Fellow Wholesalers pay no attention to Realtors, Brokers, and other investors who pose as the ethics police regarding wholesaling.
Wholesalers deal in 6%-10% of the market and this leaves plenty of meat on the bone for Realtors. As one of my strategies, I wholesale, and most of the deals I get under contract are such that most Realtors won't touch them or the seller doesn't want to deal with an agent.
Banks and mortgage companies sell (Wholesale) mortgages all the time and the phony ethics police are hidden in the tall grass and then crawl out from under their rock to decry wholesaling.
One of the specious arguments asserted by the phony ethics police is that because the wholesalers can't purchase the house themselves they shouldn't enter into a contract or that if they can't find a cash buyer that won't be able to purchase the house and therefore should not enter into an agreement with the seller.
This is frankly a week argument. Many investors fail to secure financing and deals subsequently fall apart all the time. It's a negative aspect of business, not moral turpitude or a lack of ethics.
Wholesalers are partners with their cash buyers and if the deal is profitable and the wholesaler know their numbers there is rarely a problem.
Some Realtors are myopic creatures and assume that all homeowners Must and only want to work with Realtors. This arrogant and erroneous belief is shared by many Realtors. News flash many people don't want to work with agents.
Wholesalers be transparent with your sellers and let them know that you intend to make a profit and that you have many partners aka "cash buyers."
And, if necessary, get transactional funding or private money to close deals.
And if you think the seller would fare better with a Realtor then refer them to a good Realtor. Good meaning effective and ethical.
Remember there are good Wholesalers and bad Wholesalers just like there are good Realtors and bad Realtors
Wholesaling is not inherently bad but there are bad Wholesalers and no license will ever ensure ethical behavior.
If your state requires that you get a Real Estate license then cheerfully comply.
Remember, most real estate investing, in essence, is wholesaling in as much as all investors are looking for a discount on the purchase price.
Since wholesalers dealing in at most 10% of the market, it's evident that the phony ethics police are motivated by avarice and jealously. They use the ethics argument and castigation as a prop and pretext as a justification and cover for their avarice. They rationalize it ~Rational -lies.
Often they use of the myth of the poor stupid seller that has been living in the Himalayas as a hermit for years and suddenly inherited a house, and because the hermit never heard of Zillow or Real Estate Agents, falls victim to the evil wholesaler.
Conclusion: Be a person of integrity, but don't be fooled by or discouraged by the phony ethics police because they are either frauds or ignorant or both.