Is the wholesale deal lost?

[Tafon Mainsah]

I recently had a seller that I had built great raport with, give me some bad news... she was going to list her house. She told me she was either going to accept my offer or go list it with one of her buddies that's a real estate agent. I guess the buddy got in her ear enough cause she's going with her. Is that deal lost? Is there a way I could have persuaded her to go with me without increasing my offer price by a lot?

[John Chapman]

Yes, the deal is lost.  No, you could not have persuaded her.  Usually (okay, almost always) sellers can net more by listing with a real estate agent than by selling to a wholesaler, particularly if the house is in okay to good condition.  Assuming you were being honest with her (disclosing you were going to find an end buyer to sell it to, being honest about market value, etc.), she probably just decided she wanted to net more by listing it and waiting a little longer.   Note, I'm assuming you had it under contract for significantly less than what it's going to be listed for.