Real Estate Investing Tips by Scott Roemermann

Aug 01 2010

How Much Can You Make Wholesaling Houses for a Living?

(Original Post: http://www.investing-secrets.com/wholesaling-houses-for-a-living/) Many real estate investors use wholesaling to supplement their income on a regular basis. However, if done right you can use wholesaling for your entire income. You too can take advantage of wholesaling to supplement or complete your income, but just how much money can you bring in through wholesaling houses for a living? [widget:ad_unit-243246181] Real estate wholesaling is different from flipping houses, so those who make money flipping houses should know that real estate wholesaling will bring in considerably less money. However, you’ll be able to make more deals as a wholesaler so you’ll be bringing in that money more often. Real estate wholesalers can count on a glut of cheap homes being available on the market. Even though you’ll only be bringing in a certain amount of money per sale you’ll always have another sale around the corner. This can certainly be called job security.

Average Profit Per Wholesaling Deal

How much money can you make wholesaling houses for a living as opposed to those who make money flipping houses? The average real estate wholesaling deal brings in between $3,000 and $10,000 in profits for the investor. This is a very small amount compared to the profits of those who make money flipping houses. A house flipping deal can bring in about $30,000 once the house sells to a buyer. Remember, that house flipping can take several months, up to a year to complete. Plus, you’ll be investing a lot of money and time in that one house flip. A wholesaling deal can close in just a few days, and I’ve heard of deals that closed on the same day as the investor found out about the property. That’s $3,000 in one day. Imagine closing 3 or 4 wholesale deals a month for just $3,000. 4 deals times $3,000 equals $12,000 a month wholesaling houses for a living. Now, take that $12,000 times 12 months in year and you get $144,000 a year wholesaling house for a living! That’s an incredible profit compared to the measly $30,000 you’d make flipping a house over the course of a year. The idea in wholesaling houses for a living is for your buyer to get the majority of the profit. You’ll be getting a kind of ‘finder’s fee’ for the property and the buyer gets to spend time fixing up the property and marketing it for a larger profit of his or her own. This doesn’t mean that you have to let the properties go for a pittance. Don’t ever let that buyer talk you out of the fee you ask for assigning the contract on a wholesale property or even talk you down to a drastically reduced fee. The lowest you should make on a real estate wholesale deal is about $3,000. This is often on properties that you may only hold for a few days and don’t even spend a lot of time on looking for a buyer. Of course, all sales also depend on the house and its real market value.

When Do I Get the Money?

Any investor who wants to make money flipping houses will find that they don’t actually get their profits until after the house is sold. After you find a buyer for a home it can take about 30-45 days for the mortgage company to get to the actual closing. You’ll have to wait until the title has cleared with the title company. That means an investor can spend months investing time and money into the house and not get paid until that property is sold. [widget:ad_unit-243246181]When you close a wholesale deal, it’s possible to get your profits within as little as a week. You’ll be lining up another real estate investor to buy this property, so it’s likely that they’ll be able to pay cash for the house. A cash buyer is a great lead to have when wholesaling houses for a living. You can have the buyer transfer the funds to pay for the property right into an escrow account with the title company. The title company processes the paperwork and you can pick up a check with your profits in just a few days. When you are assigning a contract on a wholesale deal, there is potential for an even quicker payment. Just instruct the buyer to bring a cashier’s check for the amount of your fee to the closing deal. Once you assign the contract, the buyer hands you the cashier’s check and you only have to wait as long as it takes for the check to clear with your bank.  Compared to those who make money flipping houses, the concept of wholesaling houses for a living is a great idea. You’ll close deals more often and get cash buyers for the wholesales, meaning that you’ll get more profits faster.

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