Are you a DIYer? Do you like sifting through garbage or cleaning brain matter off of the ceiling? Does the thought of removing old mattresses caked with feces get your heart racing? Then becoming a real estate wholesaler may be the perfect career choice for you.
Real Estate Wholesaler Job Summary
A real estate wholesaler basically does all of the real estate investment tasks that nobody else wants to do, knows how to do, or has time to do. Broadly speaking, real estate wholesalers look for investment opportunities, acquire them and then prepare them for the wholesale market.
Contrary to what most people may believe, RARELY does a wholesale market investor find a property that is move-in or rehab ready. When we pick up a property, it’s usually been sitting empty of a while, may be rat infested, may have been vandalized, and is usually in some state of decay.
Calculating Risk
Before we ever purchase a property, we perform an inspection to estimate the costs of:
- Trashing out the property (removing all of the trash, broken appliances, broken fixtures)
- Performing large scale repairs (drywall, roof, ceiling, foundation)
- Performing cosmetic repairs (flooring, cabinets, paint)
- Replacing appliances and fixtures (toilets, sinks, lights, ceiling fans)
We also check the neighbors and the neighborhood. After all, anyone who invests in the property is going to do the same – or they should. A dangerous neighborhood or neighbors, or a house that’s too far from amenities or transportation services may result in high renter turnover. That of course affects rental income, property value and subjects the property to vandalism.
TEAM is Spelled… uh, T-E-A-M
Real estate wholesalers are TEAMS. There’s just no way that one or two people can do this and make a living. Money is made in bulk quantity. We’ve purchased hundreds of houses, multiplexes and condos, so we’ve gotten very good at estimating the costs of getting any property ready for the wholesale market. We’ve also got a pretty good network of contractors we work with. HVAC, plumbers, carpenters, drywallers, electricians, landscapers, and general laborers make up our team. No one person can manage every aspect or situation that may arise. We use professionals. You should too if, for no other reason, than to preserve you sanity.
We Buy LOTS of Houses
The only way to make money in the wholesale RE industry is buy many houses and turn them around quickly… in order to buy more houses. Our goal is that every house we purchase is ready for the wholesale market in 7 to 15 days. Many times we already have buyers BEFORE we purchase a property, so scheduling of contractors is tight. We do everything fast. Some days our office looks like a 1990’s stock market firm as we sit on the computers with a phone on each ear matching properties with investors.
So, in a nutshell, real estate wholesalers buy dilapidated properties and prepare them for the wholesale market.