I'm looking to wholesale a property in 38115 zip code. Problem is, homeowner owes 108k. My numbers could be a bit off but it's worth about 155k. Home needs cosmetic repairs but is otherwise in great shape. Other homes in the area are selling at around $65 per square ft. With the margins being so thin I'm thinking a wholesale to another investor is out the question. Would it be possible to just wholesale it with a lease option or just "whole-tail" it, meaning I'd put it under contract and just market it to a buyer looking to live there? The home will almost certainly qualify for a mortgage but with me being a newbie I'm not sure if you can qualify for a mortgage on a home with an existing mortgage. Any feedback welcomed...thanks

Depending on your state laws it may be illegal to market a property you do not own without a RE license.

@Mike Briggs can you buy it 'subject to', keeping the existing mortgage in place. Does the current owner want any cash to move or will they sell it for the $108k debt? Tell him/her there is no margin at retail price so you're not able to help at retail value. Not every deal is worth pursuing, sorry.

@Mike Briggs ,

It seems a bit too skinny for a wholesale deal, and while you mention what the owner owes, you didn't mention what you could buy it for.  It all depends on his level of motivation and where he's flexible - terms or price.

You could buy it yourself using a HML, do the minor cosmetic repairs or just clean it up, and then sell it retail. You could also see if he's willing to accept owner-financing or Subject-To. Either this can work with some creativity, or it's just too lean and you need to move on.

Originally posted by @Mike Briggs :

I'm looking to wholesale a property in 38115 zip code. Problem is, homeowner owes 108k. My numbers could be a bit off but it's worth about 155k. Home needs cosmetic repairs but is otherwise in great shape. Other homes in the area are selling at around $65 per square ft. With the margins being so thin I'm thinking a wholesale to another investor is out the question. Would it be possible to just wholesale it with a lease option or just "whole-tail" it, meaning I'd put it under contract and just market it to a buyer looking to live there? The home will almost certainly qualify for a mortgage but with me being a newbie I'm not sure if you can qualify for a mortgage on a home with an existing mortgage. Any feedback welcomed...thanks

 You are doing wholesaling wrong.

Its not your fault, everywhere you turn people give wrong advise.

See before you make an offer, you need to establish if this is a flip deal or a buy and hold deal. Someone that will buy it as a rental, can offer a lot more for the house because they do not have the same costs as someone flipping the house.

Yes the deal is still skinny, but if the house is in a great location, lets say a college town, you could still make a few grand on it if you market it to a B&H investor instead of a flipper.

No matter the stats and details, make sure you ALWAYS identify the niche before you just make an offer.

I would redo the numbers but this time with a buy and hold buyer in mind.

Did the owner agree to a price?  Doesn’t say in your post