"Wholesaler" having an identity crisis

[James Rodgers]

This is an open-ended post. I hope to hear from both sides, those on this site who are for and against the model of wholesaling that most promote. I hope to hear some thought-processes I haven't heard yet. I hope you let loose all your passionate views on the subject.

I had some success wholesaling (the BP definition of wholesaling) - and saw enough potential in it to quit my W2 job, start an LLC and go after it 40 hours of the week. This pursuit has been incredibly fulfilling, engaging and eye-opening; significant relationships have been established and I've even acquired properties for myself along the way.

In the last two weeks, however, I've heard some stuff that has made me question everything I'm doing. One source is a trusted, personal friend known since childhood who has reached financial freedom through REI. The other two are reputable, nationally-recognized investors. I've been stuck inside a house for a week getting it ready to rent, unable to reconcile these thoughts that make me want to take the word "wholesaling" out of my LLC name:

1. I have signs across my city saying "I buy houses." BUT I do not buy houses for cash, nor do I have the ability to - I can only assign them. Think this is fraud.

2. I send letters in the mail saying "I can pay with cash, I can close quickly." BUT this is mail fraud. I cannot pay with cash, though I can connect them with someone who can. 

3. EVEN THOUGH every seller I go under contract with KNOWS that I am going to assign and not close myself, I am signing a legal document that states my intention to purchase real estate with cash at closing, when I am completely unable to back that up on my own. Think this is fraud.

4. Even though my P&SA has a paragraph where the seller gives me permission to market the property, they can't make it legal for me to market the property! Think this is brokering without a license.

5. (the one that's just kinda embarrasing) The model I'm working on is the standard wholesaling model promoted throughout BP and by most gurus. Correct me if I'm wrong, BUT the legal definition of wholesaling in real estate is to PURCHASE a property, then sell to another investor (not a retail user). I have not learned wholesaling, I have learned CONTRACT ASSIGNMENT. Technically, I have never wholesaled a property and am UNABLE TO DO SO because I'm "getting started in real estate with no money." 

Listen, my LLC is Intentional Wholesaling. My goal was to establish a business that is branded with integrity, and every transaction is fully transparent. I only wish to win if the seller has first won, then the investor has won. I am questioning whether a business can be structured upon the assignment of contracts and still be full of integrity.

I want to give y'all a chance to keep me from walking away from this widely popular model, or give you a chance to fully push me over the edge to walk away and never look back. I credit a huge portion of my growth in REI to BP and am thankful to have found such a resource.

Sincerely, 

James