Wholesaling 101
Wholesaling property is today’s market may seem tough to do, but it really isn’t if you have the right system in place. I want you to think “system” from this point forward. Every business that is successful has “systems” in place. They have to or they would be scattered all over the place. When I first entered into real estate I was scattered all over the place. Papers here leads there and everything was just a big mess. Once I incorporated a “system” things ran a lot smoother and more efficiently. So from the very beginning I want you to think how you can systematize your business. It’s very important.
I have been doing wholesale flips for some time now and I can tell you this. Now is the best time ever to get in and make lots of money. It’s better than any other time in the past. Why you ask? Here is the answer. Prices are at a staggering all time low. Quite simply put it’s a buyers market. Buyers are able to justify the prices they pay for real estate. What else justifies the price you ask? Look at all the foreclosures and REO’s (bank owned property) on the market today. Anybody looking to sell in this market has to know that any investor in any part of the country can go into any area and pick up bank owned properties for pennies on the dollar. Yes they may in most cases need work, but the good thing is these properties are almost identical to the one’s these sellers are selling. Know this, if a seller does not accept your offer today the value in most cases will continue to go down as time goes on. They will be kicking themselves 6 months from now because they declined your offer. So educating your sellers about the way the market is can be paramount. Most sellers feel they can get retail for there houses. The only way they can get retail in today’s market is to place it on the MLS and pray that a buyer will just fall in love with it. This process could take months.
Before we begin, I want to list some important tools you will need to make this business a whole lot easier.
• Pulling Comparables
You will need to have a way to access what is going on in your investing area. You need to know what has sold and at what price it sold for. Try to compare apples to apples. Here is the ideal way to do your comps. Only go out ½ to 1 mile radius, only go 4 months back if need be 6 months max, and choose 15% of the gross living area more or less. This formula will narrow down the comps that are the closest to your subject property.
You can use
- Real Quest
- The MLS if you have access
- Win2Data
These 3 are a great place to start.
• A simple website
To start off you don’t need an elaborate website. All you need is something simple and easy to navigate. I recommend a squeeze page that has a form that can capture buyers and sellers information. I use a free program called Nvu. There web address is http://net2.com/nvu/. You could get a site up in 20 minuets or less. You’re even able to add audio and video to the site. I use it and I love it.
• A Court House
This may seem obvious, but this is the place you locate any lead type you can imagine for FREE. All it takes is your time. You can get probate leads, divorce leads, bankruptcy leads, foreclosure leads, landlords, and absentee owner leads. The staff at the court house is very helpful and will guide you in what ever it is that you need. Now a days you may even be able to access court house information online. Some charge an annual subscription fee. But most are free. So visit your court house and get some leads starting to come in.