How To Find Real Estate Buyers (Online & Locally): 2026 Guide

Written by

Alex Martinez, Founder & CEO, Real Estate Skills. Has wholesaled and flipped houses for over 14 years, been part of 1,000+ real estate transactions, and personally acquired 55+ residential investment properties. Has trained 6,000+ investors nationwide.

RZ

Reviewed by

Ryan Zomorodi, Co-Founder & COO, Real Estate Skills. Has wholesaled, flipped and bought rental properties nationwide for over a decade.

✓ Updated October 2026 ✓ Fact-Checked 📄 Free Cash Buyer Script Watch on YouTube

Publication history: Originally published December 11, 2023. Updated October 2026 with a new guide to the types of real estate buyers, a step-by-step process for finding a buyer, state rules on marketing wholesale deals (Oklahoma, Oregon and Ohio), new deal examples from our team and guests, and an embedded video walkthrough. Reviewed for accuracy by Ryan Zomorodi, Co-Founder & COO.

You've got a property under contract (you signed an agreement to buy it), or a rehab that's almost done. The deal isn't what keeps you up at night. The buyer is. I get it, and right now that worry is fair. In September 2026, Redfin counted about 1.51 million sellers chasing roughly 929,000 buyers, the widest gap it has measured in at least 13 years.

After more than 14 years of wholesaling and flipping houses, here's what I wish someone had told me on day one: there's no single pool of "real estate buyers." A first-time homebuyer, a house flipper (an investor who buys, renovates and resells) and a landlord shop in different places. They pay in different ways and want different houses. As Ryan and I put it in one of our trainings, a deal is only good if the person buying it thinks it is. Most beginners fail at this step because they push one property at everyone. The faster path is to work out which buyer your property fits, then go straight to where that buyer already looks.

In this guide, I'll show you who those buyers are and how to reach each one online and locally. I'll also cover what you're allowed to advertise when you don't own the property yet, and what to do when nobody bites. If you already have a property and need investors fast, grab our free Cash Buyer Script so your first call goes right.

Who Are Real Estate Buyers?

Before I call anyone about a property, I answer two questions. What shape is it in, and how fast does it need to close? Those two answers rule out most buyers right away. Here's how the six groups line up.

A few things the table can't hold:

• Landlords buy for monthly rent, not resale. A house with a good tenant already paying can be worth more to a landlord than to a flipper, who'd need it empty to renovate.
• Cash-offer companies and iBuyers like Opendoor and Offerpad trade price for speed and convenience. If you're a homeowner weighing that trade, start with our breakdown of companies that buy houses for cash.
• Other wholesalers can take your contract. But if they're only passing it to their own buyer, you've started a daisy chain (a string of middlemen on one deal), and every extra link adds risk and squeezes the price.
• Some flippers buy more than single-family homes. In one of our videos, Ryan called a Denver flipper who also buys condos, townhouses and small multifamily properties. That's worth noting, because plenty of investors avoid homeowners association rules entirely. Buyers who don't are harder to find, so keep them close.

Why the condition of the house decides your buyer

FHA loans (government-insured mortgages a lot of first-time buyers use) come with an appraisal that checks the house against HUD's minimum property standards. Conventional lenders run their own appraisals too. A dead furnace, a failing roof or a foundation problem can stall the loan or kill it. So a house that needs real work is usually off the table for a mortgage buyer, no matter how much they like it.

Speed is the second filter. The average purchase loan took 36.8 days to close in March 2026, according to ICE Mortgage Technology's May 2026 Mortgage Monitor. I like to set my wholesale closings at 14 days or sooner, which means I need a buyer's yes within 24 to 72 hours. Nobody waiting on a lender can move that fast. That's why my wholesale deals go to cash buyers: people paying with their own money or with quick private or hard-money loans.

How To Find Real Estate Buyers Online

Most "find buyers online" advice blends three different people together: agents with listings, owners selling a house, and wholesalers holding a contract. Their tools aren't interchangeable. Zillow's paid lead programs and IDX websites (sites that display MLS listings) are built for licensed agents. And in some states, publicly advertising a house you only have under contract can break licensing law. So before I pick a channel, I ask one question: do I own this property, or do I control it with a contract?

