All Forum Posts by: Leilah Davis

@Robert Shorey just curious ... if you're able to pay cash yourself why are you wholesaling?? There are a lot more ethical, more rewarding, and more profitable ways to make money as an investor, especially if you have the cash.  

I can understand wholesaling if it's an investor who just picks up so many deals and literally can't manage all of them so he wholesales some to other investors. I have no issue with that and to be honest I think we need a different word for that, because it's really nothing like wholesaling the way the gurus "teach" it. How about Hand-me-Down deals? lol 

But specifically seeking out distressed sellers in order to pawn properties off on other investors at inflated prices (whether your doing contract assignments or paying upfront yourself) is just .... gross and sticky like a day old lollipop. Why bother with that?  

@Robert Shorey Obviously the 99% figure is a random made up number that was just used to prove a point ... a point which you missed entirely. The point is that wholesalers don't offer anything that someone else can't offer. They're not bringing anything special to the table, they act purely as a middle man doing essentially the same thing as a Realtor, they just don't hold the license. And because of that, many of them don't know what they're doing, ending with either the buyer OR the seller getting taken advantage of. When you work with a Realtor as a buyer or seller there are a million protections in place for you to make sure you aren't being taken advantage of.  

Wholesalers often tout about being able to get their sellers' cash quickly, but they're not bringing the cash ... they're just bringing the buyer. The buyer is the one who has something to offer here, not the wholesaler. The wholesaler is just connecting buyers and sellers and making a profit in between, that's ALL they are doing. Tell me how that's different than what a Realtor does? A good Realtor will always take the seller's priorities into account. If they need to close quickly, they'll help with that. And there are plenty of Realtors who specialize in fixer-uppers, or investor-friendly Realtors who have a large network of investors they can advertise a run-down property to .... exactly the same as what you're describing.  

Now since you asked me where I got that 99% from ... I'd love to ask you about that $150k ARV with $100k repairs that you got some sucker to pay $150k for ... If this example is real (and I highly doubt that it is) tell me how the buyer in this scenario didn't get swindled????? I didn't say it's always the seller losing out, I said SOMEBODY always loses out. Sounds to me like you did that buyer dirty, I hope he wasn't a BP investor!!! I had wasted time with a wholesaler once who said he had a "great deal" for me. I gave him my price range and criteria, we had quite a few conversations back and forth, and then he brought me the "deal" he had in mind. The property was in my price range, but the comps that had been listed ON THE MLS in that area had sold for less than HALF of what he was asking for. He really thought I was about to pay DOUBLE market value LOLOL. I'm laughing about it now, but he completely wasted my time. You sound just like him ... but then again that's how most wholesalers sound.

@Andrew Bilis I truly don't understand though ... let's say you know buyer X who is looking for a very specific type of property for his investment portfolio, and you go out and find seller Y whose property checks all of his boxes. The only way YOU as the wholesaler in this scenario are making money is if buyer X is overpaying OR seller Y is underselling. If Seller Y decided to list the property his or herself, or better yet find an agent and list on the market for ACTUAL MARKET VALUE, they may even sell it for more than you're going to sell to buyer X ... or worst case scenario buyer X would find the property himself on the open market and negotiate a sale that way. 

The wholesale model does not "help" anyone but the wholesaler. Tell me how I'm wrong.

This is an absurd analogy. There are two separate markets involved with grocery stores (or any retail commodity like you're describing) - the wholesale market and the retail market. The farmer is fully aware of the fact that he is selling his eggs at a wholesale price because he is not in the retail industry and doesn't have the ability to sell his eggs retail. I mean, he could choose to sell his eggs directly to consumers by going through a farmer's market (literally named that way because farmers sell directly to consumers), but the point is that it's HIS BUSINESS and HIS CHOICE how he wants to sell his products and at what price. Most farmers would rather sell at wholesale prices so that they can sell a higher quantity and make a higher profit at the end of the day. 

Here's the crucial difference - homeowners are not in the BUSINESS of selling homes, there is only ONE real estate market and ONE market value for their home (the price an informed consumer is willing to pay) and 99% of the time the owner who sells to a wholesaler is not aware of this and is therefore being taken advantage of. It's really as simple as that! If the homeowner could make more money on the sale of their home by going through a real estate agent or even listing FSBO then they are being taken advantage of by the wholesaler. And if the homeowner makes the same amount of money ... then you're either dealing with an idiot wholesaler who has overpaid or an idiot investor who is paying a markup for no reason. In any scenario someone is losing out.

@Jerryll Noorden got it. I got a notification that you were replying to me. Must have been a glitch ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

@Jerryll Noorden not sure exactly what you're responding to, this conversation is months old, but yes ... obviously laws apply to everyone regardless of their knowledge and understanding of the law. Did I imply or say otherwise? 

The only question I still had, which remains unanswered, is literally what to register as when registering with the FTC to gain access to the DNC list. 

@Matt M. thanks! I have looked into the Sherriff's auction a bit, but intend on doing more research. Those properties are already in forclosure, though, right? I was asking about pre-forclosure. 

@Matt M. Thanks! But just so I understand ... ask my broker what exactly? I get that there may be some special procedures if we are to make an offer and actually go through with a purchase, but I'm just trying to get some info on how to even find pre-forclosure properties at this point. Nowhere near the step of actually making an offer, just want to take a look at what's out there and get a feel for the process first. Thanks!

My husband and I are in business together building spec homes. He holds our GC license and I hold the real estate license, but I am also very involved with the construction stuff (more involved than him at this point in time, because I work full time on our business as the project manajer / superintendant while he still has a separate 9 to 5 job). The real estate license has been fantastic, and I highly recommend! It hasn't helped on the buying side all that much, because we still find the best deals off-market, but it has helped significantly with listing our properties. I am able to list the property myself, advertise exactly how and when and where I want to, and be in full control of selling the property. Plus I receive a commission as the listing agent so I'm able to save a bit there. I would say the biggest thing it has helped with is being able to quickly and efficiently run comps through the MLS.

As for the best approach / resources, I received my license through The CE Shop. The course was entirely online, so you can go at your own pace, and it was pretty simple and well laid out. They have great study resources as well. After you take your licensing exam you'll have to find a sponsoring broker. The best advice I was given about finding a sponsoring broker was not to think about it likie applying for a job. Most brokerages are happy to have more licensees because they make money when you make money and it doesn't really cost them much to sponsor you. There are some brokerages that don't want new licensees, but most would be happy to have you. Some brokerages want you to work in the office and function more as a full-time agent, and some are perfectly happy to let you do your own thing. Just call around and talk to some brokerages, let them know that you only want to be a part-time agent, get info on the various fees involves and commissions splits, and pick the brokerage that works best for YOU.

Hope this helps! Best of luck!!

Hi all! I have never purchased a property in preforclosure, but it seems like a good thing to look into and wondering if anyone has advice. Where do you find preflorclosure listings, and who do you contact first to get the deal going - the owner, the entity processing the forclosure, or a title attorney? 

A lot of the advice I've seen online for buying prefoclosure properties says you should get a real estate agent who specializes in that ... well I am a licensed agent and would like to represent myself in any deals, but I don't know anything about preforclosure! Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!! Also, what about tax lien forclosures, or other types of forclosures rather than just a bank?

Another thing to note is that we do not buy houses, we are spec developers and therefore we are only buying vacant land. I know there can be a lot of emotions when someone's home that they live in is being forclosed on, but it seems like that isn't as much of an issue with vacant lots. Granted forclosure happens a lot less with vacant lots than with improved property, but it's still an avenue I'd like to look into.

Thanks a bunch!