it?
I imagine a good bit can be made even part time...assuming you do a good job (as you say)...
Of course, to do a good job, you're probably looking at 1000-2000 hours of study, research and intensive learning. Are you willing to invest that upfront?
@Jamie Jacobs I'm going to be a contrary voice to those here that make it sound prohibitively difficult. @John Horner gave you some great advice. Make a colleague request, call him up and talk with him.
First, it is absolutely about finding the deals. However, to even know what a deal is you may need to find some serious buyers and ask them. For instance, if you were to ask me, I'd say I am looking for houses in my area that are 3br/1.5ba, 1000+sqft with garage at 70% to 75% of ARV (after repair value) minus repairs. Generally houses that are going to sell in the $80K to $140K range after repair. The 70% to 75% is depending on how hungry I am. Investors in your area may have different criteria.
Market, market, market, persist, persist, persist, be prepared for a slow ramp up, and you will do well.
@John Horner I don't have to look them up in any forum I have had several of them in my portfolio. I never do or suggest anyone to do subject to deals there is a lot liability. I stay away from them personally. It is all about the approach to find these deals. Think about it like this: a investors buys homes 20 years ago and builds a portfolio for his business. He now is ready to retire and unload some of his homes. There are no mortgages on these properties he is not cash poor so by selling a lot of homes he is going to take a huge hit on taxes. He is used to collecting a rent check every month. Now he collects an interest and principle payment with no head ache of tenants. Also how many people are going to be able to round up the capital to buy a portion of his portfolio ? Not many and most of the experience investors like myself want the deal at a deep discount. That is just one scenario. But keep in mind they have to own outright.
There are many other ways.
My point is that when you are starting out and you are able to get one maybe two properties this way it gives your experience from numerous angles to carry over to other portions of your business. If you come out the gate wholesaling and you meet real buyers give them a sorry deal with sorry numbers do you think they will take you seriously moving forward? No is the answer. But if you make a minor beginners mistake or your property you can learn from this and not carry it over to a deal with a potential client who you can consistently do business with. Closing a deal period will give the newbie confidence they need to make there goals happen.
I do more rehabs and rentals than anything else. I have wholesaled some deals that I did not have time to do but I think a lot of newbies have a glorious picture of what it is and that is far from truth.
It's like selling computers when you have no idea how to cut it on or plug it in.
I think that one thing a lot of new investors don't understand is that wholesaling and rehabbing are a great way to build capital but.......what is the end game? That won't last forever..... They don't plan on or focus on building income producing properties that should be the goal.
@Rick H. I've read a bit about bird-dogging & thought it was a good idea. Isn't it technically illegal though?? I thought the next best thing would be to pair up with somebody or somebodies who could buy (with cash) & let them sort of critique my deals & have a discounted price on the deal they looked at if they wanted it.
@Joshua Houchins While seller financing sounds interesting, I'm not sure I really want More debt beyond my student loans. haha. I had been looking at renting first & still think of doing that at some point, but when I have the capital to just buy it & save all that money in interest. I'm always chewing on ideas though...
@Larry Turowski That's exactly what I've come to the conclusion that needs to happen! I don't want to make a move without talking to or knowing anyone. Thought I'd probe around a bit before I actually started getting into the more of the details of the market in the area, repair costs, marketing, & the rest of it too. See? You get me! =]
@Rick Harmon I've read a bit about bird-dogging & thought it was a good idea. Isn't it technically illegal though?? I thought the next best thing would be to pair up with somebody or somebodies who could buy (with cash) & let them sort of critique my deals & have a discounted price on the deal they looked at if they wanted it.
You hit the nail on the head here. Birddogging is technically illegal under most circumstances. Performing Real Estate Services for compensation without a license.
You hit the nail on the head with partnering with a cash buyer. I actually sold my first 2 wholesales to the same buyer and we partnered after that. He has bought a few of the properties we've brought in, we've wholesaled a few, wholeTAILed a few and finishing up our first fix and flip together.
Partnering with someone with capital is an amazing way to grow your business fast as well as learn from someone who knows how to handle money.
The more sensible path is to become a skilled salesperson, knock on doors of people who own property (or have a legal interest) and who have a problem they don't know how to solve and YOU DO!