The MLS (multiple listing service) is the shared database real estate agents use to list homes for sale. You can't post to it yourself without a license. A listing agent can, and that one listing reaches the retail buyers and landlords who search the big home sites every day.

Online gets you names. Phone calls and handshakes turn those names into buyers. That's why the local channels (meetups, referrals and calling) come right after the online ones. In practice, I use both on every deal.

Rules on advertising a property you don't own vary by state. I cover them in Can You Market A Property You Don't Own? below. This is educational, not legal advice.

Find Investors Who Already Bought Near You

My favorite buyers are the ones who've already proven they buy what I'm selling. You don't have to guess who they are. Every sale leaves a public record, and the investors in your area are sitting in those records right now.

Here's the process Ryan uses, and the one I teach:

1. Pull recent sales near your property. Look for homes that sold in the same zip code (or within a mile or two) and were clearly renovated: new photos, a big price jump, a quick turnaround. An agent can pull these from the MLS. Many county recorder and assessor websites show them for free. Paid property-data tools like PropStream pull them in bulk and can filter for cash purchases and investor-owned properties.
2. Check the chain of title. That's the ownership history of the property, recorded with the county. You're looking for a pattern: someone bought the house, then resold it for more within a few months. That's a flipper.
3. Look at how they paid. A purchase with no mortgage recorded against it is an all-cash sale. Redfin defines all-cash purchases the same way. An owner who keeps buying with cash is exactly who you want.
4. Notice who owns it. Investors often buy in an LLC (a limited liability company) instead of their own name. An LLC that shows up on two or three flips in the same area is an active buyer.
5. Find the person behind the name. Search the owner or LLC name on Google. Often you'll land on their website, their Google Business listing or a LinkedIn profile with a phone number. Looking up contact information this way is called skip tracing, and paid skip-tracing services can do it in bulk.
6. Call and learn their buy box. Their buy box is the type of property, price range and areas they buy. Ask what they want before you pitch anything.

The NEW Way Of Finding Cash Buyers For Wholesaling (With $0)

Ryan pulls recently flipped homes near one of his deals, checks the chain of title, and calls a Denver flipper live to learn exactly what he buys.

 

Watch this part: the method (1:29) · the live call (3:28) · Ryan's debrief (13:29)

Know What To Say When You Call a Cash Buyer

Finding an investor who just flipped a house down the street is the easy part. The first phone call decides whether they ever pick up again. Our free Cash Buyer Script gives you the opening lines, vetting questions and buy-box questions we use on first calls with investors. You'll learn what they buy and whether they can really close before you ever send them a deal.

Download the free Cash Buyer Script

You don't need thousands of names for this to work. When wholesaler Daniel McClam walked me through one of his deals, his search in InvestorBase, a buyer-data tool, turned up 61 investors with phone numbers who had flipped or bought rentals in that area. He'd never spoken to any of them. From there:

• 21 investors talked with him
• 18 of those 21 were interested
• 8 walked the property
• 8 made offers

That's one deal, and results vary. But it shows what happens when every name on your list has already bought a house like yours.

Disclosure: Real Estate Skills may earn a commission if you sign up for PropStream or InvestorBase through our links. We only mention tools our team or guests have used on real deals.

There's one more shortcut I use when I need a buyer in a market fast. I search "sell my house fast" plus the city, exactly the way a motivated seller would. The companies ranking at the top of the regular results are investors who've spent real money to be found. Some will turn out to be wholesalers, and that's fine. A wholesaler with active buyers can still be a partner.

When this doesn't work as well: in rural areas with only a handful of sales a year, there may not be enough flips to find a pattern. Widen the radius or lean harder on the local channels below. And if you call or text personal cell phones, especially with a dialer or texting software, federal and state do-not-call and texting rules apply. Check them before you start.

Lead Generation Platforms: The MLS, Home-Search Sites And Deal Marketplaces

Selling a property you own through the MLS

For a finished flip, the MLS is where the money is. A retail buyer isn't scrolling investor Facebook groups. They're on the home-search apps with their own agent, and the MLS is what feeds most of those apps.

You have two ways in. A full-service listing agent handles pricing, photos, showings and negotiation. A flat-fee MLS service puts your home on the MLS for a set fee, and you handle the rest yourself. Either way, the listing goes where the buyers already are. If you'd rather skip the agent entirely, here's how selling for sale by owner (FSBO) works and what it costs you in reach.

