Hi Tee and welcome to BP! You and I seem to have the same goals and I commend you for taking action.
I'll try to answer a few of your questions and I'll let some others chime in as well :)
1. When doing wholesale deals in NJ, is it necessary to obtain a real estate attorney or will the title company handle the entire transaction? If you find an investor friendly title company that knows how to handle assignments of contract, then they can typically handle the entire closing. They can pull title, schedule closing, and most importantly, cut the checks. Many real estate attorneys can do the same thing as well. You can use one or the other.
4. As a wholesaler, are there ever any closing costs or feeds due from the wholesaler? You can put an earnest money deposit into escrow so that you will have equitable interest in the property you get under contract. Some wholesalers put $10 EMD. I usually put $100 or $250 depending on the size of the deal. As far as closing costs, just be sure to make it clear to your end buyer that they will be responsible to pay all closing costs. If you double close, then that may be a different story. But a simple assignment wouldn't require you to pay the fees.
5. Is a double closing recommended if there is a large profit involved for the wholesaler and does the lawyer and/or title company have to be paid twice for the transactions? If so who pays those fees? Yes! It's not required, but to stay in the safe zone so that there aren't any issues with the seller or end buyer concerning a huge fee you will be making, then double close. The amount varies from wholesaler to wholesaler. Some double close at 10k and up. Others 20k and up. Some just don't care and will still assign.
7. What is the general rule of thumb when presenting numbers for a wholesale deal? (i.e. What % of the ARV should be used when calculating the deal). I use ARV x.65 - estimated repairs - assignment fee = asking price. For less desirable areas, I'll use 60 or 55% of ARV.
8. What kind of information about the property/deal should the wholesaler provider to the cash buyer? It's always good to include standard things such as beds, baths, sq footage, lot size, types of rooms in the house, garage, flood zone or no, etc. Also, it's helpful to provide a scope of work (roof needs replacing, landscaping, needs new cabinets, etc.). Also estimated repair costs, ARV, and comps are helpful. These aren't required, but it's always helpful! Ultimately, the buyer should do their own due diligence as well.
I always try to include tons of pictures and even a video walkthrough of the property (if i can).
I hope this helped! Let me know if you'd like to ever link up and partner on some deals :)
Cedric
