Based on my recent experiences it's starting seem like the two choices are between using some expensive incorporated service like "The Handyman Connection" (which I found to suck, btw), and taking a chance on the whol...

Do not plan to bid at your first-one, just go: observe, learn who the players (high-bidders) are, and get to know some of them if you can.

Wholesaling suffers from the same problem that bulk REO, CRE funding, and several other niche areas suffer from....there are 95% pretenders crowding out the 5% real players.

No - this isn't optional""Aaron - even though you are skilled and competent at your job, you're the wrong race and therefore not invited to corporate dinner events.

It really just depends on who you are.My clients do not want a real estate license.They do want to invest in commercial real estate.The best use of their time is their primary field of expertise (lawyer,doctor,developer,tax accountant,business owner).So for them it's important not what they pay me but that I am competent and help them reach their goals.I am talking about individuals that make hundreds of thousands of dollars a year with their primary work and are very busy.If you are an investor that can do it all yourself and want to save a little nut on commission then it might be worth it to you.

If you go to build 5 units or larger you will be into commercial funding.Most investors I know right now are not building from the ground up.You can simply find a property with issues to buy for cheap and rehab for way less than replacement costs.Just like many home builders aren't constructing new home but buying rehabs to sell as flips because they can do that way cheaper and make a profit than build new.Of course there are exceptions for lake lots,ocean views,mountain views,gold course etc. where new builds still make sense as well as areas that do not have oversupply but demand is high to live there.Do you want to make and imprint and leave a legacy for your town and compete with the family there or are you all about returns wherever that may be??

Be prepared for long hours and low pay as you compete with the crew leader's cousin for the low man position.On the other hand, what do I know.

Head down to your local bank auction sale, ask around for the biggest players, then let them know what you have and that they don't even have to compete for it.

Jon- you just encouraged the "critical mass" to compete with us!

We now have quite a bit of money commited to this property due to inspections and the cost of transfering funds.Even if the new re-forclosure process takes 2-6 months, can we get a long term contract extension so we can still purchase this property when it eventually comes back on the market, without having to re-submit offers and compete with other buyers?