Anyone experience wholesalers pushing bad properties looking for suckers?

Question

I've been in this game for awhile and most of the wholesale properties these wholesalers push are really bad. I'm not talking messy or have something wrong with it, I'm talking, it's right next to a freeway or power lines and they're just hoping for someone to take the bait.

Most of their numbers are way off and inflated. Numbers don't pencil .. ever.

Anyone else experience this? Anyone have advice on how to get the really good deals??
I live in washington state in Seattle

Aristotle Kumpis · Answer

I don't know how wholesalers are making money. Especially the larger companies that sell at almost retail. Mt guess is that they sell to a brand new investor who doesn't know what they are doing or doesn't care if they make only a few thousand dollars from it

Divin Kanyama · Answer

I have seen the same thing, @Peter J Kim . A lot of wholesale deals are marketed based on an optimistic after-repair value, light rehab assumptions, and little consideration for location issues such as freeway noise, power lines, steep lots, or difficult resale. In the Seattle market, where acquisition and construction costs are already high, one bad assumption can eliminate the entire margin.

My approach is to treat the wholesaler’s numbers as marketing—not underwriting. I verify the resale value using recent, nearby, and genuinely comparable sales; estimate repairs with current local labor and material costs; include holding, financing, selling, permit, and contingency costs; and set my offer based on the return I need. If the deal only works when everything goes perfectly, it is not a deal.

The better opportunities usually come from relationships and consistency rather than a public buyer list. I would focus on:

·        Building relationships with investor-friendly agents like yourself, property managers, contractors, probate and estate professionals, and local landlords.

·        Following up directly with owners of vacant, inherited, distressed, or poorly managed properties—professionally and consistently.

·        Networking with smaller wholesalers and asking to see opportunities before they are broadly marketed.

·        Driving target neighborhoods and tracking properties over time instead of chasing every deal across the region.

·        Submitting disciplined offers and being willing to walk away. A reliable buyer who closes can eventually receive first look at better opportunities.

For Seattle-area deals, I would also pay close attention to permitting, zoning, sewer capacity, critical areas, tenant protections, and neighborhood-specific buyer demand. The strongest deal is not always the largest discount on paper; it is often the property with a clear value-add plan, manageable execution risk, and more than one profitable exit strategy.

You are not being overly cautious—the fact that the numbers do not pencil is useful information. Keep your standards, build your own acquisition channels, and let other buyers take the deals that require unrealistic assumptions. Good deals are harder to find, but they do exist, and disciplined underwriting is what keeps a promising purchase from becoming an expensive lesson.

Andrew Caranto · Answer

For Seattle, I'd track down who bought comparable fixer properties recently and ask their agents which wholesalers actually brought worthwhile deals. Then hand those wholesalers your area, price range and repair limits.

For a house next to a freeway, ask for sold comps with similar exposure plus an itemized repair scope. If the spread only shows up against quieter-street comps, there's no reason to keep spending time on that package.

Chris Seveney · Answer

this is 90% of wholesalers. most of them do not even understand that they will give you a sales price and an after-repair value but completely fail and ignore telling you how much it would cost to renovate. they cannot calculate it or give you any idea so you even know what the spread is.

Peter J Kim · Answer

Totally.. not experienced in reno costs nor are they agents with accurate ARV's. Ugh.