How to Find a Deal: RE Agents, Wholesalers, and Going Direct

TLDR
The source groups deal flow into agents, wholesalers, direct-to-seller outreach, and a smaller set of other channels. It says a first deal may come through an agent while the strongest later deals may come direct, then explains how to work each main path.

Table of Contents

The Four Real Ways

Four real ways to find deals:

  1. Real estate agents
  2. Wholesalers
  3. Direct to seller
  4. Everything else (foreclosures, tax sales, REOs)

Your first deal will probably come through a real estate agent because you will probably use bank money, and pairing bank financing with off-market deals can be tough when you are starting. Ultimately, going direct to seller is where I say the deals are.

Let’s break down each one.

Real Estate Agents: Be Fast, Be Bold, Be Strategic

The MLS has the most buyers of any channel. That’s the whole problem. High demand means higher prices. Getting a deal on the MLS means reducing the effective demand for the specific house you want. Three ways to do that:

Be Fast

The goal is to shrink the market. Be the first offer in, and put a tight deadline on it. 12 to 24 hours max. You’re telling the seller: “Here’s a real offer. But if you don’t take it by tomorrow, I’m moving on.”

What does that create? Scarcity. The seller starts wondering what happens if nobody else comes. A real offer in hand might beat a hypothetical higher offer later. This is how you get deals on the MLS: get there before the demand piles up.

Be Bold

Buy the houses nobody else wants. Houses that have been sitting, because the market is uncertain or because the house needs serious work. Demand is lower. Price comes down.

Here’s the thing: being bold isn’t being reckless. It means ratcheting up your skills until the scary stuff is just another Tuesday. Once you know construction, a house in rough shape isn’t scary. It’s just a scope of work.

Be Strategic

I’m going to tell you a strategy that some people use, because it’s been done to me and you should know it exists.

It goes like this: investor submits an offer at $290,000 on a $300,000 house. Seller accepts. Then the investor starts gaming the inspection timeline: “Couldn’t find an inspector, can we push it a few days? Oh, something came up, a few more days?” Now the seller has been off market for a long time. The investor gets an inspection, finds issues, and drops the price to $270,000. Seller is pot-committed at this point, doesn’t want to go back to market, takes it. Then, right before closing, the buyer calls and asks for another cut. I remember the final number as likely $250,000, maybe $240,000.

I know this works because it was done to me. My wife, who is my real estate agent, took that call. We ended up selling it to the guy. If I ever saw that name come up again, I’d tell them exactly what I thought of them.

I’m not teaching that strategy. There are other ways to make money in this business. But you should know it happens so you’re not caught off guard when you’re selling.

Wholesalers: How to Work the System

Here’s how wholesaling works if you don’t already know. A wholesaler goes to a seller and gets a house under contract for $100,000. Then they find an investor (you) and sell you the contract for $110,000. You’re not buying the house from the wholesaler. You’re buying their position in the contract. At closing, the title company pays the seller $100,000 and pays the wholesaler $10,000 as an assignment fee.

In this assignment example, the wholesaler does not take title to the house. They still carry contract, compliance, and reputation risk. The allowed structure and closing process vary by contract and state, so have the title company or a real estate attorney confirm the deal before you rely on the example.

The problem is that the big wholesaling operations have hundreds of buyers on their list. High supply of buyers, one house: prices go up. I’ve paid $30,000 assignment fees before. That stings. I’ve also told people what I’ve told myself: if the deal still worked at that price, why does it matter? It doesn’t. But it still stings.

Here’s the better play.

Pro Tip
Find the smaller, newer wholesalers who only have a handful of buyers. Make yourself their number one buyer. You’ll get smaller assignment fees, more direct communication, and better deals.

How do you become the number one buyer for a smaller wholesaler?

