Wholesalers Are Making Too Much Damn Money. FTC Suspects Fraud.

It's so funny. At least once a day someone walks up to me, says hello, and then with a pseudo-sorrowful look on their face and a hand on my shoulder as if my mother just died in a fiery car crash asks how I'm doing in real estate. When I reply that I'm doing awesome and it couldn't be better they look shocked for some strange reason.

“Really?” They exclaim. “Wow! That's great. Good for you.” They look a little perplexed, and then they walk away tapping on their cell phones. I'm not sure what all the tapping is about. I heard *666 is the auto text alert to the FTC so I suppose they're reporting suspicious activity.

The fact is these fine friends of mine have reason to be suspect. The market sucks! Why the heck would I be doing so good? Even I was a little surprised this past week sitting in my good friend Kenny Rushing's office listening to him tell me that he's currently making more money than ever in real estate. And for those of you who don't know Kenny…that's a lot of money. You wouldn't believe me if I told you.

“That doesn't make any sense” I thought. “I'm supposed to be the only one making it big in the 2008 real estate market.” But then it hit me: It's not just me (as hard as that was to swallow); it's my particular niche in the real estate industry.

Wholesaling.

Wholesalers make the world go around. That's just a little Snapple Fun Fact for you in case you didn't know. We find and negotiate all the good deals, we make all the connections, we make all the money, we get all the girls, and we work at least a full 15 hour “work” week (if you really wanna call it work). What can I say? It's a tough job, but someone's got to do it.

I recently spoke at a big Century 21 Realtor meeting. I was there to discuss how my buying strategies could assist them in their efforts to sell more houses in this “down” market. They all ended up calling me afterward but not for help with their listings; they wanted to sign up in my coaching program! Hilarious. I think I single-handedly put that whole office out of business. Apparently in this particular economy we find ourselves in, these folks saw something in “wholesaling” that made more sense to them than “retailing”.

STOP! Drop and roll. Because you're about to be on fire after you hear what I have to say next. Prepare yourself for an insider tip that will revolutionize the rest of your life here on earth. I'm serious. Pay special attention here because this one thing I am about to tell you is absolutely critical, and you've never heard it before. It is responsible for my success and happiness to a large extent. To the degree you don't listen, appreciate, and apply this to your life you will most certainly be completely miserable.

Actually put that thought on hold. Let's get back to that later. I won't forget; I promise. First I should explain what wholesaling is in relation to all the other options you have available to you in the marvelous and magical land of real estate. Here is a brief definition and synopsis of the different arenas you can choose from:

The Landlord Find and buy houses that cash flow with a renter living there and manage them for eternity. Have fun. You'll get rich in approximately 30 years. My friends and I drive 745's and Bentleys and live like famous people (because we are). You see any landlords doing that? I wrote almost a whole chapter on this subject in my new book Flip Your Way to Financial Freedom. It's hilarious. You definitely have to read it. You'll be entertained if nothing else. If you want passive income do something like write a book, start an online business, or do network marketing.

Want something to provide an income for you once you retire? First of all, who in the world wants to retire? And do what? Eat right and exercise and you'll never be helpless and sick in a nursing home (which would require lots of assets to pay for). Second of all, get a whole life insurance policy and plan your retirement around it. It all comes out tax free and it's the smartest way to transfer wealth to your family.

All the truly elite financial planners know this (Merrill Lynch, Fidelity, and Morgan Stanley are not examples of elite financial planners just in case you were wondering. Stop listening to Suze Orman and anyone else on TV or in a magazine for that matter if you have any hopes at all of being free and wealthy). Contact me and I can steer you in the right direction for all that.

Of course I'm over-exaggerating everything in order to make my case for wholesaling. Investment properties aren't all bad. I have a few. It's cool to pick up some rentals here and there if they make sense, but you need a way to produce cash flow. A lot of it. In other words, landlording is ok for long term investments, but you need to make a living in the mean time.

The Rehabber I'm reluctant to discourage you on this one because rehabbers buy all my wholesale deals. So go ahead and be a rehabber. To each their own. Just make sure you plan on selling at least 10% below market to ensure your house sells. And plan on completely renovating at least 4 houses a month to make as much as I do talking on the phone at Starbucks and typing. Enjoy the heart attack.

The Realtor LOL Dude. Please. This is a serious article.

The Commercial Investor Admittedly, commercial real estate appears to be moving along just fine. Therefore commercial real estate investing would not be the suckiest idea you ever had in your life…if you have the wherewithal to make it happen. I myself plan on slowly building a commercial portfolio and I have plenty of friends who are millionaires from doing the same.

However, to do so requires massive amounts of available cash as most commercial property is expensive and the banks require 20% down at least. And in case you're wondering, Carlton Sheets no-money-down schemes on skyscrapers owned by Fortune 500 companies don't work. I've tried. You can't just go in and assume their V.A. loan.

So scratch commercial investing. That's not for the average Joe. And right now I'm writing to the average Joes out there who are looking to make a mere few hundred grand a year in real estate somehow someway. So how will you do it (and you can do it by the way)?

The Wholesaler Ah the beloved wholesaler. Sometimes at night I just lay there and thank Wholesaling for being so good to me. For finding me and showing me the light. “Thank you wholesaling. Without you I would be forced to do real work. Amen.”

As wholesalers we simply contract on real estate at below market value (typically 40-60% of the after repair value) and then sell our interests in the transaction for anywhere from $2,000 to $100,000. And it's even easier than it sounds.

Remember earlier when I told you I had something important to tell you? A life changing tip? Well here it is:

Go where the money is abundant and easy.

Sounds simple enough, but you would be amazed at how many people are making life hard on themselves unnecessarily. Sometimes the wisest things in the world are the simplest. I base my professional life around this concept of “easy money”. No matter what industry I find myself in I always research it and go straight to that section of it that allows me to work smart and not hard. I go where the money is easy. I just don't like stress and I refuse to allow it in my life.

An example: I recently got involved in network marketing. I picked probably (definitely) the only company in the world whereby if you speak to 100 people about the product all 100 of them will listen to you and be extremely interested. The product sells itself. I'm proud and excited to talk about it with others. You couldn't pay me enough to represent any other MLM company. Why? Because this particular company and industry makes life easy on me. It's an easy sell.

The same is true with wholesaling. I picked a certain niche in real estate that makes my life easy. I do not have to talk people into buying from me. I do not have to show houses. I do not even have to see houses. I am the most valuable player in both the seller and the buyer's eyes. People come to me. I do not come to them.

Does that sound good to you?

Life is too short to be stressing over work and trying to talk people into things. Do something enjoyable, and easy, and profitable. Be a wholesaler. Shoot, I might even know someone who can teach you how to get a fast start.