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_{Past performance does not guarantee future results. Investing involves risk including possible loss of principal.}

So You Want To Be a Wholesaler? Beware

Wholesaling looks easy from the outside.

Find a motivated seller, sign a contract, assign it for a profit, and walk away with a check. No repairs, no tenants, no long-term risk.

But here’s the truth no one tells the beginners:

Wholesaling can get you in legal, financial, and ethical trouble faster than almost any other real estate strategy—if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Before you dive in, read this.

1. You’re Not Selling the Property — You’re Selling Your Contract (Big Difference)

Most new wholesalers don’t understand the single biggest rule:

If you market a property you don’t own and don’t have a real estate license for, you may be committing unlicensed brokerage.

That’s illegal everywhere.

In some states—like Georgia—it can rise to felony-level charges when someone represents they are selling real estate without being licensed.

What you can legally market is:

• Your equitable interest

• Your assignable contract

• Your right to purchase, not the property itself

Mess up this distinction, and you’re not “wholesaling”…

you’re breaking the law.

2. Bad Wholesalers Created Restrictive Laws

For years, wholesalers got away with:

• Inflating ARVs

• Hiding addresses

• Demanding non-refundable deposits before inspection

• Sending blast emails with “deals” that aren’t deals

• Misleading sellers about property values

• Acting like agents without licenses

So states started cracking down.

Illinois now requires wholesalers to be licensed.

Other states are drafting similar bills.

This didn’t happen because good wholesalers did anything wrong—

it happened because bad ones ran wild.

3. Your Reputation Matters More Than Your Assignment Fee

Investors talk.

Agents talk.

Title companies talk.

Sellers talk.

If you make a habit of:

• Overpricing deals

• Misrepresenting repairs

• Disappearing after signing

• Leaving sellers embarrassed at closing

• Pressuring buyers with bogus deadlines

…your name spreads fast, and not in a good way.

The wholesalers who survive long term do the opposite:

• Give accurate numbers

• Use verified comps

• Disclose their role

• Treat sellers with respect

• Work with investors, not against them

Assignments are a relationship business—act like it.

4. The Hardest Part Isn’t Finding Buyers… It’s Finding Real Deals

Every new wholesaler says the same thing:

No, you don’t.

You need more real deals.

If you get a property under contract at a truly good price, buyers will line up.

You’ll sell it in hours, not weeks.

The struggle isn’t building a buyers list.

It’s learning to:

• Estimate repairs accurately

• Run comps like a pro

• Make realistic offers

• Talk to sellers ethically

• Solve real problems, not chase fantasies

Wholesaling isn’t a shortcut—it’s a skill set.

5. If You Want to Do This Right, Here’s the Path

Step 1: Learn your state’s laws about wholesaling, assignments, and unlicensed activity.

Step 2: Always disclose your position clearly to sellers and buyers.

Step 3: Provide real numbers—accurate ARVs, comps, rent estimates, and repair costs.

Step 4: Drop the scammy tactics (hidden addresses, non-refundable deposits, fake urgency).

Step 5: Build a reputation as the wholesaler whose deals actually pencil out.

Do it the right way, and wholesalers will welcome you, buyers will trust you, and sellers will refer you.

Do it the wrong way…

and regulators, attorneys, and furious investors will find you faster than a cash buyer at a foreclosure auction.

Bottom Line

Wholesaling can be a legitimate business.

It can also be a legal minefield, a reputation killer, and a fast track to trouble if you don’t respect the rules.

If you want to wholesale, fine—but know what you’re stepping into.

Operate with transparency.

Understand the law.

Run real numbers.

Treat everyone fairly.

Do that, and you’ll stand out immediately in an industry where far too many people don’t.

I took my first real estate investing course after I’d already completed 75 flips. I’d made money on all of them and felt pretty good about my skills.

But during that weekend course, I realized I had left money on the table on nearly every deal—mostly because of poor negotiation. When I added it up, it was close to $50,000 I could have earned without hurting anyone.

That’s when I knew I needed to improve. So I spent years reading, studying, practicing, and distilling everything down to a handful of principles I could remember in every conversation.

Side benefit: these skills didn’t just make me better in business. They made me a better husband, dad, and friend. Four simple ideas changed everything.

👉 If you want to learn them too, here’s the Negotiation mini-course — just $19

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