How do I market a house in a wholesale deal?

Question

Hi everyone,

I understand everything about wholesaling properties, except for this one, and most important, step. Once I have a house under contract, can I list it on the MLS? How do I market a house that I have under contract?

Jeffrey S. Breglio · Answer

BE VERY CAREFUL HOW YOU MARKET YOUR WHOLESALE DEAL! Every state has licensing rules and some states are very aggressive in enforcing them. In most states you CANNOT market for sale a house you do not own without a license. If you market the house on websites, bandit signs, etc., you are sending a big signal to the division of real estate that you are acting as an agent without a license. They can fine you, and it can be stiff. You "generally" can market the contract you have, but NOT the house. In essence, you're selling a "contractual right" not a home. But rules vary state to state. Please check with a knowledgeable investor or attorney in your area to understand the rules in your state! Once you know the rules, just play by them.

Jeff

Jacqueline Carrington · Answer

It also depends on how honest you were with the seller to begin with. For example, if you made the seller believe that you are the actual buyer and then they see their property listed for sale on Craligslist at a higher price than what you both agreed to, then that could go sour very fast.

If you are wholesaling, I'd be honest and upfront with the seller as to who you are and a gist that basically you have an end cash buyer if you cannot close on the property yourself.

Ian Scalzo · Answer

Good point, Jeff. I did not put 2 and 2 together to realize that I would be profiting from assigning the contract over and not by selling the house. Thank you very much.

Ian Scalzo · Answer

Thank you both Jacqueline and Steve. So listing a house on Zillow would be an optional place to sell a home that I only have under contract? Also, thank you for letting me know about the BP marketplace. I'm new and I was unaware of the market.

Steve S. · Answer

No you cannot market it on the MLS. There are very strict guidelines to list homes on MLS and it must be done through an agent or broker and they will follow those guidelines.

Your options are limited but the best way is to find people in your market that are wholesalers. Every wholesaler tries to add on fees and present it to their investors whether they tied it up or someone else did. This usually results in a very annoying daisy chain where it is impossible to close a deal but many times you can bring buyers to the table this way.

Directly you can use craigslist, Bigger Pockets, other forum sites, etc...

That is what works for me.

Jacqueline Carrington · Answer

Do you have a list of cash buyers that you can send out an email blast?

Post the property on Craigslist/Zillow/etc.

If you have access to the MLS, you could post it there, but remember most MLS listings are for standard retail buyers and not necessarily cash clients.

Also post the deal here in the BP Marketplace, there are lots of serious cash investors within the BP community.

How do I market a house in a wholesale deal?

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