How Much Money Can a Wholesaler Make?

Before we get too deep into the specifics of assembling a wholesale deal, I want to talk about the elephant in the room: Is wholesaling really investing?

Who cares?

Wholesaling is not passive, but neither is flipping or landlording. Nearly every worthwhile aspect of real estate investing involves some level of work, and the systems you create are what define how much work that is. Some wholesalers work far fewer hours than most landlords because they’ve established the proper systems to handle the majority of their business. is is where I want you to be—and this is where you can be. I believe at its core, wholesaling is a job. If you stop working, it stops producing.

Related: The 6 Most Common Newbie Wholesaling Questions, Answered!

However, it’s a job that can help you raise cash for future investing while also giving you the skills you need to become a great real estate investor. By mastering the art of wholesaling, you master the art of marketing for deals, which most real estate investors never excel at.

Perhaps the greatest benefit of wholesaling is that you are able to cherry-pick the best deals (those that fit your long-term plan) to hang on to, while wholesaling the rest. If you can create a marketing machine that consistently churns out great leads, you can wholesale 90% of the properties you find, keeping 10% for flipping or long-term buy and hold. Because you’d be able to get such deep discounts, this would only accelerate your wealth-building activities and lead you to financial freedom that much more quickly.

So who cares if it’s a job or investing?

If you love doing it, do it. If you don’t, then don’t.

How Much Money Can a Wholesaler Make?

Of course, no one is in the wholesaling game because it’s just a fun hobby. Wholesalers work their tails off, because good money can be made.

But how much?

Defining a “typical” wholesale fee is hard, but most wholesalers I know try to make a minimum of $5,000 per deal—and some make a lot more. In the end, it all comes down to how good of a deal you can get. The larger the spread between the price you pay for a property and the price you sell it for, the more money you make, and the more deals you do, the more money you make.

Related: A Simple Explanation of How to Make Money by Wholesaling Properties

One of the biggest mistakes most new wholesalers make is forgetting one simple fact: A wholesaler needs to sell at wholesale prices! Because the primary buyer for a wholesale deal is another real estate investor, a wholesaler must come to the table with a better deal than what the other investor can get on their own. For example, if a typical three-bedroom, two-bath house in Cougar Town sells for $150,000, and an investor wants to get such a house for $110,000, the wholesaler had better get it for even less than $110,000. If they can get it for $105,000 and sell it for $110,000, they could make $5,000 (less fees). If they can get if for $90,000, they could make $20,000 (less fees).

Your success as a wholesaler starts with finding a great deal. The old adage of “you make your money when you buy” rings especially true for the wholesaler. So how do you know what a great deal is?

For this, it all comes down to the math.

[This is an excerpt from Brandon Turner’s The Book on Investing in Real Estate with No (or Low) Money Down.]

Do you think wholesaling is really investing? What do you think is a good amount to aim for in a wholesaling deal?

Let me know your thoughts with a comment!