So, You Wanna Be A Wholesaler?

[Jennie Berger]

WHOLESALERS, EVER WONDER WHY IT’S SO HARD TO CONNECT WITH INVESTORS AND CASH BUYERS TO ACTUALLY CLOSE A DEAL? YOU MIGHT THINK WE ALL SUCK, AND NO DOUBT, SOME DO. BUT FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE NICE PEOPLE AND GENUINELY WANT TO WORK WITH YOU (HINT HINT ), YOU NEED TO SET YOURSELVES APART FROM ALL THE CRUMMY A$$ WHOLESALERS OUT THERE. AND THERE ARE A LOT OF THEM. BUT HOW? KEEP READING.

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As investors we have tremendous respect for a quality wholesaler. The value you add to our business is unparalleled. If done properly. I mean, I can sit at home (or my office, or on some beach, or anywhere for that matter), while you do all the painful, frustrating, time consuming leg work to bring me a deal that’s going to make us all money. Sounds great, right?

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Here’s the problem as I see it—EDUCATION & EXECUTION. Now, before you decide that you hate me, please know this post isn’t meant to bash wholesalers. And by no means am I an expert. I’m just a human being who has dealt with far too many wholesalers trying to make it in this industry who end up giving up, or failing, because they JUST DON’T GET IT!

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As general contractors with 20+ years in the construction and building industry, we know how to come up with a scope of work and repair estimate on every project we consider putting an offer in. As investors we do a ton of due diligence on each market we invest in, and also call on the expertise of industry experts, such as real estate brokers. Does that mean YOU have to be a contractor? No. Do you have to be a licensed real estate broker? Well, yes, legally in Illinois if you’re going to wholesale more than 1 property every 12 months. But from an educational perspective, no way. In other words, you don’t have to know everything a contractor or Realtor know to be an amazing wholesaler!

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In our opinion, here are some things that you can and should/should not do if you want to work with the most reputable investors around:

1. DO: Be transparent. Introduce yourself in a meaningful way. Ask if we’d like to be added to your cash buyers list.

2. DON’T: Lurk around Facebook groups, posts, and websites and put our email addresses for your list withOUT first asking if we’d like to be added. How many random emails have I gotten from wholesalers in various locations with properties I have ZERO interest in? Too many to count.

3. DO: Ask your buyers what their criteria are. This is vital! Imagine you came over for breakfast and told me you only like grape juice. Yet I keep pouring you grapefruit juice, over and over. Sounds ridiculous, right? Yeah, now you get how we feel.

4. DON’T: Send a blanket email to ALL of your buyers for the SAME property if that property does not meet their criteria.

5. DO: Write complete sentences and paragraphs. This includes addressing your email or message to a person’s name. This isn’t high school, and nobody is judging you--(that’s a lie, people judge you all the time and there’s nothing we can do about that)--spelling and grammar DO count.

6. DON’T: Just forward a ton of photos (that bulks up our email inboxes) and assume we want the property

7. DO: Email us with details of a property you have under contract that fits our criteria. That includes the address, asking price, repair estimates, and maybe some comps (though I’m doing my own research anyway).

8. DO: Provide accurate repair estimates (to the best of your/your contractor's ability). Remember, we may not see the house in person like you have. We depend on you to some degree to get a fairly accurate repair estimate when presenting your asking price and ARV.

9. DO: If you have little to no knowledge of construction, consider spending a day or two or three with a licensed contractor or investor who has building/construction experience. Ask if you can shadow them or walk through their next property with them to see things through THEIR eyes.

10. DON’T: Lose faith. All businesses take time to grow. DO: Plant seeds and nurture those seeds. Be friendly + Be diligent + Be genuine + Be thorough.

11. DO: Ask yourself: ‘Is this REALLY a good deal where BOTH of us can make money?’ If you’re not sure, then it’s YOUR duty to figure out WHY. What piece of information or education are you missing that you can obtain in order to make you a more sharp, quality wholesaler?

Develop a strong and credible reputation and investors will flock TO you. This business is all about who you know. People buy people. Well, we buy houses too. But, you know what I mean. If you’re the real deal, and have a proven track record, I’m 99.9% more likely to consider your deals (and not block you and send you to my spam).

Y’all, I hope this is helpful in some way. We are always on the hunt for great people who can bring us great deals! We sometimes have too many deals ourselves and need to pass them on to other investors, so we understand where you’re coming from. Any wholesalers or investors have something else to add here I welcome your comments. Be well!

Jennie Berger

[Duane Alexander]

This may be outside of the box and a little controversial but I agree with everything except for 8 and 9. Wholesalers, trust me, stop wasting time marketing your contracts with repair estimates and ARV included. 99% of all investors will run their own comps to establish their own ARV and if you ask 3 diff people the ARV of a property you'll get 3 different answers. In regards to repair estimates, that is also the investors job to come up with their estimate which makes sense because you, the wholesaler, have no idea what they plan on doing with the property anyway. You don't know if they want to bring it up to rentable levels or do a HGTV flip with all the latest finishes and bells and whistles. Maybe they want to add an addition. Maybe they want to pop the top. Let them figure that out or risk throwing out some numbers they don't agree with and now they think you are trying to fool them.