One end of a two sided deal - start selling a property before you put it under contract

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Ive heard from several people doing RE investing (using various methods) say that you need to be selling the property before you even get the deal from the seller. Ok, great, so how does one do this ? I mean, lets say you really want to attempt to sell a property to a retail customer. The property in question, you are getting from a distressed homeowner that just needs to move on. What process can you take to ensure you dont get stuck with something you can neither sell nor rent ? Id rather not get into being a landlord at this time, and would rather sell the property outright, even at a deep discount. However, I want more than just the wholesale price. Im not opposed to selling to a rehabber or anothe rinvestor, but would rather simply sell to a retail customer at a deep discount (relative to my price).

So for example, let say I find a property that I can get the deed to, has enough equity to make it interesting. Then I manage to sign a contract with the seller. Thats when the fun starts - one area ive though of is having a list of realtors that work the area im in and have them bring me buyers in return for a commission.

The downside to the above is...holding time. What if the agents/sellers dont come for 1, 2...6 months, even though the "average" time on market from your research told you you rholding time might be at most, 3 months.

your thoughts ?

Randal