Are Your Wholesale Deals Really "Off Market"?

[Joseph Cacciapaglia]

*** This is not a post bashing wholesalers ***

I'm on a bunch of wholesaler lists, and I'm also a real estate agent that only works with investors. I basically live in the MLS, so when I get emails from wholesalers with deals they've found on the MLS, they're pretty easy to spot. There is one large wholesaler in my area that is basically just negotiating great deals on MLS listing, and then pumping them out to their buyer list. I don't really see anything wrong with this practice, but it seems a little funny to me, because the subject line is always "Off Market Deal..." While it's pending, I guess it is technically off market, but I don't think this is really what people are expecting.

The fact that some of the most successful wholesalers in my area are doing this, really just proves that there are plenty of great deals to be had on the MLS. They're just willing to go out there and make offers. In the last few weeks, I've seen a lot more of these MLS wholesale deals, which confirms my suspicion that this is a great time to be out making offers.

I saw one this morning that was listed at about $130K, and now the wholesaler is marketing it at $100K. They must have it locked up for even less. One of my clients had considered offering on it, but eventually passed, because they were "too far apart". I guess I should have done a little more prodding on that one. 

In any case, is this something you're seeing in your market? Do you check to see if your wholesale deal came from the MLS? Do you care?