What am I missing from my analysis.

[Account Closed]

How is anyone making money offering full price on listings? I'm in the Houston area.

A few weeks ago I was looking at a home that was listed at $125k. It needed a lot of work. It had been vacant for a while. The flooring throughout needed to be replace, the kitchen looked like it had been gutted and the entire house need to be repainted. My contractor estimated rehab cost at about $15-$20K. The ARV was about $145-$150k. The house sold for $125k (asking price). I just don't see any margin for profit in that scenario.

This weekend I went to see another property also listed for $125k. This one was being lived in but also needed a ton of work to include flooring throughout, painting entire home, new A/C unit and a new back fence. Kitchen was also gutted (yes, someone was living in it). The ARV was also about $150k. Again, with repairs I'm just not seeing any room for profit but my agent says in the Houston market investors are paying full price and sometimes more. Both areas would rent for about $1400-$1600. So what am I missing?

Am I missing an opportunity to at least get them under contract and wholesale them? I know that would cut out my agent so should I not use her in this scenario where I may do a wholesale deal?