All Forum Posts by: Braden C.

The fact that you have MLS access is great, that's so important IMO.

Unless you have a lot of experience with wholesaling, I would advise against trying to wholesale REO and short sale properties. Most new wholesalers who don't have any training won't know what a deal is until they've failed on multiple contracts. If you start doing this with realtors and asset managers you're going to get a bad reputation. You'll have a lot of people who won't deal with you by the time you're experienced enough to make the right offers.

In my area there are 2-3 other well known wholesalers and probably another 10-15 wannabes. I've had multiple realtors tell me that the experienced wholesalers offers are almost always all within a few hundred dollars of each other.

Most successful wholesalers are going to cater to all different kinds of buyers. What might not be a good deal for you as a fix and flip investor might be a great deal for a buy and hold investor. I sent 1,000 letters to Orlando a few months ago and will be closing my 4th wholesale deal from that batch this week. You probably would have thought 3 of those deals were bad if you're looking for properties to flip.

This is why I never recommend new wholesalers to only look for properties that their buyers want. I had zero buyers in Orlando and sold three of those properties to the first buyers who looked at them and the fourth to the second buyer. Wholesalers should be looking for great deals, and that's where the majority fail. They don't know what a great deal is or how to identify it.

Brian L. You might have already said this but I didn't read the entire thread so I am just responding to your most recent post, do you work full time? If you do, then I understand the prescreening with the VM, if you don't then you should be able to handle the call volume. Like you said, you'll lose leads by not answering. I do 1,000 letters per week and take all the calls, as long as they're made at a reasonable hour.

You might want to consider rewording your letter to do the prescreening for you and avoid the time wasters altogether.

Ivan Roberts I think almost everyone started out nervous and stumbled over our words more than once. I remember the first time I hit a golf ball, it was awful. Although it's still awful, I am a lot better now then what I was the first time I took a swing.

I always suggest new wholesalers or anyone who is considering it to make sure they have a thorough business plan and enough start-up capital to build a long term sustainable business. It's not nearly as simple as everyone tries to make it out to be. Most of the time those who say it is are either guru's trying to sell you their $25k course or someone who only has a couple deals under their belt and are suddenly experts.

There is money to be made with wholesaling but you need a business model that consistently provides you deals month after month.

Any of the program's that make outrageous claims automatically scream scam to me. They must spend a lot of money on AdWords though, I can't tell you how many times in the past month I've seen ads for "the cataclysmic shift that will make 95% of real estate investors impotent within the next 12 months" or "every successful real estate investor has a mentor". So, 95% of us are out of business within 12 months and apparently everyone who is successful also currently has a mentor. This is of course according to some fine gurus ;)

Minh L. You're 100% correct on wholesalers needing to solve problems for a seller. That's why you might talk with 500 sellers before you get a deal, 499 of them might not have a problem. A lot of sellers will call just to get an offer to see what they could sell their house for.

This is a big reason why wholesalers need to be great at marketing. Personally, my letter strategically eliminates most tire kickers with just one or two carefully worded sentences. This took me sending and tracking tens of thousands of letters with different ad copies to get it just where I wanted it.

Sean- Keep at it, you're going to get there. I remember when you first started posting and thinking to myself, "this guy will do well".

Chris Martin For me, it doesn't matter since it's my firm but before I had my own firm I did have to pay a fee to my broker. I only paid a fee when a commission was earned, so when I assigned contracts there was no fee to the broker.

I worked with a 100% commission structure company before and that's how I have mine setup. You basically pay a small monthly fee and a transaction fee when you have a closing. This is the best option in my opinion for wholesalers.

I am a licensed Broker however my biggest source of income comes from wholesaling. I always deal honestly and fairly with everyone I talk with and if I feel their best option is to stick the property on the MLS through a Realtor, I tell them. So, although there is a chance someone might come back and complain, it's highly unlikely.

When they choose to go with me, I make sure I disclose in the contract that I am a licensed Broker and not representing them and I also have them sign a no brokerage relationship notice as well.

Whether you assign the contract or double close it, it's still a wholesale deal.

Almost all banks, with the possible exception of some small local banks, won't allow you to assign the contract. If you're going to try and wholesale REO's then I would plan on double closing.

This is why almost all wholesalers fail, they try and find a way to get started with no money. If you want a long-term sustainable business then you should approach it as one. Develop a business plan, have the start-up capital that you need, deal honestly and fairly and then you MIGHT have a chance of longevity.

Sit down and plan out how you can successfully start this business. Map out what you think it will take for you to get started and how you can get to that point. Plan a budget and stick to it, your end goal will be starting your own business.

Check the credentials of those who are telling you that you can do it with no money. They're either gurus who don't actually wholesale deals (which is almost all of them) or they're people who only have a couple of deals under their belt and feel like after a few deals they know everything.

In my opinion you need a minimum of 4-6 month of living expenses and $5-$10k of operating capital. Remember, your initial expenses are going to be much higher as you get started because you will have a lot to learn. As you develop your strategy and begin to focus on what works for you, your costs will drop.

One last thing because this always bugs me, don't focus on your buyers list, it's a waste of time. Your job is to focus on deals, period. If you have 10 buyers who only want a 3/2 block home are you going to pass up a 1/1 condo that you can put under contract for 50% of what you can wholesale it for? One of my best "hits" last year came from a county about 2 hours from me. I had NO buyers but after looking at the comps I knew it was a great deal. 12 Hours after I started marketing the property I had a $20k flip. Remember, I had NO buyers but I had a great deal. That's all that matters. If you have a deal, the buyers will come. It has to be a real deal though. Successful wholesalers know what a real deal is.