Wholesaling real estate is often the first step for a new real estate investor to learn the trade and make some money. As the middleman, wholesalers can make some quick cash without a lot of personal financial risk.
That being said, as market presence builds and more deals sit on the table, some tasks that consume a lot of time pile up. Outsource these tasks to best manage time and return on investment.
5 Tasks Wholesalers Can Outsource to Virtual Assistants
1. Package and Contract Creation
Amassing all the documents including title reports, market assessments and rehab estimates into one cohesive, presentable document can be laborious. Most dealmakers don’t enjoy this part of the process. Staying focused on the sales process helps you move the deal forward rather than getting stuck in presentation details.
There are a couple reasons to outsource contracts and packages. First, you want to make sure that everything is complete and legally binding. Second, once you have a template in order, the rest is often filling in blanks. While you should always read the contract for accuracy, having someone else develop and plug in all the details can save you considerable time.
2. Appointment Setting
The reality is that you are going to have to talk to a lot of people every day to produce consistent deals over time. Being the main point of contact for all sellers when you are first starting out is a great way to get your feet wet and learn the business. However, as time goes on there will be more people on your list to call back then your schedule will allow.
Eventually you will have to outsource some of the seller conversations to virtual assistants who can help minimize the time you will have to spend on the phone. A good virtual assistant will be able to follow your directions and enable you to focus your time on home sellers who are serious and ready to sell today. Utilize virtual assistants to build a prospect funnel so that only highly qualified leads will make it onto your calendar.
3. Rehab Estimates
You may have walked the property and have a good idea of what the rehab cost will be. However, you may still get contractor estimates as part of the package. This isn’t something you may need to be on site for. Having a virtual assistant schedule and gather this information helps you focus on the sales process. Of course, you will review all the estimates, but you don’t need to waste valuable time dealing with contractors.
There is a flip side to this. You can learn a lot about how much work a property really needs from a contractor. Asking questions and seeing the property through the eyes of a contractor may help.
4. Direct Mail and Marketing
The most successful wholesalers are the best marketers. Successful wholesalers have split tested and built out a specific marketing strategy to consistently reach their target market. While you should always be involved in the high-level marketing strategy there will be many repetitive tasks required to consistently implement the strategy.
You should leverage virtual assistants to perform the daily tasks required to execute your overall marketing strategy. Work from the top down and start by outsourcing the basic and repetitive tasks first before moving up to tasks that are more technical or require specific knowledge.
5. Scour Online Resources for Opportunities
A wholesaler must always be on the lookout for another deal. This is probably the most time-consuming component of the business outside of actual contract negotiations. That being said, once marketing letters are sent, outsourcing the data collection of potential properties helps. Give an assistant the checklist of what you are looking for including location, price range, size and type of home. Allow them to amass the information and present it to you for evaluation.
Once you have the list of potential properties, you can begin to crunch numbers on the most profitable ones. This is where you will spend your time and energy.