Three Pitfalls to Avoid When Getting Started as a Wholesaler

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Wholesaling houses is a great way to make quick cash in real estate with very little risk or upfront investment. Like any other money-making niche in the real estate arena, there is a learning curve that you will need to work through if you want to become a successful wholesaler.  Following are three pitfalls that many wholesalers make while working through the learning curve, and that you should avoid at all costs.

• Jumping in Without Studying the Market First

If you’re serious about becoming a successful wholesaler, you absolutely need to take the time to study your market and find out what a deal is before you go out and start putting properties under contract.  Many people want to skip over this step because it can be quite time consuming, and as a result, end up with properties under contract that they are not able to find buyers for.  Do yourself a huge favor and commit to spending as much time as is necessary studying your market and determining what constitutes a good deal.  Doing this will take you more time and effort upfront, but will pay off huge dividends when you hit the streets and start making offers.

• Information Overload

While it is certainly necessary to get a proper education before you jump in and start taking action, many beginners get caught up in a vicious cycle: buying course after course and never actually putting the information to use.  Once you get the basics of wholesaling down pat (and after you have done your market research), it is imperative that you start taking the information that you’ve learned and putting it to good use.  We all know that there is a never-ending stream of real estate education products hitting the market, and you don’t want to get caught up in the cycle of buying each and every one of them in search of the magic pill.

• Taking Advice From The Wrong People

If you want to become a successful wholesaler you should be getting your advice from and modeling yourself after other successful wholesalers.  Ignore everyone else.  Many beginners make the mistake of approaching Realtors, mortgage brokers, or other real estate professionals and asking them for advice about wholesaling.  This usually leads to a conversation that ends with the wholesaler being told that what they are trying to do is illegal.  Save yourself the headache, and get your advice from wholesalers who are out there doing deals and cashing checks.

So there you have it, folks- three pitfalls to avoid if you’re just getting started as a wholesaler.  Now it’s time to get out there and start making things happen!

Good luck, and Happy Wholesaling!

Note By BiggerPockets: These are opinions written by the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions of BiggerPockets.