All Forum Posts by: Isaac Barrow

Wholesaling seems to be a sector of real estate everyone's getting involved in. But like Omar said, I think it takes a lot more than a course and some bandit signs to really start making money. It requires lots of training, more than just a course, as well as a real marketing presence, and a lot of initiative and persistence. It's very difficult to be really consistent doing wholesaling. There are very few, I assume, in each market actually consistently turning up stuff, and I assume, even fewer turning up good stuff. 

This looks like a great thread I'll be reading. We do a lot of wholesaling in the Indianapolis area, and the three points OP made are great ones - I think you also need a great understanding of your buyer base and what they're truly looking for. At the end of the day, you're just providing a service. But I don't think we've ever quoted rehab numbers, unless specifically asked. I have construction background in my family, so I have learned to get a better idea for scope of rehab, but you can never truly know how much work a home needs until you get into it. Until then, you're just spit balling. 

As Jim said, I would always recommend yard signs, and fairly visible ones, maybe a yard sign as well as a sign that tapes to the door. We've always used Simplisafe, and we find their service to usually be the cheapest between them and other companies like Koorsen, ADT, etc. 

In my experience, the actual template Yellow Letters "handwrittens" have worked. The typed ones look a bit too... officious, as if they were just manufactured by a marketing company (which they are). The handwritten ones just feel a bit more personal and down-to-earth. 

These are great, not nearly as interesting as mine, though I did have one say "my boyfriend would be on the lease, he's just getting out of jail next week." And another say "This house is great! I'd just want to rip up all these floors and refinish them." 

I've always had good results with Find The Seller. Fairly cheap, and their data is amazing, and it usually only takes them 1 business day for it to give you a report up to 150 pages. Best of luck!

In our experience:

1) Doesn't suit their needs for space. We've had a lot of tenants leave bigger, 3-bed, 3-level properties because they want one-level houses so they don't have to walk up and down the stairs.

2) If it's a couple, they have a kid, or divorce.

3) Job relocation.

Very helpful! Thanks for posting!