New wholesaler here in need of some guidance....

[Joshua Carr]

Good morning everyone!

I am looking to start wholesaling property but need some guidance... I started driving for Uber so that I can learn the roads of DFW since I am not from the area, along with studying to get my real estate license to gain more knowledge.  Next step is to actually find properties that are up for grabs, get them under contract and then offer them to investors. Now these are just a few of the questions I have but if you have anymore suggestions please comment... Thanks!

1) Where do I find these properties to wholesale?

2) What are the contracts used to tie it up with the seller and then sell it to the investor?

All suggestions and recommendations are greatly appreciated!

[Hattie Dizmond]

@Mark Vejnar Sorry, but some of your advice is a little off for Texas.

@Joshua Carr 

Texas is a non-disclosure state. The MLS is the only accurate method of getting sale prices. Zillow, Tulia, Realtor.com, etc. do not pull sales data from the MLS listings and will only give you the last listing price. Not a good source of data. However, Redfin will allow you to build comps based upon actual sales. The Dallas/Ft Worth market is too hot to go back beyond 6 months. You're better off working from sold data in the past 3-months only.

I don't know what Mark meant by "...tougher in TX w/no zoning laws?)." Texas absolutely has zoning regulations. They are by city, but they definitely exist. The standard rules apply when building a list of comparable properties to determine ARV...

• Look for properties sold recently
• Similar properties, the more similar the better...same # of bedrooms, baths, approx same sq footage, same age, etc.
• Properties should feed the same schools...this is VERY important in the DFW area
• DO NOT cross major streets for comps.  Don't go around a defining line, like a creek and greenbelt that there is no inherent flow between the streets.
• If you are looking to determine an ARV, you need to check what the condition of the sold houses were. Redfin is good for that, if you don't have native MLS access, because they maintain links to the pictures of the properties, after sales. You don't want your property value to be brought down by a property that was sold in a terrible condition. You also don't want it to be unduly influenced by a property that someone overpaid for finishes that were not required in that neighborhood.

The only way to get MLS access is to be a licensed realtor or get a realtor to give you access to one of their non-agent MLS accounts. Otherwise, no MLS. Again, Redfin will get you most of the information you need, and it's reliable. There is another site in the DFW area that provides almost native MLS search capability. PM me if you would like the link.

You absolutely need to understand the market. The best thing you can do is to pick 2 or 3 elementary schools and focus on their feeder areas. You will quickly find that in the suburbs school quality drives demand & desirability. If you want to focus on houses with median ARV's of $150k, then find areas with that as a median home value and then figure out what the best schools are in those areas. It is location, location, location. But, as an investor, you're looking for the worst house in the best location.

Good luck.