Two things trip up investors who are new to selling retail:

• How agents get paid changed. Since August 17, 2024, under NAR's settlement rules, MLS listings can't include an offer to pay the buyer's agent. Agents also need a signed written agreement with a buyer before showing them homes. Compensation is still negotiated, just off the MLS. Ask your listing agent how buyer-agent pay works in your market before you set your price.
• The appraisal sets a ceiling. Most retail buyers borrow, and their lender orders an appraisal. If you price above what comparable sales support, the appraisal comes in low, and the deal stalls or gets renegotiated.

Marketing a contract on deal platforms

Deal marketplaces like InvestorLift let wholesalers post contracts to investors who are shopping for off-market deals. Ryan uses InvestorLift alongside PropStream. They help most when your own buyers list is thin. Just remember you're competing with every other deal in the feed, so your price and photos have to stand out.

Disclosure: Real Estate Skills may earn a commission if you sign up for InvestorLift through our link.

What I won't do is post a contract on Zillow or a regular for-sale site as if I owned the house. Zillow's paid lead programs and the MLS are built for licensed agents and owners. Listing a house you don't own as a normal for-sale listing is exactly the kind of public marketing several states now regulate.

If you're a licensed agent hunting for homebuyer clients, paid buyer-lead programs are a different game entirely. I cover that briefly in the FAQ.

Social Media Marketing Campaign: Finding Buyers In Investor Groups

Social media is where I find names, not buyers. The groups are full of people who say they invest. A small share actually close, and your job is to spot them.

Here's how I work a group:

• Find the right groups. Search Facebook for your city plus "real estate investors." Local investor associations often run their own groups, and BiggerPockets has forums organized by market.
• Watch who's buying. Look for posts like "looking for three-bedrooms under $200,000 in these zip codes," people asking about deals other members posted, and people sharing flips they just finished. Write down those names.
• Message, then call. Send a short message saying you find properties in their area and want to know what they buy. Then get them on the phone and learn their buy box.
• Post your own deals carefully. Only post where the group's rules allow it, describe exactly what you're selling, and stay inside your state's advertising rules.

If you own a finished flip, social media can help on the retail side too. Short video walkthroughs on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook can send local buyers to your listing. Point them to your listing agent, not your direct messages, so the agent can handle showings and check that buyers are pre-approved.

If you post a deal you hold under contract

Owners can post their own property freely. Contract holders can't always. A public post in a big Facebook group can count as public marketing. Oklahoma's law makes it unlawful for an unlicensed person to publicly market an equitable interest in a purchase contract. Since July 1, 2025, Oregon has required residential wholesalers to register with the state or hold a broker license, and to include a written disclosure in all advertising for the property.

Even where the rules are looser, say exactly what you hold. "Assignment of purchase contract available" is honest. "House for sale" when you don't own it isn't.

This is educational, not legal advice. Wholesaling rules change often, so confirm your state's current requirements with a local real estate attorney.

Real Estate Websites: Build A Buyer Sign-Up Page

Let me set expectations first. A website won't bring you buyers on its own. Ranking in Google takes time and money. That's exactly why I take the investors who rank for "sell my house fast" in a city seriously: they've invested in their business. A brand-new site of mine won't rank that way for months.

What a website does well is turn the buyers you meet everywhere else into organized, qualified contacts. Every time I meet an investor at a meetup, through a referral or on a call, I can send them one link. They fill it out, and I get their buy box in writing instead of on a sticky note.

Keep the form short enough that someone will finish it on their phone. You'll fill in the rest on the first call.

A website can also host a simple page for each deal, with photos, the key numbers and an offer form, so buyers have everything in one place. If you hold the property under contract instead of owning it, a public deal page is advertising, and your state's licensing and disclosure rules apply to it. Some wholesalers keep deal details visible only to registered buyers. Ask a local real estate attorney whether that makes a difference where you work.

Email Marketing: Send Deals One Buyer At A Time

I've been on both ends of deal emails. Every week I get dozens of texts from wholesalers asking, "I have a deal, want to see it?" They already know what I buy. Of course I want to see it. Just send it.

