Real estate agents and wholesaling

[Khadijah Hunter]

Hi BPers,

I was wondering how to use agents to wholesale properties? I have listened to podcasts and read different forums but I'm still a little confused. Can you get a agent to sign a purchase agreement without POF or a EMD? I live in Savannah and wasn't sure if this has been done with the local agents here. I wasn't going to focus on this because I am new to real estate investing but if it is worth looking into, I would like to learn as much as I can.

[Lenzy Ruffin]

You have two types of properties: listed and unlisted. Unlisted properties are houses that are for sale that you find through various marketing methods. You do not need an agent for those. All you need is a homeowner willing to sell at a price that will allow you to add your assignment fee and still have a deal that a cash buyer is interested in. You put the house under contract, then assign the contract, and your cash buyer goes to closing.

For listed properties, you have to use an agent. You have to find an agent that is willing to submit offers for you on the properties you are interested in. You have to submit offers that are low enough for you to be able to add your assignment fee and still have a deal that a cash buyer is interested in. You put the house under contract, then assign the contract, and your cash buyer goes to closing.

Don't do what a lot of people do and try to wholesale a listed property at or near the same price it's listed for. If it's listed, the world knows the house is for sale and if a cash buyer were interested in it at that price, they would just buy it off MLS. To wholesale of MLS means you negotiate the list price down to a price that makes sense for an investor.

With an unlisted property, you are negotiating directly with the homeowner. With listed properties, your agent negotiates with the homeowner's agent.