The term "wholesaling" if often used by unlicensed brokers trying to middle-man deals for a profit.

You MAY be liable for the purchase if the unlicensed broker deal falls through.

Many of the unlicensed broker scammers never tell the WHOLE truth.

BEFORE you deal with any unlicensed broker consider these ideas:1.

They have a staff of unlicensed assistants and handymen that do the work of the company.

Also, due to liability reasons, most management companies will not hire unlicensed people, which of course increases costs.I pay $469 a year for insurance, which is a bit less than your estimate. 

There are two ways to legally wholesale in FL:1. be licensed2. purchase and then resell.Here is the statute that was amended to deal with unlicensed brokers:475.43 Presumptions.

Many states are cracking down on unlicensed brokering, it has gotten out of hand in a lot of areas.

At most you can expect about 15 bucks an hour for unlicensed assistant duties.You're never going to get a real piece of the commission without a license or do something more professional like photography or staging the property.Colorado may have different laws so I can't speak for them.

Some areas allow unlicensed people (such as investors) to pay for MLS access, some require you to be an "assistant" to a licensed agent, while others I would imagine restrict to only licensed agents/brokers.