Wholesaling is an acquisition strategy: find a motivated seller, contract their property at a price below what an investor-buyer can pay, and assign the contract to that buyer for a fee — without taking ownership or renovating anything. The wholesaler's product is a well-priced, well-documented deal delivered on a deadline. The strategy's rules vary by state, and its reputation depends entirely on the operator's honesty with sellers about what they do and how they are paid.
The formula / structureSeller Contract Price = MAO − Assignment Fee (the fee lives inside the buyer's max price)
Wholesale: a worked example
Worked example. A wholesaler contracts an inherited house at $91,000, having computed an end-buyer MAO of $101,000 from an ARV of $180,000 and $25,000 in repairs. The contract is assigned at $101,000 for a $10,000 fee, and the buyer closes with the seller at the title company. Worked as a full walkthrough in our blog's wholesale deal teardown (example numbers).
What affects Wholesale
- Seller motivation — the strategy exists because some sellers value speed and certainty over top price
- Buyers list quality (the exit must exist before the contract)
- State regulation of wholesaling and contract marketing
- Comp and repair accuracy — buyers verify both
Get the Seller Call Script — free.
Word-for-word how a first seller call should sound — warm, honest, zero pressure.