preserving capital when wholesaling foreclosures

Quick question for my experienced compadres out there that are wholesaling foreclosures. When putting offers in on foreclosures (traditional, VA and HUD), one has to actually put down real ernest money in the form of a cashiers check of $500, $1,000 or more, which can get expensive really fast.

For a wholesale or option on a property held by a private seller, one can get away with putting down $10, $5 or even $0. Not as much flexibility with foreclosures

How are you guys reducing your exposure to tying up or losing that cash? Are you using your end buyers’s cash, your private lenders cash or ???

Good question. What I do is float one deposit with my Realtor and have him make all the offers using that check (which he hasn’t even deposited).

Thats what I do sometiimes, but for huds and Va not feasible. It’s also hard when you have several in play at the same time. I prefer not to use my money, but use my end buyers’ or private lenders.

To make an offer i just use a personal check (the other day I realized I had about 2 dozen checks for $1,000 sitting around my office, most with the payee blank),I scan and send to agent,now when my offer is accepted I send over a cashiers check, I’ve never been ask to send a cashiers check with an offer

what do you do for va and hud, where they require certified funds?

I have no experience with VA,but we have made a couple of offers on HUD homes, and I don’t remember sending any cash over, the bid is made online through my agent, I’m thinking you don’t pay any real earnest money until your bid is accepted.

how do you deal with the fact that it can take several weeks/ months to wholesale the reo to a cash buyer and not all will sell? Do you just keep several grand floating around in ernest monies of you own? Or do you just focus on one deal at a time?

It shouldnt take months to wholesale a house

2 weeks is your golden window, in my opinion.

Ive had deals take longer than 2 weeks, but I try to sell then. By 1.5 weeks I usually start making calls to other wholesalers to try and see what I can stir up.

You need to get the REO/VA prop cheap enough where it will sell in 2 weeks.