Motivated Sellers

[Brittany Thompson]

Hello BP peers. I am new to the RealEstate market and I am looking for the best ways to attract motivated sellers with spending as least money that I can? it seems to be a challenge for me to locate off market properties. As a wholsaler, these are important i see. What would be a great strategy to get me going?

[Tom Mole]

@Brittany Thompson  in terms of learning and applying techniques to wholesale property I agree with @Dave Savage. I'd like to look at another facet. Why do you want to wholesale in the first place?

I ask this all the time of the new investors. The problem I find is that they are only looking at the low barrier to entry. They've been told you can invest with no cash and no credit by flipping purchase contracts. What they were not told is that wholesaling is not easy. It can be remarkably discouraging. It usually requires the broadest knowledge of RE investing strategies and strong marketing skills. 

There are always exceptions. Some people just take to it naturally and do very well. Perhaps that's you. If so, read no further. You'd do quite well with the suggestions Dave offered.

However, if your investment objective includes something more than just trying to make a quick buck, I recommend you consider wholesaling as a backup strategy. Let's say you figure the big bucks are in rehabbing, but you haven't got the money in the bank that business requires. No prob. You go out find a great looking deal, calculate you discount of ARV (After Repair Value) and subtract repair costs then reduce your offering by a little more to cover your assignment fee and submit your offer. The only problem, another rehabber saw this deal and offered the same amount you did plus the amount of your assignment fee. His offer got accepted because he could offer a little bit more.

I could go on with the scenarios, but the point is this, what if you could structure the deal to use Other People's Money (OPM), instead? Consider, same house, seller has 50% equity in the property and you now this because you skilled asked him. You find he will "carry-back" and you purchase the property "subject to". You offer top dollar and close with no money out of your pocket. Easier said than done, but at least now you're competing in the marketplace.

OK, so there's a lot more to it than what fits in this tiny post. I just want to face you (and hopefully others) in another direction. If you have any questions, send me a colleague request. I love to help the new folks. It makes me feel like a guru.

BTW, since I started writing this post,@Will Barnard posted in the Wholesaling forum. Check out his post,

The Truth About Wholesaling!

Very much the what I'm talking about from another angle. The man's a genius and well worth taking the time to listen to.

All the best.