The Basics of a Wholesale Real Estate Contract and How to Prepare One

The complexities of the wholesale real estate contract are a source of perplexity for many investors. Learn everything about it in this article.

If you are just delving into real estate wholesaling and have no idea where to start or how to go about it, you’re in the right place. 

Table of Contents

1. What Is Wholesaling?
2. Wholesale Real Estate Assignment Contract: What You Need to Know
3. How to Make a Wholesale Contract
4. Wholesale Real Estate Contract: Step by Step

If you are short on cash right now, wholesaling might be the way to get started in real estate investing. Wholesale real estate contract assignment can be a difficult process, particularly for those new to investing. Here’s a breakdown of how it all works. 

It goes without saying that real estate investing is a great way to make money and accumulate wealth in the long haul. The perks definitely outweigh the cons if investors get the right knowledge and expertise to speed up their earning potential and tap into lucrative investment opportunities to grow their real estate business on a big scale. 

Because real estate wholesaling is a short term strategy, the biggest challenge investors face is selling properties in the quickest way possible. Let’s see what wholesaling is, the pros and cons of it, and how to write a contract for wholesaling.

Wholesaling Basics

Real estate wholesalers act as middlemen between property buyers and sellers. They sign a contract with the seller, advertise the property to potential buyers, and then pass the contract to a buyer.

Wholesaling is also called ‘contract assignment’; wholesalers hand over the baton to the buyer and do not pay out of their own pocket. Wholesalers are only responsible for assigning the contract to a buyer within a short time frame. Home repairs are the responsibility of the buyer, not the wholesaler.

So, how do wholesalers make a profit? The difference between the contracted price with the seller and the amount paid by the buyer is the wholesaler’s profit from closing in on a deal. The bigger the difference, the fatter the paycheck. 

The trick is to find a seller willing to sell significantly below the fair market value and then resell the property to a buyer at a much higher price. When it comes to real estate wholesaling, time is crucial. If you don’t find a buyer quickly, you could end up paying expenses out of your own pocket, as stated in the agreement. Keep this in mind.

Another type of wholesaling, called reverse wholesaling, is also worth mentioning. It is similar to the real estate wholesaling business, but the process is ‘reversed,’ so the wholesaler finds a buyer before a seller. 

Wholesalers can benefit from finding a buyer first, as it gives them a better idea of what property to look for and more time to find a suitable match for the buyer’s needs. The great thing is that you don’t have to invest in real estate wholesaling or reverse wholesaling. The choice is yours to determine which approach works best for you.

Wholesale Real Estate Assignment Contract: What You Need to Know

When you complete a wholesale contract with a seller to acquire an asset, you now have an equitable stake in the property. A buyer might become the rightful owner of the asset under the theory of equitable conversion. At the same time, under the conditions of the contract, the seller retains the bare legal title to the property.

Although you will not have ownership of the property, you can govern it through a contract. On that issue, it’s worth noting that each state and county will have its own regulations on wholesaling. They include the legal aspects of how to write a real estate wholesale contract.

The next stage is to assign your legal rights to an investor, which will necessitate the execution of an Assignment of Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement. This contractual paperwork will essentially declare that the new buyer is taking over your duties, including acquiring the property in accordance with the conditions agreed upon in the sale and purchase agreement.

Wholesale Deal and Real Estate Transaction

In order to ensure a seamless transaction, it is important for the new buyer to be aware of all the details of the previous contract. This includes agreeing to the pricing, terms, conditions, and contingencies. As a wholesaler, we recommend including a copy of the sale and purchase agreement along with the Assignment of Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement to facilitate the process.

That ensures the new buyer is informed of the original sales contract and has a copy that includes all addenda issued throughout the transaction.

When it comes to wholesaling contracts, wholesalers will earn a profit for their efforts as part of a wholesale property deal. The Assignment of Real Estate Purchase and Sale Agreement will specify how they will be compensated. When that agreement is in effect, wholesalers are often given a deposit.

Pros and Cons of Wholesaling Real Estate

Since we have covered the basics of how to get a wholesale contract and talked about real estate licenses and documents, let’s now focus on some pros and cons of wholesaling in real estate.

