Probably the one question I get asked the most on wholesaling is, “can
that work in my area?”. Let me try to hold my emotions here and to sum
this up in one word “YES”!!!! Wholesaling great deals knows no city,
county or state boundaries and deals are where you find them.
More specifically
of what I want to emphasize is that wholesale deals are relative and unique
to your area. What I mean about that is that I am simply not going to
give some blanket crazy statement like, “you can only wholesale properties
if they are 65% Loan-To-Value including purchase price and repairs”….or
“bread and butter three bedroom houses located in blue-collar neighborhoods”.
BOLOGNEY!!!! Once again, the deals are where you find them and they know
no boundaries are they simply ready for those willing to seek them out.
A three-bedroom
house in some areas I’ve wholesaled in EVEN repaired at 65% LTV were passed
on by investors all day long. On the other hand in some areas I’ve wholesaled
properties making money financed at 80% and still needing repairs. You
see it is all a matter of the market you are in relative to the location
of the property and strength/weaknesses of being a pro-buyer or pro-seller
market.
So what do you
do and how do you figure out which way to go? The answer lies in working
backwards in wholesaling than traditionally what you think you would need
to do. The very FIRST thing you need to do is develop a quality buyer’s
list. Let me just give you a couple of pointers on how to develop your
buyer’s list:
1) Run advertisement
in your local paper for Sunday only in “Investment Property” or “Realty
Wanted” section that simply reads: Rehabs and Rentals…all areas and all
conditions. Call now! 555-1212”. You’re talking 2-3 weeks at on average
$25 a week to get a good base of investors going. If you really want
to be frugal then you can probably advertise for about half of that amount
in the “Penny/Thrift Saver” publications.
2) Section 8 Goldmine!---You
probably have the greatest list of strong and quality buyers right under
your nose and haven’t even realized it: Section 8 Landlords. For properties
that most likely are in the true “rental” strong areas needing moderate
to major repairs, then you will also find the cash-flow king—Section 8
Landlords. All you have to do is go down to the government Section 8
Office and ask if you can get the recent listings of Section 8 properties
available. The contact and phone number for those Section 8 Landlords
are the same exact quality buyers you are seeking. Now they are just
a phone call away to put in your database.
You now have
a quality buyers list and THEN you start marketing for wholesale deals
taking into consideration relative to what you can get for them in your
market. There are some out there that will read this and dismiss wholesaling
opportunities for example in a hot, hot seller’s market like a South Florida
or premium California area. Absolutely nothing could be further from
the truth.
If you are in
tune with your market truly understanding and knowing property valuations,
then if the deals on the average are being bought by investors at the
85-90% LTV range then all you need to do is secure properties under contract
at the 75-85% LTV range. It’s that simple and don’t make it harder than
it has to be thinking you have to get “steal” deals to make money wholesaling
houses. Even a 5% difference wholesaling a house of what you tie it up
for and what investors will pay for can mean thousands of dollars of quick-cash
in your pocket.
Take heart and
just believe and know it right now that wholesaling properties for instant
cash happens in your own back yard right now….and don’t you miss out on
the quick money opportunities. Good hunting as luck has absolutely nothing
to do with it!
Steve Cook is a real estate investor from Baltimore, Maryland. He is the owner of flippinghomes.com. For more information on Steve or his materials, click here