All Forum Posts by: Matthew J. T.

As a wholesaler I know you shouldn't have to put anything down like, that, but when you see some for sale by owners that are wanting for example 800 dollar down payment, how do wholesalers go about getting a contract signed if the person is wanting a down payment for the property? how do you avoid this?.

Thanks everybody for your help, I have been searching around and I think I found what I am looking for as far as getting reliable comps in my local area. All I did was get on google and search MLS in my area, which is Albuquerque, it directed me to this website:

http://www.realestateinabq.com/all_albuquerque_properties.html

From there I clicked "How much did that house sell for?" And it redirected me to a link, I put my name and contact info, click continue, i added zip code, sq ft, number of bed and baths, and from there it submitted me and e-mail saying they will let me know when they have found recent comps based on what I searched... Hopefully this is all I need...

I've been searching countlessly to find an answer for this, my question is that, well I guess two questions.

First of all, if I find a seller that is putting a property up for sale for 185k for example, and the actual ARV is only 150k, how do I go about telling the seller that you are selling this property for way too much to start at ? If you follow me, you have to be able to make a deal starting at the ARV not at what the Owner is trying to sell it at correct? Or do I negotiate with the owner based off of what there "Set" price is , or do I negotiate based off of what "ARV" is?

Second, I've been spending time researching how to find comps, even if you go based off of ARV and not what the seller is trying to sell the house to you at, and all the websites (which I have seen other people on here as well on BP) often have inaccurate information such as zillow etc (the free/computerized websites) And so if I don't have access to MLS or know anybody, what can I do about estimating ARV of a house?

I know there are "pay" websites such as RealQuest and SiteX but I am just starting out as of now and they seem to be expensive and I have searched just about everywhere looking for my answer so hopefully I can find it here. Starting out what is the first method you used without having MLS getting a contractor or paying expensive websites to figure out ARV?

My other question is you don't necessarily have to wholesale distressed properties do you? I'm sure there are PLENTY of properties out there with cosmetic problems, than motivated sellers have to sell because they are in pre-forclusure. You don't necessarily need to buy a piece of junk I wouldn't think, as long as the seller is motivated to get rid of the property for whatever reason, I think the less distressed the property is the better. I don't see a point in dealing with highly distressed area's when there are tons of motivated sellers needing to just move out because they cannot afford it.

Good answers guys, I will take all of what you said into consideration. Let's say you are working with a house that isn't in bad shape at all, that just needs cosmetic work and some touch ups, I wouldnt need to get any numbers for that or just simple numbers?

And give them an idea of what needs to be fixed. Keep in mind when wholesaling a house I dont want to be looking for a complete piece of junk either, I wanna make sure it's in decent shape, at least

According to this lady she says that she's been fine without knowing estimates for years, and doesnt follow a formula.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-IFl1prszA&feature=related

what do you think?

I appreciate the response Aaron. I see what you are saying, but I have seen different answers.

For example read this article:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2009/11/05/wholesaling-and-repair-estimates-you-dont-need-to-be-an-expert/

And like I said on my first original post quoting some other people they told me other. So I am unsure who to follow.

EDIT *** this is what I ment to but under

" However, I was reading an article from an investor than he said this:"

it's not letting me cut and paste go here:
http://www.nextphasehomes.com/WholesaleNotes.pdf

and read under "Classic Mistake, grossly underestimating repairs or not having a repair estimate"

First off, I did search forums and these are the two answers I got :

"My best advice and the safest advice for you, don't estimate rehab costs for them. There are too many factors outside of your control that contribute to rehab costs. As the wholesaler, your job is to find a great property and leave a lot of profit on the table so that you can move onto your next deal and they can rehab and retail.

Now, if you have an inspection report you want to disclose that to the buyer and let them make the decision from there. Your job as the wholesaler is to buy at the right price and sell at the right price.

"Instead of focusing on costs when speaking to the end-buyer investor, I recommend that a wholesaler talk to the things that need to be repaired/renovated and let the investor decide what the costs will be."

However, I was reading an article from an investor than he said this:

""My best advice and the safest advice for you, don't estimate rehab costs for them. There are too many factors outside of your control that contribute to rehab costs. As the wholesaler, your job is to find a great property and leave a lot of profit on the table so that you can move onto your next deal and they can rehab and retail.

Now, if you have an inspection report you want to disclose that to the buyer and let them make the decision from there. Your job as the wholesaler is to buy at the right price and sell at the right price.

"Instead of focusing on costs when speaking to the end-buyer investor, I recommend that a wholesaler talk to the things that need to be repaired/renovated and let the investor decide what the costs will be."

So which is it, do you just need to be able to list to the investor area's of the property that needs repair, OR do you need to know the ACTUAL repair cost as a wholesaler?

It surprises me how some people on this forum don't care to help, they just try and make it more difficult than it really is and try to discourage others from learning or getting into this. Isn't that the point of a forum, to ask questions, and get answers? Anyways, I found some websites of what I was looking for, feel free to post more information, thanks on the help for those that did help though.

ok how would you know how much repairs the house needs, again, what do you base that off of other than the seller?