Assignment contracts for wholesale real estate have several advantages. Here are a few benefits of wholesale contracts to keep in mind, ranging from rapid earnings to learning about the real estate business quickly.

• Quickly turn a profit: wholesale real estate transactions may make you money in 30 days or less. Skilled wholesalers often close 5 – 10 agreements every month.
• There is no need for a credit check: even if you have bad credit, you may still wholesale real estate.
• Quickly understand real estate investment processes: although wholesaling may appear frightening to new investors, it is the ideal way to quickly understand the ins and outs of the real estate industry.

Now that we’ve examined the many benefits of wholesale real estate contracts, it’s crucial to consider the drawbacks before diving in.

• There is no profit guarantee: while wholesaling is an ideal way to make some fast cash, consistent revenue is not assured. Finding buyers for distressed properties may take some time.
• Creating a buyer’s list takes time: building a reliable buyers list, as one of the most important aspects of wholesaling, may take some time.
• It might be difficult to locate distressed properties: Finding distressed properties beyond your local market is frequently required while wholesaling. Sadly, there is no method to automate this procedure, so you will have to conduct your own study.

Now, let’s see what a contract in wholesaling is and how you can write one.

How to Make a Wholesale Real Estate Contract

Let us break it down in a simple scenario; there are three players in a wholesale contract:

• Buyer A: the wholesaler, aka, the mediator
• Seller
• Buyer B

This is how the process goes:

1. When the wholesaler (Buyer A) locates a good property, they sign a Purchase Agreement with the Seller.
2. With a Purchase Agreement, the wholesaler is fully entitled to ‘assign’ or sell the agreement to another buyer (Buyer B).
3. To sell the agreement to the new buyer, the wholesaler (Buyer A) finalizes an Assignment Agreement to legally transfer their rights to Buyer B.
4. Passing the baton to the new buyer eliminates the wholesaler’s legal liability and obligation towards the seller.
5. Now, Buyer B can purchase the property directly from the Seller as per the original terms of the Purchase Agreement.

How to Write a Wholesale Real Estate Contract

Looking for purchase agreement forms online is the simplest approach to making a wholesale real estate deal. These provide a solid framework you can customize to meet your own requirements.

Regarding how to write up a wholesale contract, a real estate lawyer can also help you design one. You can use this document to approach purchasers interested in acquiring property from you in the near future, changing it as needed to fit the circumstances.

If you decide to construct your own wholesaling contract, you must first investigate the wholesaling real estate regulations and the license to invest in real estate in your state. Failing to do so may result in legal consequences.

4 Steps on How to Put a House Under Contract for Wholesaling

Once an appropriate asset is found, the wholesaler negotiates a purchase price with the buyer and may secure the contract with a modest sum of earnest money. It is now time to draft a legally enforceable contract.

Wholesaling rules differ by state, but these are the fundamental stages.

1. Make a wholesale agreement for the property’s acquisition and selling. This preliminary paper describes the parameters of both parties’ agreement. It should include the specific property details, the wholesaler and seller’s names, the projected purchase and closing dates, and a transfer clause.
2. Make a clause for the assignment. This document’s text enables the wholesaler to pass the contract to an investor or buyer. According to this agreement, the wholesaler will delegate the right to acquire the asset to another party and collect a fee for the service delivery.
3. Finalize a contract agreement assignment. Before closing a wholesale transaction, you must transfer the signed purchase agreement to the final customer via an assignment of a contract agreement.
4. Finish up. After signing and completing all of these agreements, the purchaser pays the wholesaler for the asset, as well as any associated transaction, recording, and closing costs.

When it comes to writing a real estate wholesale contract, there are essential steps that need to be covered. In our previous discussion, we went over those steps. However, let’s take a closer look at the entire process from a different perspective. Here’s a detailed explanation to make things easy to understand.

Wholesale Real Estate Contract: Step by Step

A wholesale buyers list is something that all sellers should start thinking about. Wholesale success is only possible if you have investors to call on. As a result, a wholesale buyers list with a large number of prospects will be a significant resource.

Step 1: Find a Seller

The first step in a contract is finding a motivated seller willing to sell under market value. It goes without saying that the lower the price you negotiate with the seller, the larger the lump sum profit for you.