The other mistake is the blast: one email, a thousand names, everyone in BCC. The buyers I'd actually want ignore those. When Ryan called a Denver flipper on camera, the flipper said he won't come back to a wholesaler who sends every deal to dozens of investors and then holds a group showing at a vacant house. And when Daniel McClam walked me through a deal this October, he said buyers have grown numb to email and text blasts. What got him 18 interested buyers out of 21 conversations was the price and the phone calls, not a list.

Here's how I send a deal:

1. Pick the buyers who fit. Filter your list by area, property type, price range and repair budget. If the deal doesn't match someone's buy box, they don't get it.
2. Send it one at a time. Address each buyer by name. It takes a few extra seconds per email, and it reads like a conversation instead of an ad. I keep the subject line simple: "Wholesale Opportunity:" plus the property address.
3. Lead with the numbers. The purchase price, repair estimate and after-repair value go in the first line. The rest of what belongs in the email is covered in the step-by-step section below.
4. Call right after you send. If they don't pick up, leave a voicemail saying the details are in their inbox, then send a text saying the same.
5. Walk through it together. The best version is both of you at a computer, going through the photos and comps while you answer questions.

Email rules that apply to deal emails

The Federal Trade Commission says the CAN-SPAM Act covers all commercial email, with no exception for business-to-business messages. That includes deals sent to investors. Keeping your emails one-to-one doesn't take them outside the law, so build those basics into your template once and stop worrying about it.

Community Engagement: Meet Buyers At REIAs, Meetups And Auctions

A REIA (real estate investors association) is a local club where investors meet, usually monthly, to network and trade deals. Most mid-size cities have at least one, and many also host smaller meetups by neighborhood or strategy. These rooms are full of the exact people who buy houses like yours. They're also full of beginners who haven't bought anything yet. Your job is to tell them apart quickly.

I ask three questions:

• "What have you bought in the last 12 months?" Real buyers answer with streets, prices and how the project went. Browsers answer with plans.
• "Who's doing your rehabs right now?" Active flippers have a crew and usually a complaint about them. Someone without a contractor isn't buying soon.
• "Which title company do you close with?" Anyone who closes regularly knows the answer without thinking. It also tells you where your deals with them would close.

Foreclosure auctions are another room worth your time. In many counties, bidders have to bring certified funds, like a cashier's check, to bid at all, so the regulars are cash buyers by definition. Pay special attention to the people who get outbid. They came ready to buy a house and are leaving without one.

Set your expectations before you go. In my experience, it takes about 20 conversations with potential buyers to find 3 to 5 local buyers I actually want to work with. That's not failure. That's the funnel. Most people quit because they expected every handshake to turn into a sale.

Real Estate Referral Network: Get Buyers From Agents, Title Companies And Other Investors

Everyone who touches investor deals knows who the active buyers are. They see the closings, the loans and the rehabs. Most will tell you if you ask the right way and give them a reason to.

Title companies won't hand over client files, and they shouldn't. But many will make an introduction, especially once they know you'll bring deals to close with them. If you're wholesaling, a wholesale-friendly title company is worth finding early anyway.

Partnering with another wholesaler is called a joint venture (JV): you split the fee because they bring the buyer. I'm happy to JV when a wholesaler has a buyer I don't. Just put the split in writing before either of you calls anyone.

Watch the money. In many states, getting paid for referring someone into a real estate sale requires a license. Agents generally can't pay referral fees to unlicensed people either. Trade introductions and deal flow, not cash, unless a local real estate attorney tells you a fee is allowed where you work.

Cold Calling: How To Call Buyers And Keep Track

Every channel above gives you names. The phone is where those names become buyers. Most people skip this part because it's uncomfortable, which is exactly why it works for the people who don't.

Your best call list comes from three places:

• Sale records. These are the flippers and landlords you found in the public records, from the earlier section.
• "We Buy Houses" signs. The small signs stapled to poles and staked at busy intersections usually belong to active buyers or wholesalers, and the phone number is right there. Call those numbers. Don't put up signs of your own, because many cities ban signs on utility poles and public right-of-way.
• Search results. Search "sell my house fast" plus your city, and the investors who rank are worth a call.

