Wholesaling - sales & marketing to homeowners

[Hugh Wagner]

I am a real estate investor that does 1-3 deals per year.  Lately I've seriously been thinking about doing some wholesaling.  I understand the process - I've bought from wholesalers in the past.  But I am missing a logical step in the negotiation with the seller that has stopped me from going further.  I would like to know how people get through the assignment discussion with the seller.

For example, let's say I do some sort of campaign like direct mail or driving for dollars to locate properties, and in the process I find leads that I don't want but others might - logical candidates for wholesaling.  How do you discuss the assignment part of the process with the current owner when you're putting it under contract?  If somebody told me that they wanted to put my house under contract for a few months with $1 option fee, I'd tell them to take a hike because I wouldn't want to give that exclusivity to the wholesaler.  Most wholesaling communication emphasizes closing quickly for cash.  That's entirely possible for a good deal; however, many houses that wholesalers are trying to sell just sit there.  I could tell the homeowner that I work with investors and that they need to sign a contract with me if they want to use those investors, but that's not quite as sexy as saying that I can close quickly with cash.  I'm guessing there must be a more efficient way to handle this process.  I would like to be as upfront with them as possible.  If anybody can share some of the secrets of wholesaling with me, or a good online resource, I'd be very appreciative.  

Thank you,

Hugh Wagner