I want to share a minute the two things I think are really SUPER important for anyone hoping (or trying) to tackle “virtual wholesaling”, whether part-time or full…
Frankly, I think AUTOMATED wholesaling is a better name to give it. But it’s really just wholesaling properties remotely, in an area outside your own.
Do even you know what step one is?
Well, I say it’s: Market Research
No, not super sexy – but definitely super critical.
In order to even choose a good market to wholesale properties in remotely—you’ve gotta start with some solid market research.
Which means, you need to do this…
Make a list of 5-10 markets you’re interested in, and make sure that they have these factors:
- Market size: 500,000+ people
- Inventory: lots of homes for sale (look on RedFin, Zillow, Realtor.com)
- Cash buyers: search the past 6 months on ListSource.com (landlord buyers are my fav)
Ideally, you want to zero in on a market that’s showing lots of activity with lots of inventory.
Personally, I like to look for markets where I can easily sell a rental property to a remote investor.
I want a hot turnkey rental area…
So, that means I need to make sure that my market research shows me that selling prices are relatively cheap… and rents are relatively high.
All which means an investor-buyer gets a good ROI. 🙂
If possible, try looking for areas where companies are packaging deals and selling them to investors for cash flow. Those are good markets to work in—no, actually GREAT markets to work in.
After you’ve vetted your list of 5-10 markets based on your research, dive deep, I mean REALLY DEEP, into your chosen market in a specific zip code.
That’s what I do—I focus in on specific zip codes for my marketing campaigns.
But a Word of Caution: DO NOT just ‘Spray & Pray’ in whatever market you choose.
I mean, don’t spend good money on big, fancy marketing campaigns and flood an entire market, hoping for a deal. That doesn’t work and more often than not wastes your time and money. :-/
Instead, be very targeted and laser-focused..
This approach also helps you sell your properties really quickly. And that’s how you make your money, right?
And, giving you even more critical market intel:
Exactly who’s buying
- How much they’re paying
So…
Your market research should tell you which markets are ideal and then you should even drill in and target specific zip codes.
The beauty of investing this way is this…
Once you’ve landed on a solid market, you can easily grow your business.
I like to use the 3 S’s that my good buddy and fellow investor, Rob Swanson, teaches about:
- Simple
- System
- Scale
Start with something SIMPLE… then build a simple SYSTEM around that… then SCALE it.
A BIG mistake I see time and again with other investors is that they try to scale something that’s (i) not simple enough or (ii) doesn’t have a good system around it.
I’m a huge believer in systems… but not complicated, difficult-to-implement systems.
A simple system is the key ingredient to launching into virtual wholesaling.
Do your research, choose a market wisely, create a simple system…
It’s not a pipe dream. It really can be done.