Here's how my first call with a new buyer goes:

1. Say who you are in one sentence. Your name, your company, and that you find properties below market value in their area.
2. Confirm they're buying. "I saw your sign. Are you still buying houses here?"
3. Ask for 5 to 15 minutes. If now's bad, book a time. Don't rush the most important conversation you'll have with them.
4. Learn their buy box before you pitch. Areas, property types, price range, repair budget, how they pay and how fast they close.
5. Set the expectation. Tell them the next time they hear from you, it'll be a deal that fits what they just told you. Ask them to reply quickly, because good deals go in a day or two.

You can watch Ryan run a first call like this with a Denver flipper, start to finish, at 3:28 in his video above.

Track every conversation. When Daniel McClam talked me through how he sells deals, he said the hardest part early on was remembering who didn't pick up, who said to call back, who wanted to walk the property and who still hadn't made an offer. Use a spreadsheet or a CRM (customer relationship management software) and update it after every call. When the next deal lands, you'll know exactly who to call first.

If you call or text personal cell phones, especially with an autodialer or texting software, federal and state do-not-call and texting rules apply. Check them before you scale up.

Calling sellers is a different conversation. Our wholesaling cold calling script covers that side.

How To Find A Buyer For Your Property, Step By Step

The channels above tell you where buyers are. This is the order I work in once I have an actual property, from the first decision to a signed buyer.

Step 1: Decide Whether You're Selling The House Or The Contract

If you own the house, you can sell it any legal way you like, including through a listing agent on the MLS. If you only have it under contract, you're selling your right to buy it. That's done in one of two ways:

• An assignment: you transfer your contract to a buyer for a fee, and they close with the seller.
• A double close: you buy the house and resell it to your buyer in back-to-back closings, often the same day.

That one fact decides which channels you can use and what you're allowed to say. I cover the legal side in Can You Market A Property You Don't Own? below.

Step 2: Line Up Buyers Before You Commit

Ryan and I call this step one for a reason. You're only as strong as your buyer. If they can close in 7 days, so can you. If they need 30, every quick-close promise you make to a seller is one you can't keep.

Skipping this step shows up in two ways. One is the deals Ryan and I get sent that are priced right at the after-repair value, leaving no room for an investor to make money. The other is wholesalers on the last day of their inspection period, scrambling to find anyone who'll take a contract. Both happen because nobody asked a buyer first. There's a legal reason too. Many of the newer wholesaling laws are triggered by publicly marketing a contract, and a buyer you've already lined up means you never have to. I cover that in Can You Market A Property You Don't Own? below.

Once you know exactly what your buyers want, go find it for them. Here are the strategies we use to generate real estate investor leads.

Step 3: Match The Property To The Right Buyer

Here's my quick test: would a lender's appraiser flag repairs on this house? If yes, it's an investor property, and a mortgage buyer probably can't close on it. If your contract closes in two weeks or less, it's a cash-buyer deal no matter what condition it's in. The full breakdown is in Who Are Real Estate Buyers? above.

Step 4: Price It For That Buyer

Most investors use some version of the 70% rule: they'll pay a percentage of the after-repair value, minus the repair cost. The percentage changes by market and by buyer, and that's where beginners lose money.

On Ryan's call, the Denver flipper said he buys at 80% to 82% of after-repair value minus repairs. Ryan pointed out that's generous, since many markets run 70% to 75%. On a 1960s brick ranch the flipper guessed would be worth around $500,000 to $525,000 fixed up, he said anything over $400,000 gets tough. Around $375,000 works. At $350,000, Ryan should keep it himself.

Small differences matter. In some markets the top buyer pays 85% of after-repair value minus repairs, and in others it's 82%. On a $500,000 after-repair value, that 3-point gap is $15,000 off your price. You won't know which one you're dealing with until you ask.

The lesson isn't to price low. It's to price where investors already buy, then let competition move the number.

Step 5: Present The Deal So Buyers Can Decide Fast

Buyers are professionals. They want to judge a deal in about two minutes, so I don't send them long PDFs. I send them this:

• The three numbers, first line: purchase price, repair estimate and after-repair value.
• The address.
• Photos, or a link to a folder or the MLS listing.
• At least three comps (recent sales of similar homes) with a one-line reason each fits, like "same floor plan" or "all three sold within 21 days."
• How to see it: vacant with a lockbox, or by appointment if someone lives there.
• Contract deadlines: when earnest money is due, when the inspection period ends and the closing date.

