Advice for potential wholesale when seller has agent?

[Matt D.]

Hey guys, I'm pretty new to wholesaling so I would appreciate any advice you could give on this subject. I recently got a message from the real estate agent for a seller I sent out marketing to, telling me he understands I'm interested in purchasing his seller's property and to call him back for more info if I'd like to make an offer.

I had no idea the seller was working with an agent already to sell the property, and my first instinct was that the deal wouldn't work if they're already listing with an agent, that it would be another middle-man in the deal, and he'd discourage the seller from selling for so low. But I do have an end buyer in mind for the property that tends to buy much closer to market value than typical investors, and think the numbers could work. The property hasn't been listed on the MLS as of yet.

The place where I have apprehension is in how the deal would work - I've never done a deal through an agent and so I was curious what sort of extra hurdles come with this, and what potential solutions I might have for them. The sort of things I'm talking about are earnest money, proof of funds, all the extra forms and paperwork that come with a traditional sale that I would assume the agent would insist on - is there a way around those things when working with an agent, or will I be basically stopped in my tracks once those get brought up? Will the agent scoff at me wanting to use my own purchase contract?

Any info anyone could give on the subject to help me get a better idea of what to expect would be incredibly helpful. Thank you in advance.