MLS deal - How to prevent buyer from going around me

[Robert Naw]

I have an MLS deal. How do I make sure my buyers do not go around me and offer the seller more money?

[Lydia R.]

Quote from @Robert Naw:

I have an MLS deal. How do I make sure my buyers do not go around me and offer the seller more money?

This is probably not what you wanted to hear but Im going to tell you the truth. There is nothing you can do to prevent potential buyers from discovering this property is listed on MLS and you definitely cannot prevent them from contacting the listing agent directly and explaining what you are trying to do. Just for future reference, this is why wholesalers should stick to off market deals.

However, there are some ways to mitigate this situation.

1. You can tell the agent what your actual intentions are. This is a tricky situation because the agent is looking for a solid end buyer not a 'maybe I can find a buyer'. This would be a lot easier if you already had cash buyers you could call about the property. If you are going to go this route you need to project confidence and essentially convince the agent that you have buyer connections that they dont have access to and the value you bring to the table is that these buyers are well qualified and can close quickly. This might be a tough conversation to have now since the property is already under contract and I dont know what you told the agent to get to the point you're at now.

2. Work with buyers who dont mind paying a wholesale fee for a listed property. There are fewer of these buyers but they do exist. However you need to make sure these properties are priced BELOW the list price. If you are just adding a fee on top of a listing then you are not actually adding value. If I could go to Walmart and buy $30 comforters and then sell them on ebay for $100 then everyone would do this. There is a reason this strategy doesnt work. No one wants to pay more for something they know they can get for less. 

3. If you are truly convinced you have a deal on your hands--which means you have run the numbers multiple times and they tell you its a deal--then you can get a hard money loan to purchase the property and then you can resell it for a higher price. This strategy really only works if you've negotiated one heck of a deal because the costs that come with getting a hard money loan will eat into your profits. Its not worth doing for a deal you are only going to make 5K or 10K on. 

Good luck on this one. This is the reality of the risk when it comes to listed properties. The gurus make it sound so easy on TikTok and Youtube but they certainly arent willing to get on the phone and talk you through what to do when you get to this point. Another thing for you to consider, your end buyer is going to want to walk the property in person. How will you arrange that walk through without the seller or the agent realizing whats going on. These are some of the reasons Im not a fan of wholesalers trying to market MLS deals.