@Calus Glispie
I'm a wholesaler and flipper and on the wholesale side, the most I've given directly to a seller is $250 for EM. The one time I did put up $1000 was for a huge land deal and I put the money in escrow at the title company. If he says it has to be non-refundable, I would walk away. It doesn't say you're not serious but deals fall thru everyday, even deals through agents. Which brings me to another point.
I don't understand why people (usually agents) have such a problem with wholesalers. I have had a client thank me in tears because I sold a property she couldn't get an agent to touch. Most of the houses we sell are in need of substantial repairs and are inhabitable "as is". Agents (at least those in my area) don't want to deal with those kind of properties because they're not `move-in' ready and the majority of their clients are looking for houses that are ready to live in. Also, they can't make as much commission on those kind of houses.
Also, it has been my experience that wholesalers have "cash" buyers for their properties as oppose to having to wait on financing to be approved so there's a higher chance of their deals going through. And, regardless of what you tell yourself, a seller suffers the same disappointment when a deal through an agent falls through as he does when a wholesale deal falls through.
There's enough room in this game for all of us and there's no need for disrespect just because something doesn't fit `your idea' of how things should go. Just my two cents...