After honing your skills as a nose-to-nose salesperson, learn how to multiply your sales efforts and clone yourself by becoming a skilled marketer and effective copywriter.
This seems like a great idea. If I may ask, how are you establishing the commissions to ensure you are being paid for connecting your buyer and sellers? Do you plug in your commission or fees for your services in the contracts or?
I would join a local REIA group and find a few wholesales and work with them (finder fees, etc) and learn the business. You can make good money but also learn to make great money.
@Jamie Jacobs I think if you learn the basics of wholesaling, and are consistent, and if your area doesn't have a lot of competition. I think you could do well. If its enough to live on? I think that is dependent on your lifestyle.
Bird dogging is definitely a good way to start. No it is not illegal in any way. You just need to find a wholesaler or similar looking for deals and help them find some.
Hello everyone! I've been researching quite a bit about wholesaling lately & am trying to figure out if this is for me at this time. Right now, I'm going to college part time (3 classes per semester) & working at a job part time. In the future, I'm planning to go for my master's degree so I'm going to be pretty busy with that. What I'm wondering is, how much can be made by wholesaling only part time if you do a good job at it? Can one make in the neighborhood of enough to live off of?? I'd like to make more money & leave my current part time job behind. And I have other financial goals as well. Do any of you do this part time only?
I just started wholesaling literally about a week ago. The very first thing I did was build a buyers list. I called a bunch of landlords and investors listed on the county assessor website and tax sale lists. Most of them sent mme their emails so I can send them deals in the future. So far, I have a list of about 120 potential buyers, at least eight of the 20 or so that I called today responded with their emails.
In my opinion, after reading, listening, and taking notes... I think building a buyers list is the most essential and first step in the wholesale process. Some may argue this but I see the buyers list as a sort-of bank account full of funds ready to use if the deal is right. I'm going to call some more people on my list tomorrow AM. I'm already feeling pretty confident knowing that I have real buyers ready for when I do find those deals.
In my opinion, after reading, listening, and taking notes... I think building a buyers list is the most essential and first step in the wholesale process.
Most experienced investors would disagree with you there...
Finding buyers is easy. I've wholesaled a couple dozen deals over the years...you know how many buyers I have on my buyer's list? ZERO! I have no list of buyers. When I get a deal, I do four things:
1. List it on the MLS
2. Post it here on BP
3. Put it on Craigslist
4. Send it to my local REIA mailing list
If it's a good deal, it sells quickly. If it's an average deal, it takes longer to sell. If I ever posted a bad deal, it likely wouldn't sell. And having a buyers list wouldn't change a thing.
Not to mention, I bet that 90% of the people on your buyers list aren't serious buyers. They won't tell you that, but it's true.
In my experience, new wholesalers tend to focus on building a buyers list because they want to avoid the hard work -- finding deals.
I don't mean to burst your bubble, but after years of seeing thousands of people come through these forums, you start to notice trends. And a common one is people who want to wholesale and who are are convinced that finding buyers is the most important first step. They tend to not be around very long...
In my opinion, after reading, listening, and taking notes... I think building a buyers list is the most essential and first step in the wholesale process.
Most experienced investors would disagree with you there...
Finding buyers is easy. I've wholesaled a couple dozen deals over the years...you know how many buyers I have on my buyer's list? ZERO! I have no list of buyers. When I get a deal, I do four things:
1. List it on the MLS
2. Post it here on BP
3. Put it on Craigslist
4. Send it to my local REIA mailing list
If it's a good deal, it sells quickly. If it's an average deal, it takes longer to sell. If I ever posted a bad deal, it likely wouldn't sell. And having a buyers list wouldn't change a thing.
Not to mention, I bet that 90% of the people on your buyers list aren't serious buyers. They won't tell you that, but it's true.
In my experience, new wholesalers tend to focus on building a buyers list because they want to avoid the hard work -- finding deals.
I don't mean to burst your bubble, but after years of seeing thousands of people come through these forums, you start to notice trends. And a common one is people who want to wholesale and who are are convinced that finding buyers is the most important first step. They tend to not be around very long...
I've spent the last two days calling potential buyers. What's your main approach to getting leads? Yellow letter?