Back up your repair number with specifics. "Needs a new roof and HVAC, everything else is cosmetic" builds more trust than a round number, especially with a buyer who's seen your estimates hold up before.

When several buyers are interested, let them compete honestly. Daniel asked all eight bidders for their highest and best offer by a deadline. Six came back higher. Only claim competition you actually have, though. Buyers talk to each other, and a bluff costs you the relationship.

Step 6: Vet The Buyer Before You Commit

A lot of "we buy houses" companies are other wholesalers, so confirm the person actually closes. Ask for examples of deals they bought recently. Ask how they pay. Buyers using their own cash can usually pay more than buyers paying interest on borrowed money. If they're paying cash, a proof of funds letter or recent statement is reasonable to request.

Ryan and I favor buyers doing around 30 or more deals a year who are fine with modest profits per house. They have crews to keep busy, so they buy consistently and answer the phone.

Step 7: Lock In The Buyer And Protect Yourself

If you own the property, the purchase agreement and the buyer's earnest money deposit do this job, usually with agents on both sides. If you're assigning a contract, three things protect you:

• A deposit from your buyer. Ryan's rule is to collect a non-refundable deposit from your buyer when you assign. If they walk, it's their money at risk, not yours.
• Know whether you stay liable. Some contracts spell out who's responsible after an assignment. The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar residential contract, for example, has the parties check whether the buyer can assign, and whether the buyer is released from liability if they do.
• Know your worst case. Many contracts cap a defaulting buyer's loss at the earnest money (called liquidated damages). Some also let the seller sue to force the purchase (called specific performance). Ryan says the attorneys he's asked call that rare, but read your own contract.

I also ask buyers not to contact the listing agent or seller directly while I'm assigning a deal, because that's how deals blow up. That's a request about the relationship. It's not a reason to hide what you're doing. Disclose your role as your state requires.

Strong buyers make your offers stronger too. Ryan works with buyers who put down large non-refundable deposits, and that lets him offer sellers terms other wholesalers can't match.

This is educational, not legal advice. Contract terms and wholesaling laws vary by state, so have a local real estate attorney review your purchase and assignment agreements.

Can You Market A Property You Don't Own?

When you sign a contract to buy a house, you get what's called an equitable interest: the right to buy it, but not the title. You don't own the house yet. So when you "market a deal," you're really marketing that right.

That difference matters because marketing other people's property for a fee is what real estate licenses exist for. A wholesaler who advertises the house as if they own it, instead of advertising the contract, can cross into unlicensed brokerage. More states are writing that line into law.

Sources: Oklahoma's 2025 wholesaler law (SB 1075), Oregon's wholesaling rules, Ohio Revised Code 5301.95.

These aren't the only states with rules, and the list keeps growing. Alabama lawmakers introduced their own wholesaling disclosure bill in 2026. Check where your property sits, not just where you live.

Here's how I keep it clean everywhere:

• Say exactly what you hold. "Assignment of purchase contract" is accurate. "House for sale" isn't, unless you own it.
• Disclose in writing. Tell the seller you may assign the contract, and tell your buyer they're buying your contract rights.
• Find your buyer before you need to market. Ryan has studied wholesaling laws across the country, and his point is simple: most of the newer restrictions are triggered by publicly marketing a contract. If your buyer is already lined up, you never have to advertise it. That's how we teach it at Real Estate Skills, and it's why Step 2 comes before everything else.
• Get licensed or partner up if your state requires it. Where public marketing needs a license, either get one or work with a licensed agent.
• Don't count on workarounds. Switching from an assignment to a double close doesn't automatically put you outside these laws. Ask an attorney how your state treats each structure.

Some investors take this a step further with a joint venture agreement. They sign a written partnership with a trusted cash buyer before they put any property under contract, so the buyer is chosen before the deal even exists. Ryan's real estate attorney put it this way: you can't be accused of marketing a contract when your buyer was designated before the contract was signed. Have your own attorney draft or review any agreement like this, because how your state treats it is what counts.

