What do cash buyers actually want from a wholesaler and what kills deals instantly?

Question

Getting serious about building out my buyer network and want to make sure I'm approaching this the right way from the buyer's perspective.

For those of you who are active cash buyers — what does a wholesaler need to have dialed in before you'll even look at a deal they bring you? I'm talking about underwriting, comps, photos, proof of contract, ARV methodology, all of it.

Also curious — what's the fastest way a wholesaler loses your trust? Bad ARVs, inflated assignment fees, unclear title situations?

Context: I'm focused on Miami-Dade but working with sellers in several other major markets as well, so I'm also curious whether buyers who operate in multiple markets think differently about deals outside their home base.

Trying to learn from people who are actually closing deals before I start blasting my network.

Ryan D. · Answer

As an active cash buyer, the biggest deal-killers are inflated ARVs and underestimated rehab costs. If those two numbers aren’t consistently accurate, it’s hard to build trust or make deals pencil.

Mitch Kowalski · Answer

Wholesaler side here, 45+ deals in KC. You're dead right about the ARV. I've seen guys pad it by 10-15% thinking nobody will check and then wonder why their buyer list dried up after 2 deals. I always pull my own comps and if I can't get the ARV to pencil honestly I just don't take the deal. Your repeat buyers are worth more than any single assignment fee.

Bo Smith · Answer

Joshua, you're asking the right questions. From a cash buyer's perspective, the deal kills itself if the ARV is wrong or rehab is understated. That's what Ryan said, and he's exactly right. Most wholesalers get lazy on comps -- they pull five comps, average them, and call it a day. Then the deal doesn't appraise or sell because the actual market moved. Do the work. Pull 10-15 recent comps, not just the highest ones. Understand the submarket, know your buyer pool, and price based on what that specific buyer will actually pay.

Here's what actually makes me take a deal seriously: clear title, clean contract, photos that show the actual property condition (not just exteriors), and a rehab estimate that's realistic. I've backed out of deals because the wholesaler's "30K rehab" was obviously 50K. That shows me either they don't know what they're doing or they're being dishonest. Either way, I'm not calling them next time.

On multi-market deals: stay in your lane until you know the market. Miami-Dade comps are different from Atlanta or Dallas. If you're selling deals outside your core market, partner with a local who can vet it. Don't guess on ARV in a market you don't know cold.

How deep are you getting into comps for each deal -- and are you using MLS data or relying on Zillow averages?

Travis Goodwin · Answer

I’m not in the Florida market, but I’ve worked with enough buyers to see some patterns.

Honestly… it’s less about having everything “perfect” and more about whether I trust the person sending it.

I’ve seen buyers move on deals with missing pieces if they trust the wholesaler. And I’ve seen them ignore clean deals because something felt off.

What really makes a difference is clarity.

If I can look at what you send and immediately understand:

• What you have under contract
• Why the seller is selling
• What the real condition is (not the polished version)
• And where the deal could go wrong

I’m way more likely to take it seriously.

Most wholesalers try to make the deal look better than it is. That’s usually what kills trust.

The ones that stand out are the ones who just lay it out straight… good, bad, and ugly.

On the flip side, fastest way to get ignored is pretty simple:If I feel like I have to re-underwrite everything you send, I’m probably not looking at your next deal.

At the end of the day, buyers aren’t just buying deals… they’re buying confidence in the person bringing it to them.

Mitch Kowalski · Answer

Yeah, that's the part that doesn't get talked about enough. It's not just the wholesaler who looks bad when the deal doesn't pencil. The buyer wastes their inspection and appraisal money on a deal that was never going to close. I've had buyers come back to me after getting burned by other wholesalers and the first thing they say is "I lost $600 on an appraisal." That sticks. Seen it kill relationships permanently.

Igor Ganapolsky · Answer

ARV with the comp set attached — sold comps, dates, distance, and the adjustments you made. If I can retrace your number in two minutes, you're credible.

- Rehab shown as a band ($ range by scope tier), not a to-the-dollar figure. Fake precision is the tell of someone who hasn't done the work.

- One-pager: address, quick title status (probate? code liens? open permits?), occupancy, and your fee stated up front. I don't need the contract number to decide if I want to look — I need the facts.

- Knowing your own deal: if I ask "why is this an 85% ARV basis?" and you can't answer, done.

**Ghost:**

- Retail-priced deals wearing a "wholesale" label. If the spread isn't there before your fee, no amount of storytelling fixes it.

- ARVs built on actives or the one renovated comp on the street. Actives are asking prices, not value.

- "Trust me on title." South Florida has enough probate, estate, and code-enforcement weirdness that vague title = pass, every time.

- Shopping the same contract to my three competitors after telling me it's "exclusive." We talk.

The Miami-Dade wrinkle: your buyer pool differs by municipality — a Miami cash buyer's buy box (condo conversions, small multifamily) barely overlaps with a Broward/Palm Beach SFH flipper. Segment your list by ZIP + product type, not just "cash buyers."

What's worked for me: underwriting from public-record distress signals (probate, pre-foreclosure, code violations) instead of fighting over MLS listings — the seller motivation is real, and I can show the buyer why the price works.

Igor Ganapolsky · Answer

From the buyer side of a Broward as-is file: one address, sale/auction date, folio, MAO, and honest as-is notes. Inflated ARV and a rehab number that assumes a perfect permit path is the fastest no. Title/HOA silence is the second.

If you cannot answer 'what is the max I can pay and still have a deal after your fee' in one line, the packet is not ready. Don't blast the list until that number is on the page.

Joshua Whitaker · Answer

From the buy side, I’d say most of it comes down to two things: accuracy and consistency.

Like Ryan and Mitch mentioned, if ARV and rehab numbers aren’t grounded in reality, it’s hard to take anything else seriously. But even beyond that, what tends to separate wholesalers long-term is consistency — being able to trust that what you’re sending is going to be underwritten the same way every time.

What Andrew said about a “decision packet” is spot on. The easier you make it for a buyer to quickly understand the deal without having to rebuild everything themselves, the more likely they are to engage.

The deals that usually get attention (and repeat buyers) tend to have:

• Clear comps with reasoning, not just numbers• Honest condition — including what’s wrong, not just what’s been fixed• Defined exit assumptions (flip vs rental)• No surprises after initial review (title, occupancy, access, etc.)

On the flip side, the fastest way to get filtered out is exactly what Travis mentioned — when the buyer feels like they have to re-underwrite everything from scratch.

I’ve started to think less about “marketing deals” and more about how deals are structured and presented to buyers upfront. When that part is dialed in, a lot of the trust issues seem to solve themselves.

Curious for the buyers in here, if every deal came in with a consistent format and verified numbers, would that actually change how many deals you look at or move on?

What do cash buyers actually want from a wholesaler and what kills deals instantly?

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