Where to find wholesalers who have a deal to offer?

Question

I've never pursued wholesaling, but with properties on the MLS at higher price points, I am interested in working with more wholesalers.  At the local REIA meetings, there are a lot of people who say they are wholesalers, but very few actually have a property under contract and are actively looking for a buyer.  Are there only a handful of buyers getting the majority of the deals out there?  Do I need to work harder to get better known by the wholesaling community?  I see there are some websites out there hawking wholesaler deals...  Does anyone use them?

Rico Johnson · Answer

The best way to find wholesalers that are actually doing deals is quite easy. Here in my market there is a real estate publication that goes out everyday. They report  everything from civil cases to foreclosures.  I use this publication as a way to network. I simply browse the property transfer section and take note of those that are selling real estate at reduced prices. I send the sellers letters to fish for future deals and I send the buyers letters to help build my buyers list.

Of course those wholesalers that are assigning their deals won't show up in public record. NO PROBLEM. What I do is get a list of title companies and call them inquiring if they are investor friendly. Explain to them that you would like your info forwarded to their most active customers that wholesale deals. They should not have a problem doing you this favor. Nine times out of ten it will result in future business for their title company.

James W. · Answer

Might not be a bad thing that you are not seeing as many of these as a new investor.  I see offers all of the time from wholesalers in MN offering terrible deals that could possibly get an inexperienced investor in a bad situation.

I would look at craigslist, facebook marketplace and your local REIA for possible leads, but make sure you spend the time to determine it will work for yourself and do not rely on what the other person gives you for rehab costs and comps.

Jon Moore · Answer

Hey @Rico Johnson, I'm in Cincinnati too. What's the newsletter you're referencing?

Jacci Konkle · Answer

Hi Mark,

Deals are just tight and hard to come by right now.  Remember, in order to wholesale, an investor needs to get it cheap enough to be able to make a profit in between and still sell it cheap enough to be a deal for the next guy.  If a wholesaler is offering on a property and so is another investor who will hold the property or rehab it themself, then it's hard to beat the other offer and they do not get it under contract.  There really isn't a magic bullet for being able to buy from wholesalers as much as you just need to be on their list.  Nobody just sells to one buyer (unless they are crazy...LOL).  I recommend making sure you are connected with your REIA and getting any emails they send with property announcements.

Mark Ebinal · Answer

Thanks @Jacci Konkle and @James Woodrich for the info!  Jacci, that makes a lot of sense that the market is tight.  James, that is good, solid advice.  I would agree.  I'm not a newbie in real estate investing (longtime landlord), but what I've seen regarding wholesale offerings, your advice is spot-on.

Interestingly enough, I did get a couple of people reach out that they had a deal, but never forwarded the deal on to me.  I think the best course of action is to continue to look for reasonably-priced listings on the MLS (usually need a lot of work!) and to continue finding off-market deals on my own.

I also wonder how long this boom market will continue and will probably prep and list one of my nicer rentals soon.  I think there are also a lot of newbie landlords out there making bad tenant choices, which is going to bite them before long.

Thanks again for the info!   Jacci, I'm going to try to make it out to the Appleton REIA meeting.

Rico Johnson · Answer

@Jon Moore @Jake Walroth It is called the Court Index give the a call. If you need any help with figuring it out call me. Also if you have any wholesale deals that don't fit your criteria call me.

Jake Walroth · Answer

@Rico Johnson  I'd love to learn about what Cincy Publication you're talking about.

Elbert D. · Answer

Well that’s because the actual real estate market all over is over priced. Good deals are just very hard to come by. When they do arrive they are gon at the latest three days. I have been having a little bit of a hard time finding good deals myself. Banks and HUD are such a pain to deal with and not many owners are looking to sell right now in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. Real estate is market driven so everything just depends on what the market does.

Mark Ebinal · Answer

@Matthew Ray, I've only ever done buy and hold, and only with multi-family.  That being said, I realize how hot the single family market is right now, so I need to keep my eyes open for that too.

Matthew Ray · Answer

What will be your strategy?  Buy and hold or rehab and flip?  Are you searching for passive or active income?

Where to find wholesalers who have a deal to offer?

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