<quote>If I want to sell my house fast and it's in bad condition why can't I just put an add out on craigslist saying </quote>
Sure they could. In fact, a large amount of sellers who respond to wholesaler advertising either have their home on the market currently or their listing has recently expired. Or they're FSBOing and can't find a buyer.
The fact is, that a large % of wholesale deals are for distressed homes that the average buyer cannot get a loan for. And average buyers don't want to deal with huge amounts of repairs anyways.
Real estate is something that intimidates the large majority of people. So if someone can come along (the wholesaler) and solve their problem for them, without them having to spend any time on the issue, then that is a value to a seller.
Most sellers are dealing with some tremendous emotional, physical, or financial burden (divorce, death, illness or job loss). If a wholesaler can come along and relieve them of that, then I guarantee you they won't feel ripped off.
