Depending on your budget and goals, wholesaling deals can be found anywhere where you have motivated sellers, even in wealthier neighborhoods. Let’s be honest, though, most opportunities present themselves in more distraught communities where there are more distressed homes and foreclosures. 

Tips For Locating Wholesaling Opportunities

• Homes facing foreclosure or that already are in foreclosure, bank-owned properties, and property auctions present excellent opportunities for wholesalers. Foreclosures, however, are not limited to low-income areas, the crash of 2008 is a good example where millions of people faced losing their homes. People lost jobs, had medical events, or got divorced, even in affluent neighborhoods. These life-changing events affected anyone who wasn’t prepared with an emergency fund.

• Characteristic signs of potential opportunities often include boarded up windows and entryways and unkempt landscaping.

If you’re having trouble finding properties to wholesale, look in areas where other, more experienced, wholesalers are buying.

• Low-income areas and neighborhoods where many of the homes are rented present a good opportunity. They are prime breeding grounds for flippers or landlords who own houses in the area. These people are often looking for new opportunities. Many investors don’t know how to find deals, are too busy or just aren’t interested in hunting them out. That’s good for you. This gives you a chance to put a property under contract and to offer it to a local investor looking to add to their portfolio.

• Neighborhoods with one or two homes per block are areas you want to avoid, there’s little upside and low probability that you’ll be able to move them. As they say in real estate — location, location, location. As a wholesaler, you want to get your property sold as quickly as possible. A flipper will only buy the property if they’re confident they can sell it after renovations. And a landlord won’t see the point of purchasing a property if there is no potential for renting it out.

• Hot Tip of the Day: Look for areas with newly built government housing. Not only do these areas typically have fewer vacant properties, they generally have plenty of homes in need of rehab. Finding neighborhoods where people are investing is promising. New home construction is a sign of stability or even growth. 

• The internet age means it’s possible to find sellers without ever having to leave your couch. Digital “bandit signs” and pay-per-click ads on Google or Facebook are highly effective at honing in on a specific demographic. Using layered options and detailed targeting, you’re able to get your ads in front of an audience that will be more interested in hearing about your offer. 

Running any business has its challenges, it’s your job to be creative and stay abreast of market trends. Finding properties to wholesale isn’t that difficult, but it does take some work. As you gain experience, build your buyer’s list, and hone your negotiating skills, it will get easier. Combining strategies will increase your odds of locating profitable deals.