Wholesale or buy and sell?

[Kimberly Gamez]

I am a licensed real estate agent as well as a seasoned real estate investor for the past 20 years and own 60+ units. Today I was approached by a distressed seller that wanted to know if we would be interested in buying their property to flip. His asking price was $15k and I honestly think I could get him down to $10k! Unfortunately I do not love the area for a flip or rental but think it could easily sell on the open market for $20-30k as is. So my question is... should I try to wholesale this property or buy and then list as is? I’ve never wholesaled because it honestly feels super slimy but in this case it would save a lot of fees, transfer taxes, etc.

I’m open to honest feedback and suggestions. 

[Gabriel Johnson]

It's only slimy if you don't disclose your intention to assign the contract ¨̮ Tell the seller the property doesn't meet your criteria; that you won't be buying it. Then present the alternative of going under contract and allowing you to assign to one of the other investors in your network who will pay your fee, rather than the traditional arrangement of representing a seller who you would owe fiduciary duties for a commission on the sale.. If you don't think they'd be open to that, they may not really be distressed. In that case, you should buy it yourself, clean it up and list it in this flaming hot market