  • Have your buy box dialed in. Tell them exactly what you want. Specific neighborhoods, specific size, specific condition.
  • Never miss a deal. I’ve bought hundreds of houses from wholesalers and I’ve only had to back out of a deal once. That reputation is everything.
  • Make it frictionless for them. The source describes buying without a home inspector or inspection period. That only makes sense if you can perform your own property and title due diligence before you commit and can absorb the risk. Do not waive a protection you need just to appear easy to work with.
  • When you walk a property with them, ask: “Who do you want me to be? Your buyer? Your contractor? Your buddy?” Make them comfortable.

The worst thing that can happen to a wholesaler is getting a house under contract and then having the buyer fall through. If you become the person that never does that, they will call you first, every time.

I’ve sold hundreds of houses as a wholesaler. I know what it looks like from the inside. You want to become the reliable buyer they call first.

Direct to Seller: The Primary Way

This is the primary way I buy deals now, and eventually it’ll be yours too.

Think about the value chain. A wholesaler finds a distressed house nobody knows about, gets it for $100,000, and sells it to you for $110,000 or $130,000. You’re still getting a good deal, but you’re paying the wholesaler for the work of finding it. What if you just did that work yourself?

It’s not as complicated as it sounds.

Set up your home base first. Local address. Local phone number. A website with your face on it and something in the background that shows you’re from the area. This is about trust. Your competition is often out-of-town investors who show up with P.O. boxes and 800 numbers. You’re the local guy with a local address who wants to help.

One note on the phone number: make sure it actually routes as local. I use a VoIP system and sometimes it routes through a town north of Chattanooga. I’ve had sellers say “I didn’t realize you were from Sweetwater.” I’m not from Sweetwater. Small thing, but trust is everything in this business.

Then you do outbound marketing. Mail or cold calling.

Mail can work. The source says standard mail-provider messaging can work and does not require a complex new pitch. Results still vary by list, message, volume, timing, and market.

How much? When we were doing wholesaling, we spent $10,000 a month on mailers. Sometimes more. The source uses about $5,000 in mail for one deal, sometimes less, and compares it with a $20,000 to $30,000 wholesaler fee. Those are examples from that operation, not a promised cost per deal.

You will get angry calls. People who are annoyed you mailed them. That’s fine. Rule number one applies here. The right people, the people who actually want to sell, will be glad you reached out. They have a problem you can solve.

Cold calling works too. It’s harder, more uncomfortable, but cheaper. If you’re willing to do the reps, it can be a channel. Direct mail and calling rules vary by place, list, and method, so check current consent, do-not-call, disclosure, and licensing requirements before launching outreach.

Common Mistake
A thousand pieces of mail may not be enough. I’ve sent thousands while knowing the spend is going into a dark tunnel and that a campaign can still produce nothing. Mail works, but the result is an average, not a guarantee from one batch.

Other Methods Worth Knowing

There are a few other ways deals get found. I’m not going to teach them in depth here, but you should know they exist:

Foreclosures and REOs (Real Estate Owned): After a bank forecloses, the property goes through an auction process. REO means the bank owns it. These can be great deals, but you’re competing with buyers from large firms that do not need much profit on each house. At auction, you need cash or checks and you need to know what you are doing.

Tax sales: Owner hasn’t paid taxes, property gets auctioned. Similar situation. Great deals exist here, but the expertise required is high and the competition is stiff.

Pre-foreclosures: The period before the legal foreclosure process is complete. This is direct-to-seller work with an owner in financial distress. The stages, notices, deadlines, and allowed outreach vary by state, so use current local legal guidance.

I’m not teaching those channels here. But be aware they exist and that people make money in them.

Which One Should You Start With?

For your first deal: real estate agent.

I expect the first deal to come through an agent because most beginners will use bank money and off-market financing is tougher. I teach direct to seller as the primary long-term channel, not the default first transaction.

As your skills grow, wholesalers can add deal flow and direct outreach can move you closer to the seller. The source treats direct-to-seller work as the main long-term channel, but it does not require you to abandon agents or wholesalers.