What is wholesaling, in a nutshell?

[Sherre Wilson]

I recently read a description of wholesaling to him, and he immediately had objections. The example was simply contracting for a distressed property from a seller, finding a buyer, contracting with the buyer. The buyer pays the wholesaler who then pays the seller. My husband’s objections/questions were number one, what if the money owed on the mortgage exceeds the price I’m willing to pay as a wholesaler? And number two, what are the taxes involved and who pays those? 

 Can you buy distressed properties directly from a bank? If the bank has the mortgage on their books but the county owns the property because taxes have not been paid, can you still get the property from the bank? 

 I’m trying to learn all I can, and believe this to be an excellent investment opportunity but I need some hard facts. Any information you can share would be so much appreciated, thank you.