All Forum Posts by: Ryan Webber

Wholesalers normally do quite a bit of advertizing. I would call the "I buy houses" ads in your local paper, phonebook, and classifieds. You are sure to find a wholesaler or they might know of some.

I would also recommend joining your local REI club. There are sure to be wholesalers there, or atleast someone will know of some.

I'm not sure why you are opposed to using a real estate agent, but the MLS via an agent is the easiest and most accurate method to get comps. Appraisers use the MLS for their comps, and I would suggest you do to. It has the most accurate, up-to-date sales information on houses in your area. The non-agent access that is provide in my city locally will not give sold listings information, so you may not be able to access comps through yours without an agent's access. If you network with a realtor I would ask them for their login and password so you can just pull your own comps instead of always calling them. Then use them when making an offer on listed property.

On a rehab project, I would be looking to make atleast 15% of the ARV or a minimum of 12K. When I started I just factored backwards to what I would make on the deal and decided whether that was enough money or not.

I know a lot of new investors brush over the 70% of ARV minus repairs formula, but it really is where you need to be. I think new investors get discouraged because 70% equity in a deal requires some diligent effort to find, so they get discouraged and start rationalizing the numbers higher. What happens is you get bit, and when you get bit hard enough you start sticking with 70% of ARV minus repairs as a maximum offer.

The reason behind this is found in Jim Watkins', aka thedfwmentor, poignant signature, which states. . .

You will NEVER lose money on a deal you walk away from.

I would say it is like everyday life. You meet quite a few people who act like or talk like they are or know something that they are not or do not know. Or maybe they heard something from someone and are now passing it on as fact. Most people don't study the actual source, so they only know and speak from hearsay. I don't have a problem with someone communicating what they have "heard" or "thought" as long as they qualify it as such, but when someone states it as absolute fact or as the "law", it troubles me. Reminds me of the Salem Witch Trials.

For example, if I were the one posting on the Maryland preforeclosure issue, I would have said, "I have seen on the Internet and different forums that there are some laws in Maryland around contacting preforeclosures. I don't think it is illegal, but I think you now have to have some kind of license or something, and you have to follow specific procedures. I AM IGNORANT of the exact law, and I would recommend contacting a qualified attorney in the matter."

It's just is so much less confrontational, and less destructive to just qualify what you know and how you know it. The issue is that you may be WRONG, and you don't even know it.

The issue with the forum is the same as in life. Sometimes you have to filter through the mounds of garbage to find the morsel of truth, and the only tool you have to do it with is your own judgment.

Welcome to the forum, Eric.

It sounds like you have a well thought out plan in front of you, and you're already on your way with it. That's great. The forum is a great place to give and receive direction and wisdom. It sounds like you will fit in perfectly.

Well conventional financing and wholesaling are not always the best mix. As we've been discussing above, title seasoning issues can be required by the lender. If there are seasoning requirements then a double closing won't work. If the lender won't accept an assignment then you are going to have issues wholesaling it to your buyer. I would find out what their lenders requirements are on these issues.

"Wholesaling" is selling to another investor not a retail buyer. Most investors that I wholesale to either use hard money or have developed relationships with banks and utilize commercial funding or cash and not conventional financing. I sell very few of my properties to investor who utilize conventional financing, mostly because it takes too long to close (usually 30+ days). If you can't close in less than two weeks, then I normally won't sell a wholesale property to you.

I've emailed the investor in Atlanta to find out where he closes. Also, you said you are having your buyer sign first and then your seller. I would HIGHLY recommend doing the opposite. Not having a contract on the property can pose some sticky legal issues. Everything doesn't always go as planned and if your seller backs out and doesn't sign, you're stuck with a contract with the buyer.

In reference to the land trust, I have no idea. I have studied them moderately but have never used one and have no experience with them.

I think just checking out some of the articles on the left side and searching through some of the past postings on wholesaling and flipping can help fill in a lot of the gaps. You have a lot of experience at your fingertips here at biggerpockets. I'd recommend using it.

I'm glad you figured it out. It sure beats buying a new water heater and then finding out it wasn't even needed.

Are you looking to hold it as a rental or to resell it?

Ever seen the TV show "Flip This House". That's a rehab. Buy it, fix it up, and resell them.