The Key to Wholesaling: Quality of Deal Over Size of Buyers List

My niche is buy and hold, and I think in some ways that makes me perfect to discuss some of the do's and don'ts regarding wholesaling. Given, that I am perhaps the model buyer for wholesale deals, I can tell you at least what I am looking for.

Honestly, I can't stand most wholesellers. I get email after email with overpriced, rundown garbage in the worst parts of town. Sometimes I will get the same property, at different prices (all above market) from multiple wholesellers. This trash just goes round and round and until someone finds a sucker to buy it.

That being said, there are some good wholesellers. I just bought a 3-1 for $24,000 from a wholeseller whom I consider to be one of the best. I had lunch with him after we closed and he told me he was cutting down his buyer's list to just the few who he knew could really close. This made it so, 1) he could trust the buyer and 2) the buyer knew they were actually getting a good deal.

I think there's a bunch of guru's out there telling new investors they can simply get properties under contract and wholesale them for an easy $10,000 profit. However, wholesaling is not easy at all. In many ways, it's harder than flipping or buy and hold because you need to get a big enough margin for both you and the end investor.

So don't focus so much on the buyer's list. No end buyer wants to be the one who buys a property off a mass email to 150 people. The natural thing to think is "why didn't any of the other people on this email buy it?" Instead, focus on the deal.

If you buy a property under market enough, you should be able to put in on Craigslist and get it under contract for a decent profit that day. And if you have five to ten good buyers, you can just keep going back to them time and time again without wasting your time on building an endless list of wannabe investors whom you can spam with bad deals.

Remember, if you have a great deal under contract, it doesn't matter how big your buyer's list is. And if you have a terrible deal under contract, it still doesn't matter how big your buyer's list is.

It's all about the deal!