Okay, here goes... When I first 'attempted' wholesaling, I was in such a small market in Louisiana that I thought the smart thing to do was look for properties in the largest market near me which was New Orleans (and 5 hours away). I jumped on Craigslist, put the first property in N.O. that looked like a good deal under contract and thought I was on my way. The asking price was $70,000 and the ARV according to neighborhood prices was $150,000. Also, according to the seller, estimated repairs was only $15,000-$20,000. So, I figured, there was plenty of wiggle room between $90,000 and $150,000 for profit. So, I drove down to New Orleans and spent a week on my own dime showing the property to potential buyers. What I found was (a) the street the house was on was very nice but the neighborhood surrounding it was not (b) the estimated repairs was way off. The house would require more like $80,000 in repairs, not the $20,000 the seller quoted! (c) As if that wasn't enough, the house was in a flood zone! Needless to say, I left New Orleans with no deal, no house, and I was out of several hundred bucks spent on hotel, gas, food, etc. On the bright side, once I got home and recovered, I found a property two blocks over from my house, got it under contract and made $10,000 off it. Moral(s) of story: a. Know your market; b. Don't just go with quoted numbers, do your own due diligence, and; c. Its okay to start where you are. Sometimes the best deals are in your own back yard.. literally!
