Lehigh valley wholesaling

[Jonathan Davalos]

First post on BP! I have been reading through the forums and listening exclusively to the BP podcasts. I’m interested in investing in the Lehigh Valley area. Long term, I’d like to buy and hold multi families. However, in the short term I’m interested in wholesaling to increase my cash reserves to eventually put towards rental properties.

Has anyone out there had any success wholesaling in the area?

[David Ribardo]

@Jonathan Davalos I've closed deals with a few wholesalers over the past years here in the Lehigh Valley. Overall, my experience has been mixed. There are some skilled wholesalers delivering a reputable service in the Philly markets and throughout NJ, but I have not found anyone who consistently can deliver good customer service in this market. You see lots of posts on forums and facebook groups about wholesaling, but ultimately most of them have not closed a deal. The most common challenge I encounter is a wholesaler who is not entirely forthcoming about their strategy with the seller. This creates friction when they try and hide their profit margin. The ALTA statement at closing will always show where each dollar in the transaction goes to, so that just results in a frustrated seller who feels wronged. 

Regardless of what your mentor or guru class tells you, you should always be 100% honest about what is going on in the transaction. This will put you in the top 50% of wholesalers in the Lehigh Valley. 

@Eric Clinton Some stats from the area: Last year there were 9,714 total properties closed throughout the Lehigh Valley (Lehigh / Northampton counties). 1,885 were closed with cash, so 80.5% of buyers had a mortgage. There are still deals to be had as a buyer with financing. Some of my clients buy cash, but many of mine are buying with conventional lending products or other peoples money.