Wholesaling is a NO NO!

[Mashika Johnson]

My inspiration for real estate investing came from reading Rich Dad Poor Dad. I was so intrigued and held captive by every word in the book that I read it in less than 24 hrs. (It would've took less time if i locked myself in the bathroom until I was done but I had to wife and mom so that wasn't an option). By the end of the book I was determined to make REI work at any means necessary. I then moved to purchasing his investing blueprint course. I went through most of it then came across Ken McElroy's book "The ABCs to Real Estate Investing" I worked that book chapter by chapter until I was able to find my target market and sub market. The painful question then occured. "Mashika, where are you going to get the money to invest?" I'm primarily a stay at home mom with a 4 year old and a 2 month old. I can work from home but the job I have doesn't provide me with the funds I need to even sustain any type of lifestyle. All in all that's not even an option on the table. Some may say "GO GET A JOB!" I haven't worked for anyone for about 3-4 years now. And I dont plan on starting unless it adds value to my life by helping me learn the knowledge needed to reach my current goals. So as I've been seeking to find information on how to build capital I ran across an article that suggested getting started with wholesaling. So I read blog posts here on BP and as I'm reading blog after blog after blog it's nothing but negative opinionated fluffed up crap that try's to deter anyone from doing wholesaling. I was disappointed in the authors of the articles to say the least. All of that time spent puffing up a negative cloud about wholesaling could've been used teach how to determine ARV properly. Or how to estimate repair costs properly. Or how to find motivated sellers properly without trying every strategy in the book for marketing and barely having any success because it wasnt a niche focused campaign. Everyone is preaching about how much money it takes but from what I've read, listened to from the BP podcasts, YouTube channels, and my own way of planning via digesting all sorts of information the only real money you need is for EMD and to pay an attorney to help you with your contracts. I'm also disappointed in the fact that REAL SUCCESSFUL wholesalers wont stand up and give their piece to cut out all the extra crap. What I've digested is that wholesaling is indeed HARD WORK and you're going to have to grind and put in the countless hours to find deals and motivated sellers to get those contracts. But it's not hard if you do your research and come up with a realistic plan. I've talked to other people about wholesaling and they've said that they've studied for a year or so and then started doing deals. I'm not sure why it took so long to study. I've decided to take the approach of building out my buyer's list first. I created an email that included the ten questions that you should ask a buyer. I've sent out an upward of 20 emails to prospective buyers who said that they wanted to be on my buyer's list and sadly only got 3 responses. And I will only be working with those 3 buyers because I wont be shooting an arrow in the dark by just aimlessly looking for properties hoping it fits the buyer's criteria. If you want to work with a wholesaler let them know what you want upfront so they can serve you according to your needs. Not what they think you need. That way the relationship could be built on a solid foundation. Once I have my buyer's criteria I look for properties to match that criteria. Then the nitty gritty starts with contacting those sellers to get the contract. THAT'S THE "HARD" part. No one can teach you how to be a people person or to negotiate or just plain out convince someone to sell their house to you. Those are qualities that have to be acquired over time or just have to be deep down inside of you. You should have no problem wholesaling the deal if you are getting the properties that your buyers actually want. Then you'll be kissing your checks in no time and patting yourself on the back for doing the work needed to help your fellow sellers and buyer gain. I see wholesaling as truly a solid way of getting the necessary funds to start investing in real estate. If it wasnt people wouldn't be successful at and have wonderful portfolios because of it. I'm determined to make wholesaling work for me. I'm dedicated to making it work by continuing to expand my knowledge base, creating an SOP, making changes to the SOP as needed, then working side by side with my buyers to get them what they want. I will be successful at wholesaling. And I will build the capital needed to start my own investing.