Wholesaling in Orange County CA, is it realistic?

[Rusty Eddy]

Hi All,

I'm a newbie to this site (just found it last night) as well as a
newbie/wannabe RE Investor. What a great site! Thanks to all you experienced investors willing to take the time and share your hard earned knowledge!

My partner and I are newbie/wannabe RE investors. I am in the process of hammering out our business plan and looking to this site for feedback and advice on investing in Orange County, CA. (We have a 'significant' amount of cash to be invested), now we need to find a smart way to invest our time and money.

So our focus for the time being is on flipping: wholesale then move to rehab/retail. Is there anybody successfully doing this in North OC (Garden Grove, Westiminster, Santa Ana, etc?). A couple questions:

How realistic is it expect to be able to find wholesale deals in this area: (65-70% ARV less repair costs), and still collect a wholesale fee ($5-10k)?

I know finding the deals is the hardest thing to do. I am prepared for the hardwork/thinking outside the box. My main concern: are there deals to be found if one puts in the requisit effort/smarts. Or is it akin to winning the lottery trying to find deals? (The prices in my immediate area can be discouraging)..

I need to decide if we continue down the flipping/wholesale path
locally or consider a different avenue, perhaps out-of-area investing. I'll be out of town all next week, but look forward to reading all responses that you all are kind enough to give!

Any input from investors active in OC will be greatly appreciated!!! And even get yourself a free lunch if you are so inclined :)

George (Rusty) Eddy