These days, most of my leads come from other investors who I partner with, from wholesalers and from agents who have distressed pocket listings. We'll be doing some yellow letters over the next few months, but mostly looking for rental properties, not flips.
Every area is going to be different, and when it comes to finding motivated sellers, there's no one-size-fits-all. Play to your strengths (time? money? people skills? etc) and don't give up!
Im a wholesaler from Chicago just finishing up my first full year of investing, and in 2014 I did a couple of wholesale deals netting me about $7k or so total. Usually the first year is the toughest, but if you educate yourself not only through books, podcasts, networking events etc., and also through "real-world" experience then I think you can not only make decent money in this particular field, but you can make a living doing this full-time. Before I started last year I never even heard of wholesaling, but here I stand today with deals under my belt, more properties under contract, and sky's the limit to what I can do going forward. I always recommend people to invest in getting licensed not only because I started out doing that, but it will teach you so much about the real estate industry, and I think it will make you not only a better wholesaler, but a better real estate investor altogether whether you wholesale, fix and flip, etc. Just take action though and do something. The sooner you jump in and start the quicker you start learning, and the better off you will be. I wish you much success, and if I can help in any way feel free to reach out. This is a great community, a few cynical and grumpy folks here and there LOL, but a great resource for assistance nonetheless. I look forward to seeing you around the site and hearing your success stories. Good luck
I'm planning to go for my master's degree so I'm going to be pretty busy with that. What I'm wondering is, how much can be made by wholesaling only part time if you do a good job at it?
We're not wholesalers but we have sold some deals which would be classified as wholesale. We've also purchased a number of deals from wholesalers over the years. The deals we've purchased have only been from wholesalers that have completed a few renovations in their careers and/or have a real estate portfolio of their own. The numbers on their deals have always been accurate and verifiable. They have also provided us w/ more than the numbers. My opinion- If you want to do a "good job" wholesaling, then get a masters degree in understanding the value of the property; understanding renovation costs; have a network of handymen, GCs, tradesmen available to provide bids when needed...... Also make sure you have access to $ to really control the deals that you're trying to sell. If you treat it like a "part time" job you'll make "part time " money or no money. If you treat it like a business then.....
@Joesph Ball I have been considering it & will look into it further.@Crystal Smith The idea is to stay small. I'm not changing my master's... Other people do it part time. I'm just looking for input about that.
@Jamie Jacobs , I have been wholesaling part time for the last 18 months. In 2014 I closed 17 deals. The first 6 months are going to be the hardest so start ASAP. Don't just educate yourself, get out there and take action in the meantime. You don't need to know what to do at the end of the deal until you have something worth wholesaling.
Talk to as many investors as you can and keep in touch with them. You have to stick with it. Even if you work your butt off for 6 months you may not have a deal yet, because consistent deals come from consistent marketing, and you really need to have substantial dollars to pay for multiple marketing channels as well as the resources to work all the leads.
I always suggest new wholesalers listen to the first 80 episodes or so of Sean Terry's free podcast. There some guru-ish stuff in there but it is a ton of good info to get started. After 80 he just goes full Guru and it's nothing but promoting his coaching program.
@Jamie Jacobs the @ name thing is: shift and @ sign at the same time and then keep holding them down and hit the ? key and a list of names will pop up.
As for wholesaling. I was in your position a year ago and I started wholesaling in December. I'm having problems with my first deal but hopefully signing contracts on Friday. Here's what I've learned.
You must have the type of life that is flexible. This means if you're at a bar with your friends on a friday night and your phone rings you run outside and take it. you will have a much better chance of moving a deal forward if you engage them from the beginning. I will pull to the side of the road to answer a call if I have to. You have to be accomodating. If they want to meet Saturday morning you're there. Remember, you are coordinating sellers that are in distress so they can be squirrelly and then coordinating with contractors and no offense to contractors but they are notoriously flaky. So what seems to be a straight forward process on paper. Locate a seller, put it under contract and find a buyer. Can take many many emails, meetings, false starts etc. People do it (listen to podcast 91 with Ben Grise) but it's not easy. It also depends on your market. Wholesaling works well in depressed markets where poeple don't have great luck on the MLS. I Iive in CT where the market is starting to climb again and deals are fewer and far between now. Good Luck!