If you are beginning to see a slowdown in your local market, virtual wholesaling is something that you should be considering. Some of the indications that it’s time to go virtual include:
- Significantly lower response rates on your direct mail campaigns
- A drop off in seller motivation
- Sellers complaining about too many marketing contact attempts
If any or all of these are occurring in your area, the trend is towards a seller’s market. And that means that you are going to find fewer good deals. You will be spending more on your marketing, but your results and ROI will drop. These indications are screaming to you to look for other markets to focus your efforts and your money.
What Is Virtual Wholesaling?
Virtual wholesaling is just like traditional wholesaling, except you are working in different markets. It can be a bit more challenging for new real estate investors because you cannot visit the properties and work the deal in person, but it is not impossible. You just need to really focus on polishing a few skills, including your ability to converse remotely, network from afar, and to manage your documentation flawlessly.
How I Got My Start
I have been very successful at working locally. And not that I was boasting, but I was posting some of my successes on social media. It was more in the vein of sharing a positive message that others could also enjoy the success and financial freedom that comes from real estate investing. And some of those posts were viewed by friends and old colleagues from my hometown.
Soon, I was getting messages and calls from my hometown network, asking me about buying their properties. The first deal was a home that a close friend inherited but didn’t want to keep. She was searching for a trusted person to help her with the deal, and she just happened to see my post. And that quickly, my first virtual deal was born. But I knew that I promptly needed to assemble my virtual wholesaling team.
Working With A Virtual Wholesale Crew
My first concern was getting a title company lined up for the deal. The title company that I work with on my local deals is a national firm, so that made the choice easy. My local escrow agent put me in touch with an agent in my hometown. That agent was also helpful in referring several attorneys for me to interview. That gave me reliable options and made it easy to select one that I felt would suit my needs and that I could work well with on these remote deals.
Finding The Buyer
Even though I was a thousand miles away from the property, I knew that I could use many of the same tools that I use locally to find a buyer. I posted the property on Craigslist and Zillow to get the word out. I also joined a group on Facebook that was for wholesalers in my hometown.
In this case, I never found an end buyer. Still, I was able to get an offer from another wholesaler in the Facebook group who was interested in the property. And as we got to know each other, we decided that working together on future deals would be beneficial to both of us. So I now have a trusted partner in my network who can be my eyes and ears when I find a great deal back home.
Not every first virtual deal will go this smoothly. But most are far from the nightmare that I imagined virtual wholesale deals to be. And without a random message on social media, my old friend never would have thought to reach out to me for help selling her grandparents’ home. You certainly need to know your purchasing process and have a good handle on managing all of your documentation and the details of the deal. But virtual wholesaling is an exceptional way to branch out into new areas that are offering a better potential than your local market when you are experiencing a seller’s market.
Just be sure that you locate all of the services and professionals that you need to conduct your purchases successfully. Wholesaling is a team sport, but one that can be very lucrative in person or virtually when you have a solid support team.
