First Wholesale Deal- So Close Yet so far

[Eshe Harvey]

Currently working on a wholesale deal where the seller is asking $289,000. She recently reduced her price by $10,000, but comps in the area suggest she is still about $50,000 overpriced compared to similar homes. Buyer is willing to pay $260,000. Ideally, I would have liked to negotiate the seller down closer to $250,000 to secure higher assignment fee. However, based on the seller's pricing expectations it may make more sense to adjust the assignment fee just to close the deal, secure the commission, and move on to next deal. 

I have been like a madman all day, working back and forth through emails between seller and buyer trying to lock it up. I may need to bring up the fact that the property has been on the market almost 60 days, and she has already reduced the price by 10k. That says a lot about the true demand. If she is serious about selling, it might be wise to come to an agreement now -before more days on market weaker her position further.

For seasoned wholesalers or anyone who has experience - is it common to adjust your assignment fee slightly to secure a close, or is it better to hold firm even if it means risking the deal? I personally may just lock it in and move on. A win is a win. 

Appreciate any insight (feel free to inbox me directly as well if you would like to share any insight) - will figure this out anyway.  

[Steve K.]

Assuming you are in Illinois and the deal is as well, I believe you can only do one wholesale deal per year there legally (without a license) so I would make sure it's a good one. Just some food for thought. Also it sounds like this property is listed on the MLS? If so it's a bit more challenging to wholesale MLS deals because most listing agents are wary of assignable contracts and will sniff out wholesalers if they don't have the ability to close and could end up jerking their seller around, tying up the property, and not closing. Also there aren't that many deals on the MLS with enough of a spread to work in a decent assignment fee (which seems to be the case with this one). I'd focus on generating off-market leads with healthier spreads instead. Also one other thing I noticed is that 60 days on market isn't actually terribly long. It's about average actually, so the seller may not be motivated enough yet to take an offer that is 14% lower than their asking price and also has an assign ability clause in it. I would advise my seller to lower their price a little bit and look for a real offer first. Are you dealing with the listing agent or the seller directly here (assuming it is listed with an agent, it wasn't clear in your post but because you said "on the market" that's what it sounds like…).