How to do wholesaling RIGHT? In Maryland/East Coast and Nationwide.

[Account Closed]

There are a lot of complaints about bad wholesalers who do things wrong. We all know how frustrating it is to deal with inept, crooked and ill motivated people in any type of the business. I want to start this thread to get ideas, opinions and valuable tips on how to do it RIGHT.

Lately I have been reading on this subject ,extensively , and trying to learn as much as I could. I am already doing the marketing (placed bandit signs, launching FB ad next week, selected   databases to purchase the list of properties that fall under high equity, vacant and other criteria, to be skip traced and cold called  and etc.). 

I started my journey by reading Wholesaling 101: How to Wholesale for Beginners thread by Chris Piper (https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/12/topics/862964-wholesaling-101-how-to-wholesale-for-beginners) , which I think is great in terms of being FREE and STRAIGHT TO THE POINT, coming from someone who was actually doing it. But I don't know how outdated or still useful most of his insights are. 

I checked on current legislation (thank you @Russell Brazil for heads up on MD 2023 Bill and MD 2024 Law), watched videos such as How to Wholesale RE Step by Step (see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFnUABPy-A8) , found this link/article from Jan. 2024 on how to do wholesaling in MD (https://www.realestateskills.com/blog/wholesaling-real-estate-legal-maryland) , read current articles and stubs (see https://ark7.com/blog/learn/cities/maryland-real-estate-wholesaling-guide/#), watched this linked YT video which covers 50 states and explains where wholesaling is legal and where it's not (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_GRRivs-94) , found out about a lot of gurus that charge tens of thousands of dollars, went to seminars, met and spoke to people who were burned and decided not to pay anyone to get information that I can gather freely from various sources, including this one.

Now I want to hear from successful wholesalers who are operating in current market (preferably in MD/East Coast, but also those who do wholesaling remotely in all states where there are motivated sellers and buyers): how did you start? What works in current market? What realistically can be achieved if one starts lean and mean, with couple of thousands of dollars to invest in marketing and pick up as things move forward?  What works now? What you do now that delivers results, closes deals and makes buyers/investors happy? What are the best strategies you would advise to newbies and wish you knew when you started?

Let this thread to be a place for constructive, productive conversations, networking and working together to make some money and bring some positive light to this frowned upon industry in RE world.

Thank you all for your insights, opinions, comments!!

[Don Konipol]

Quote from @Account Closed:

Quote from @Ian Walsh:

Learn your market and learn to market.  Wholesalers that put out good deals get a good reputation.  Most put out deals that they don't know aren't deals because they don't know their market.

Thank you, Ian. The question is how to best strategize your marketing campaign in the beginning. What is the best way to spend. let's say, $5000 to get leads that will potentially result in at least one deal closed, so you can get your money back and reinvest. With so many options out there and with big guys spending $25000 or more per month to market to sellers, it's really easy to burn a lot of cash and end up with nothing but a massive loss. On the other hand, you can't market for free, unless you believe gurus who claim that you can do wholesaling by looking up MLS, Zillow, Redfin and etc. I personally don't believe there are investors with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend that couldn't think of doing the same, going to MLS and finding a wholesale deal. It may work for rehabbers, but in this business you better find off market properties if you really want to succeed. How you do that with the minimalistic approach that is also efficient and realistically can yield results?

People contemplating trying to wholesale should understand, I mean REALLY understand, that wholesaling is a BUSINESS.  As a business, there are many requirements for success, that get “overlooked” by most people looking to “get into real estate investing “ by wholesaling.

As a BUSINESS, the requirements for success wholesaling specifically include
1. Sufficient capital to fund the marketing campaign resulting in deal flow
2. Sales ability to convert prospects to  leads and leads to deals
3. Knowledge of real estate principles
4. Knowledge of real estate law
5. Understanding of general accounting
6. Knowledge of the geographical market you’re targeting 
7. Knowledge of the mechanics of the differing deal methodology 
8. Relationships with property investors and fix n flippers
9. Knowledge of construction, rehab pricing
10. Understanding of home sellers needs, wants, desires, and motivations.