How to find my first property to wholesale

[Matthew Sullivan]

Hey everyone! Before I dive into asking questions; I just wanted to say how awesome this website and community is. There is so much information and great members on this site. 

So I just formed my LLC about a week ago and there are some houses I found on MLS that I feel if I put in an offer and get accepted I could wholesale the property to another investor ( flipper). I have some leverage to access some resources since I am a licensed Real Estate Agent in NY. I keep hearing and reading to find distressed properties and go after them. But doing that can be tedious and not as easy to spot in seom cases since some house look great outside but are just in shams on the inside. With this being said I've been told that if a property is on the MLS then it's not a good deal and that it would have been taken in 24 hours. Most of the houses I am looking into are REO or Short Sales on the MLS. I also took a look at property shark but it seems to be a better resource for NYS than for Long Island.

I am eager to find my first deal by the end of January 2017 and I have no problem making offers on properties with escape clauses put into the offer. What's your advice? Am I looking at this OK..what approach should I take to finding a good deal on MLS or just from driving around town?...

Share your experience or even your process..Looking for insight to gain momentum in my new endeavors...

Thanks everyone!

[Account Closed]

Hi Matthew , I am an investor and wholesaler here in Orlando. Welcome to BP.

My advice to new investors is to start wholesaling properties. This is the quickest and best way to get started with the least cost.

First pick a neighborhood that you are either in or close to. Driver around all the streets and look for vacant houses. There should be some. Then look in the county assessors website to find the owners. it should give their name and mailing address. Send them a letter telling them you found their house to be apparently vacant. But if it is obviously abandoned, say so in the letter. Tell them you will pay them cash for a quick close.

Many times the owners don’t update their mailing address with the county so you may get the letters returned. I use beenverified.com to get the most updated info. It costs me $24.95 a month but it is well worth it because it also gives me email addresses and phone numbers.

If you are going to buy the property, fix it up and then either sell it or rent it then you are through.

But if you want to wholesale the property to another investor, then contact a local RE Agent to give you a list of all the houses in that neighborhood that have sold in the last 5 years with all cash. This typically is investors. Then again go to the assessors website and find their name and mailing address. And again use beenverified.com to get the best and latest contact info.

Once you get a response from the seller of the vacant house, negotiate a deal to buy it for all cash. Then immediately contact all the cash buyers you just found that buy properties in that neighborhood and tell them about the house and would they be interested in buying it.

Once you have done all that with that neighborhood, go to the next one and 'rinse and repeat.'

I hope this helps.

Steve Anderson