My nephew, who is starting college in the fall, asked me how I chose my major and how that impacted my career. I had to explain that I went through several majors because nothing ever really took hold. Or, rather, too many things were interesting. And, what I ended up majoring in wasn’t what I ended up doing.

That’s the same story that a lot of people in the wholesaling real estate business have. We tried a bunch of different things, or had jobs that we weren’t crazy about, and felt restless. We wanted something more—something exciting where we could be our own boss. That’s what I have with wholesaling houses. This isn’t an easy business, but it is possible to wholesale houses full-time and make a fulfilling career out of it. Let me share how you go about it.

What It Takes To Wholesale Houses Full-time

You will need to put some pieces in place before striking out to wholesale houses on your own. You need comprehensive training and mentoring to learn the tricks of the trade as well as some of the best tools to make your life easier. And, of course, you need a pipeline of qualified leads to find the right houses to buy. More than all of that, though, you need to work hard and want to take charge of your life. Here’s the rundown.

Training

The really interesting thing about wholesaling houses is that it is very technical but also very intuitive. Every buy is a math problem: what price point does it make sense to buy a house at and still make some returns when you sell it before a rehab? What would your buyer be willing to pay so there’s enough upside when she rehabs and sells it?

There’s more to it, though. You have to understand the real estate market and how to properly evaluate a distressed house. You need to know strategies for being able to buy quickly, at the right time, and at the right price. And, you have to know how to get financing—quickly. None of that is easy. Having the right real estate investing training can help you know the ins and outs of the wholesaling business.

But, every situation is different, which is why having a solid mentor is also important. They should be able to help you with the technical aspects of investing, but also with the more intuitive ones. For instance, how do you talk to distressed homeowners when offering to buy their house? A mentor can help you put your training into practice.

Tools

The right training and mentoring is an important step, but that won’t open every door for you. That’s why it is good to have tools that make some of the larger challenges a little bit smaller.

You have to have liquidity in this market. Getting financing for your wholesale business means finding hard money lenders. They lend you cash quickly so you can act on a deal quickly, too. That’s why an online tool to help you find the right hard money lender wherever you are. Tools such as these help you deal with the technical aspects of the business in faster, smarter ways.

Leads

Getting leads is easy. You can find houses for sale anywhere. But those aren’t always going to work for you. Getting good leads is much harder. What makes a lead good for wholesaling houses when you want to do it full-time without wasting time? A lot of things.

1. The owner is looking to sell—fast

2. There isn’t a ton of competition already driving up the price

3. The homeowner is willing to talk to you and listen to your offer

Even more, you want leads that are qualified. Ideally, the distressed homeowner reaches
out to you, not the other way around. These are motivated sellers with houses that may have plenty of upside.

Of course, qualified leads from distressed homeowners are not the only kind of leads in the wholesaling business. You also need leads on other investors who are going to buy your property, and quickly. You don’t want to sit on it, paying taxes for a long time. The longer you sit, the more likely you are to accept a low offer just to get it off your hands. So, you want a pipeline on both sellers and buyers.

Attitude

In this business, you have to work hard. You have to always be on the lookout for houses. You have to know that not every property is going to be a hit and sometimes you’re going to lose money. That’s a hard lesson but knowing that going in makes a huge difference. It means you’re not going to be paralyzed by fear.

The other important part of your attitude is how you deal with homeowners. Just because they are looking to sell doesn’t mean they’re going to be taken advantage of. You want to be open and honest about your offer. You are helping them sell quickly and without going through a million bankers and lawyers. Treat them with the respect they deserve and with respect for their situation.

None of this is easy. It’s hard to find leads. It’s hard to talk to people. It’s hard to know when and where to buy and sell. Not everyone can do it. But, if you have all of the above, it is possible to achieve your goals of wholesaling houses full-time.

I know it may seem a bit overwhelming at first, But, there’s a way to make all of this easier.

The Easiest Way to Start Your Full-time Wholesaling Career

The best way to start wholesaling houses full-time that I found was to become an independently owned and operated HomeVestors® franchisee. When I became a franchisee, I got just about everything anyone would need to start off on the right foot.

⇒ An initial one week of comprehensive real estate investing training, which really helped me to understand how to do things the right way. Not only that, but I got a personal mentor called a Development Agent and I could turn to her in tricky situations.

⇒ Some of the best tools in the industry, including a proprietary hard money lending portal. With this, I can enter the details of my property and lenders respond quickly with competitive terms. That way, I can pick the best one for my deal.

⇒ Qualified leads that keep me in business. You know HomeVestors®’ “We Buy Ugly Houses®” ads. It’s why distressed homeowners call HomeVestors® franchisees like me sometimes even before they investigate putting their house on the market.

⇒ A large network of buyers to sell my wholesale deals to. With my network, I usually already have a buyer before I close the deal with the homeowner. But, just in case, I have access to DealVestors®, a website to list my wholesale house for a larger audience.

And don’t get me wrong: it’s a lot of work. But, if you have the tool, the training, and the leads, your hard work can possibly make wholesaling houses full-time work for you.

If you’re interested in getting started with wholesaling houses, request information about becoming a franchisee today. It could be the first step toward being your own boss.

Each franchise office is independently owned and operated.