What's the value of a wholesaler?

[Emily T.]

If someone wants/needs to sell a property asap and is going to sell it for less than it is worth to accomplish this, wouldn't they be able to put it up for sale traditionally and have it sell quickly?

I'm struggling to understand why someone would choose to use a wholesaler.

[Thomas Fucci]

I had a property with a realtor who waited for the tenants contract to finish. He told me it had to be empty and I had to paint and re-carpet and other repairs/appliances etc that cost over $7,000. Put it on the MLS. Four months and a few open houses later, he tells me he wants to drop the price by $15,000. The house doesn't have a wide margin to work with so when I did the math, carrying it for four months: mortgage payments, utilities, lost rent, gardener, taxes, insurance - if I dropped the price and kept it on the market for another month, or two or three, (or more) I would end up paying someone to sell my house. And I would imagine the broker would've asked to lower the price again. So I put the house back on the rental market. If a wholesaler had come to me at the start, I would have made money. Not a lot, but I wouldn't have lost. A wholesaler will work the numbers of an occupied rental and if they work and you accept the offer he or she is offering, your house will go to more than one cash buyer (this is a good wholesaler) looking for what you are offering. But it's, as always, always in the numbers. Which is why a good wholesaler can get your property sold quickly. I am now both wholesaling and purchasing properties since that experience. There is value in one person having connections with serious cash buyers. Or you can spend a month filling out forms on "We Buy Your House" sites. Pretty impersonal to my mind which is another reason a Wholesaler can be beneficial. He or she understands and if honest and fair, will not exploit the situation. Anyone thinking about selling a home should first look at the DOM average for their neighborhood sold comps and figure the high side of that number when determining all money out, no money in.