All Forum Posts by: Lydia R.

I've done both. It depends on the situation. When my wholesale fee is over a certain amount ($20K-$25K) I tend to double close to keep from ruffling any feathers on the buyers side. The cons of this are that you will have to fund the A-B side of the transaction. And cover the closing costs. So you need to be getting a higher fee in order to offset the cost. With an assignment, its much simpler and there are no costs for the wholesaler. If you are in a state like Illinois, you will have to double close if you arent a licensed real estate agent. 

You are going to need to speak to a CPA. But the general answer to your question is no. If you are earning income of any kind, the folks at the federal government want their piece. Wholesaling is earned income which is subject to taxes. Putting the house into an LLC does not protect you from paying taxes. Definitely seek some expert advice from an accountant or CPA who can advise you on the best ways to reduce the amount of taxes you owe to the IRS

Without knowing all the details (ARV, amount of repairs needed, other debt on the property etc) its tough to advise you properly. However I will throw one thing out that might be of help. I just recently partnered with a lender who has agreed (after much convincing on my part) to offer 100% financing to wholesalers to be able to close on their deals. Perhaps this is the solution for you since the seller is running out of time. I assume the property will be auctioned on July 2nd? Does your state have a redemption period? If so, you can still wholesale the deal as long as the numbers make sense

Wholesalers who are able to close on their properties before reselling will have the advantage. I am working with a lender who is offering 100% financing to wholesalers who want to close on their deals and then resell. I think that is what the future of wholesaling will be and a lot of the bad apples will be out of the game. Which I dont think anyone will be terribly upset about. 

I've have not taken it, but I have spoken to some people who have and the reviews were not positive. All the big name gurus will promise you that their program will teach you everything you need to know to be successful...and then this hit you with a MASSIVE price tag. That money is much better spent on marketing for your first deal. Wholesaling isnt complicated. Its actually very simple. Those who are making millions of dollars by teaching it have to make it seem more complicated that it is so that you feel like you need their expensive programs. I've been wholesaling for over 8 years and I promise you, there is more knowledge to be gained by getting started and learning from real world, hands on experience than from paying $2,000 - $15,000 to some guru from Youtube. Im happy to answer any of your questions! Take it from me, spend the money on marketing for your first deal. 

@Wesley Tripp While I dont recommend wholesaling with an agent involved, in this case if the seller has not signed an agreement with the agent, they are free to sell the property to whomever they wish. If the seller has already signed an agreement with the agent, then the agent will be compensated by the seller, per the terms of their agreement. If everyone is on board with the plan to wholesale the deal, you are responsible for finding an end buyer and assigning the contract. The seller will be responsible for paying the agent commission. This might throw a wrench into the mix because the seller will end up making less money. They are already going to have to sell at a discount for this to be a viable wholesale deal and then on top of that reduced price they will have to compensate the agent. If it were me, I would make the argument that the agent has not fulfilled their obligation to bring a buyer for the property and is therefore not entitled to a commission. But thats between the seller and the agent. When working with agents you should always be aware that everyone wants to know how they get paid. And your answer to that will determine how excited (or not) they are to work with you.

@Jay Hinrichs I have an interesting footnote to add to your comment. I have an investor friend who was in the same boat as you. She was under contract with a wholesaler to purchase a property in SC and every title company she called said they would not close the transaction--for the same reasons you mentioned. She eventually was able to get the deal closed. There is a company called 24hourclose.com and apparently they are closing these transactions in South Carolina. Not sure how they are able to do this or if they are breaking the rules and dont care, but they are actively closing deals in South Carolina. Just thought I would put that out there. No one had heard of them until the new legislation came out and everyone else said they wouldnt close these transactions. 

 Hi Ethan! 20K is more than enough to get started! I cannot guarantee when or how soon you will close a deal. That all depends on how much time and effort you are willing to dedicate on a daily basis. If you are willing to be fully committed you will see results sooner rather than later. I can recommend a GREAT book that outlines all the steps to follow to get you to your first deal. Its literally the blueprint to making your first $15,000 wholesale fee. I would be more than happy to share it with you. Send me a PM. More than happy to help you! Ive been wholesaling for almost 8 years and flipping for almost 4. If you have any questions, Im happy to answer them for you! We need more young people investing in real estate. My mom made me get my real estate license when I was 18 but I went into corporate America after college and didnt pursue real estate until much later. If I had stayed with it I would be retired and living on a private island right now. So if i can help get you there sooner I will! 

Its all downhill after you have the property under contract. Contract goes to title, while title is getting payoffs and making sure there are no issues, you will find a buyer, schedule showings etc. Once you secure a buyer you will assign your contract to them, they will deposit their EMD with your title company. You want to follow up with all parties (seller, title and buyer) every few days to make sure everything is on track. You keep that up until closing. Legally a title company cant advise you on how to run your wholesaling business. All they can do is tell you what they do on their end and what their process is. Everything outside of that is out of their hands and they wont 'hold your hand' or advise you because their job is to remain neutral and impartial.

 Great job getting a system in place before your called gets started. In my business, each list is called 3 times, at different parts of the day on different days and any lead that cannot be reached is then sent to a new list slated for texting and if they cannot be reached by text the list goes to my direct mail company and we send out a round of letters and post cards. After that the leads are considered dead. If we find we are only reaching a very small percentage of a list we will get it re-skipped by a different company because its possible that the issue is bad numbers.