Hello Alexandra,
I'm in the wholesale business. Have yet to do my first deal but I'm in the process of sending out my first postcard campaign as we speak. Now on to your question I don't know any wholesale friendly investor in your area, but what i can tell you is that if your in the wholesale business a realtor is ideal but not necessary. What i mean is as a wholesaler having a realtor on your side can save you alot of time and money. I'll tackle one at a time.
As far as saving you money, you will need to pull comps for properties that you pursue, or that pursue you (hopefully it's the latter). The most effective and accurate way to pull comps is by befriending a realtor who will pull the comps of a specific property. Which is essential when you are making offers.
Now when it comes to saving you money, having a realtor to pull your comps means you don't have to spend money on paid comp services i.e Realquest or Sitexdata. Both of these service are used by real estate investors to pull comps.
now with that being said nothing in this world is free (Unfortunately). So if you decide to go the realtor route, you have to have something to offer them in exchange for the service they provide for you. In this case it would be to pull comps. Most times Realtors wait for clients to come to them (this is not always the case). So what do you have to offer them you ask? Well private seller leads! I like saying I'm an Real Estate Investor instead of just categorizing my self as a wholesaler. I say this because if i come across a lead i would like to think that i could find a way to make money from it one way or another, but most of the time, and what alot of people will tell you is that you should focus on one strategy (wholesaling) and move on to the next once you perfect it. If you have adopted that philosophy then there will be some leads that you will not be able to do anything with. For example: Short Sales, Foreclosures, etc. These leads are your bargaining chips, and you will pass these leads onto a realtor in exchange for their services (comps).
Usually a new, hungry realtor will jump at a chance to work with us because we kind of do some of the heavy lifting when we gather all the information about the property and then pass it along to them on a silver platter. All in all if you find the right realtor who will work for you in exchange for "pre-qualified leads" it can be a home run for you and your business.
Hope this helps and good luck with your search!
Lamont H.