Some agents and regulators go further and see almost any wholesaler marketing as unlicensed brokerage. That view is behind a lot of the new laws, and it's worth taking seriously. Even where wholesaling is clearly legal, the most transparent version is the safest one, and it's the one that keeps sellers and buyers coming back.

Check Your State's Rules Before You Market a Contract

Whether you can advertise a deal you hold under contract depends on where the property sits. Some states require a license or registration, and others require written disclosure in every ad. Our free state-by-state wholesaling guide walks through licensing, assignment and disclosure rules, so you know what applies before you post a deal or call a buyer. Laws change, so confirm the details with a local real estate attorney.

Download the free state-by-state wholesaling guide

This is educational, not legal advice. Wholesaling laws change often and vary by state, so confirm current requirements with a local real estate attorney before you market any property you don't own.

Finding Buyers For A Wholesale Deal

Everything in this guide applies to wholesaling. What changes is the clock. When you own a house, a buyer can take a few weeks. When you hold a contract, the contract's deadlines set your schedule, and your buyer has to fit inside them.

That's why the buyers I keep closest are the ones who can say yes within 24 to 72 hours. You don't need a huge list for that. In my experience, three to five serious local buyers who close fast will move most deals.

If wholesaling is new to you, start with our guide to wholesaling real estate. It covers the basics this guide assumes.

What To Do If You Can't Find A Buyer

A deal that isn't moving is telling you something. Don't panic and don't blast it to a bigger list. Figure out which of the three problems you have, because each one has a different fix.

Start with price. It's the most common problem. The flipper Ryan called told him exactly where his line was: anything over $400,000 on that house got tough. If your deal is stuck, call your best buyer and ask what price would make it a yes. When Daniel McClam priced a deal right at what investors had recently paid, instead of reaching for $100,000, he got 18 interested buyers out of 21 conversations. Buyers have plenty of options right now. A deal priced like a retail listing just gets skipped.

Renegotiate honestly. If the inspection or a contractor's bid turns up real problems, like a roof, foundation work or a dead HVAC system, take those numbers back to the seller and ask for a lower price. Use real findings, not invented ones. Sellers and listing agents remember who played straight with them.

Exit cleanly if you have to. Many purchase contracts include an inspection or due-diligence contingency: a set period, often a week or two, during which the buyer can cancel. In most cases you get your earnest money back, depending on the contract's terms. If you can't find a buyer and can't renegotiate, notify the seller in writing before that period ends. Don't let the deadline slide past while you hope. That's when your deposit, and your reputation with that agent, are at risk.

If you own the property, you have more room. You can cut the price on a retail listing. You can sell it as-is to an investor. Or you can wholetail it: do a light cleanup without a full renovation, then list it on the MLS for buyers who don't mind some work.

The best fix is the one from Step 2. Line up buyers first, know their numbers before you make an offer, and most of this table never applies to you.

This is educational, not legal advice. Contingency periods, deposit rules and cancellation terms depend on your contract and state, so have a local real estate attorney review yours.

Real Estate Buyers FAQs

Final Thoughts On Finding Real Estate Buyers

Finding real estate buyers isn't about having the biggest list. It's about knowing who buys what you have, pricing it where they buy, and talking to them before you need them.

If you're starting today, do one thing this week. Pull every renovated home that sold in your target zip code over the last six months. Find the five owners who bought and resold the fastest, and call them. Ask what they buy, how they pay and how fast they can close. By Friday, you'll have the start of a buyers list built on proof instead of hope, and your next offer will be one you know someone will take.

About The Author

Alex Martinez

Founder & CEO, Real Estate Skills

Alex Martinez has wholesaled and flipped houses for over 14 years, been part of 1,000+ real estate transactions and personally acquired 55+ residential investment properties. Through Real Estate Skills, he has trained 6,000+ investors nationwide to find deals, line up cash buyers and close wholesale and fix-and-flip transactions.

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Real Estate Skills is not a law firm, and the information in this article is provided for educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, tax, or financial advice. Wholesaling, real estate licensing and advertising laws vary by state and change over time. Deal prices and examples from our team and guests are not guarantees, your results will vary, and all investments involve risk. Some links in this article are affiliate links, and Real Estate Skills may earn a commission from them. Always consult a licensed real estate attorney in your state before you market, assign or close on a property.