First Wholesale

[Michael Bardelmeier]

Hey Bigger Pockets!  I just wanted to share that my business partner @Jason Fitzgerald Smith and I just closed our first wholesale deal.  It has been about three months since we started marketing and we've received six leads, made three offers, and put one house under contract.  

The Deal: 3x2 SFR in LA County with an ARV of $430K. Estimated rehab costs of $62K. Seller accepted $275K and we assigned it to the flipper for $291K. Closed escrow within 10 days.

Why We're Thankful

We're thankful for the BP community and resources.  For months, we've been listening to podcasts and getting pumped up to start investing.  We've met several investors online here and at local meetups who have listened, advised, and been so generous with their time and experience.  We're thankful in particular for our "fix-n-flip" investor who purchased our first wholesale.  From the beginning, she shared her investment criteria, her calculation for rehab costs, and even showed us around one of her flips in progress so we could see first hand what she does and how she thinks about flips.  Because our trust with her grew so strong, we actually brought her in to see the house BEFORE we had it under contract, just to make sure our valuations were correct.  I know we took a risk, but it paid off.  I'm also thankful to my business partner, who is the ultimate business developer and has showed me how to be a better marketer (I'm still learning.)

What We've Learned from Our First Deal

We had some communication hiccups with escrow, where an appointment to sign docs with the seller was cancelled last minute creating some inconvenience and frustration.  Because the assignee was a Realtor, we used a RPA which created a lot of extra paperwork for the seller.  To avoid these challenges going forward we're interviewing other escrow offices to help smooth out the process. [Podcast #37 also gave us some great insights into this.]  Ultimately, the biggest thing I learned was to believe in yourself and your ideas.

In closing, I just deposited a multi-thousand dollar check and I realized that I had never earned money outside of working for a company before.  I guess I never believed that it was possible for me and I realize now that I let that "limiting belief" keep me from doing something I really wanted to do for so long.  I think it's hard to see our own limiting beliefs, but hopefully we can surround ourselves with folks who have the courage to call out our BS.  Whether you're working on your first deal or working on taking your business to the next level, I wish you the best of luck my fellow BPers.