Step 2: Finalize the First Part of the Wholesale Real Estate Contract With the Seller

Make sure to involve a real estate attorney in finalizing the contract to ensure the terms of the agreement are legally sound for all parties. The Purchase Agreement with the seller must include an Assignment Clause, which allows the wholesaler, or Buyer A, to transfer the rights to a new buyer (Buyer B). 

Many wholesale contract templates are available online but don’t discount an attorney to look things over. The real estate attorney is an independent third party hired to make sure the deal is fair and that the property’s records are in check as agreed upon in the contract.

Step 3: Before You Market the Property, Know It Inside and Out

Make sure you get an overall idea about the state and the shape of the real estate property before you start marketing it to your potential buyers’ list. You should know relevant information about the property in order to sell it to the right buyer within the short time frame you have. 

You also need to estimate the repair costs on the house, as getting the wrong estimation might hurt your credibility leading to buyers not trusting working with you again.

Step 4: Find Your Buyer and Assign the Contract Assignment

The hardest part of real estate wholesaling is finding a cash buyer with a real interest in buying the house. To guarantee your profit from closing the deal, request an earnest money deposit from the buyer. If the buyer is serious, they will be willing to give the deposit and seal the deal. 

The deposit could be a small amount or a large sum. It is up to the wholesaler to decide. Your profit comes from assigning the agreement and passing the baton to the end buyer. For example, let us say you agree with the seller to buy the house for $100,000, and you assign the agreement for $150,000, then you receive a profit of $50,000 for legally transferring the contract to a new end buyer.

To learn more about how to wholesale real estate step by step, watch our video available below:

Bonus Step: Find Distressed Houses by Using Mashvisor

The simplest and quickest method is to use the Mashvisor Property Marketplace. The program enables investors to locate off-market properties in the US housing market, such as short sales, foreclosures, bank-owned houses, and auction properties.

Unlike other ways of identifying distressed properties, Mashvisor allows you to assess investment assets to ensure profitability. You may compute crucial parameters like rental income, cash flow, cap rate, cash on cash return, and occupancy rate by using our Airbnb calculator.

Furthermore, you may refine your search to fit your needs using filters such as budget, property type, rental strategy, number of bathrooms, and number of bedrooms.

In addition, using the aforementioned tool, you won’t have to worry about determining who owns a property. With the click of a mouse button, you can instantly get all current property owner info, including emails and phone numbers.

As a result, after you’ve identified a lucrative property for sale that meets your requirements, you can contact the property owner and begin the negotiating process.

Want to take advantage of Mashvisor’s Property Marketplace? Start with a 7-day free trial today.

Wholesale Real Estate Contract: Conclusion

Wholesale real estate contracting is an ideal investment strategy for anyone with little capital. If buying a rental property is not feasible right now, we highly recommend wholesaling as an opportunity to get the ball rolling in real estate investing. 

It won’t be easy. Just focus on finding the right sellers, contracting under market value, and assigning the contract to prospective buyers in the quickest way possible. It sounds so easy when you put it in words, but a lot goes into a wholesale real estate contract. You have to hustle to make it in this business.

Start your wholesaling real estate journey. Schedule a demo with one of our Product Specialists to get an introduction to the Mashvisor tools.

FAQ

Where Do I Get a Wholesaling Real Estate Contract?

A real estate lawyer in your state is the best location to receive a wholesaling contract. It is best to seek advice from a lawyer for the latest and most precise details on real estate investment and wholesale regulations, as these regulations can vary depending on the state in the US.

You may also seek online wholesale contract templates to customize and send to a lawyer for assessment. Partnering with a skilled real estate lawyer speeds up the wholesale process ten times. It gives you entire assurance in the legitimacy of your deal.

Can I Get Out of a Wholesaling Real Estate Contract?

Contingencies allow the purchaser to exit a wholesale deal without incurring penalties. Certain stipulations can assist in safeguarding buyers against properties that will not be advantageous to them in the long run.

Who Uses a Wholesaling Real Estate Contract?

Such a contract is utilized between an investor and the purchaser, as well as between an investor and an end buyer. The individual who obtains the right to acquire a property from the wholesaler is known as the end buyer. It is the one who finally closes the property deal with the initial seller and becomes the new owner.