How to Wholesale Real Estate in New Jersey (2025 Updated)

Newbie real estate investors often begin by asking a fundamental question: Is it legal to wholesale real estate in New Jersey?

Yes, wholesaling real estate is completely legal not only in New Jersey but also across the entirety of the United States, provided that one adheres diligently to the legal framework.

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the relevant laws in New Jersey, it is highly recommended to review the rules and regulations outlined by the New Jersey Real Estate Commission.

To ensure the legality and legitimacy of your real estate wholesaling business, it is crucial to be well-informed about the risks of wholesaling real estate and have a thorough understanding of the New Jersey real estate wholesaling laws.

One of the primary risks associated with wholesaling real estate is the potential consequence of using inappropriate wording in your contracts when marketing to end buyers.

In New Jersey, the marketing of a house that doesn’t belong to you is restricted to licensed New Jersey real estate agents.

However, when it comes to wholesalers, their role involves marketing the rights and obligations associated with a contract, rather than the house itself.

To ensure the legal soundness of your real estate transactions, it is highly recommended to engage the services of one of the best New Jersey real estate attorneys.

Have them review or create templates for a purchase agreement and assignment contract tailored to your specific needs.

In New Jersey, much like in other states, two distinct methods are employed for real estate wholesaling: contract assignment and double closing.

It’s important to keep in mind that being physically present in New Jersey is not a requirement to engage in house wholesaling within the state.

In the modern era of digital advancements, you have the capability to conduct the entire real estate wholesaling process remotely, comfortably operating from your own home.

Contract Assignment

The contract assignment strategy is often the initial focus for new investors who are learning how to wholesale houses in New Jersey.

By utilizing this method, you are not required to possess the funds necessary for purchasing the home.

In most cases, adhering to this strategy for wholesaling deals typically only necessitates a refundable earnest money deposit ranging from one to two thousand dollars.

Understanding the mechanics of this approach is key, so let’s explore how it functions.

To begin, your first step is to secure a purchase contract signed by both yourself and the motivated seller as if you were the actual buyer.

Within the contract, it is crucial to include a clause that permits you to assign it to a third party, who will be your eventual end buyer.

After getting the house under contract and finding an end buyer, have both parties sign an assignment contract.

This assignment contract facilitates the transfer of your rights and obligations as the original buyer to the investor who will ultimately purchase the house.

As a real estate wholesaler, your profit will come in the form of an assignment fee, which the investor will pay you in exchange for having the contract assigned to them.

Double Closing

While the contract assignment strategy garners more popularity, everything you need to know about wholesaling real estate includes the double closing method as well.

A double closing encompasses two distinct closing transactions done by you with the seller and then with the end buyer.

Wholesalers often employ this strategy when they anticipate receiving a substantial assignment fee and prefer to keep their profits from being visible to both the seller and the end buyer in the transaction.

It is crucial to weigh the pros and cons of real estate wholesaling before deciding to pursue this method.

When it comes to the double closing strategy, one significant advantage is the ability to keep your profits undisclosed to both parties involved.

However, a notable disadvantage is the requirement to secure transactional funding for the closing, especially if you don’t have sufficient cash reserves of your own.

In such cases, you can seek assistance from the best New Jersey hard money lenders, who are recognized for providing reliable financial solutions.

Also, when double closing, you pay closing costs twice: once as a buyer, and then as a seller.

Moreover, as your motivated sellers are often distressed and don’t have cash, you will often assume their closing costs.

It is of utmost importance to collaborate with a reputable title company that possesses a comprehensive understanding of double closings and has the capability to facilitate them effectively.

Include finding one on your real estate wholesaling checklist.

Virtual Wholesaling

Irrespective of your place of residence, you have the opportunity to engage in virtual wholesaling in New Jersey.

However, prior to getting started, it is essential to engage in extensive networking and get a comprehensive understanding of wholesaling real estate step by step.

Collaborating with New Jersey investor-friendly real estate agents can be beneficial in managing effective communication between yourself, the buyer, and the seller.

This alliance can greatly assist you in navigating the process smoothly.

Before commencing the process, it is essential to identify and secure two crucial vendors:

1. Find a dependable contractor or home inspector in New Jersey who can provide accurate repair cost estimates for properties you plan to get under contract. This will assist you to analyze real estate deals. Make sure to include an inspection contingency clause in your agreement, allowing the contractor to access the property and provide a reliable estimate before proceeding further.
2. Locate a New Jersey wholesale-friendly title company that specializes in facilitating virtual closings. Using a wholesale-savvy title firm will streamline the closing process for your virtual transactions.

In order to sign documents remotely both before and during the closing, it is advisable to opt for electronic signature software such as DocuSign.

In order to thrive in the New Jersey market, it is crucial to grasp how to find properties to wholesale at an appealing price point that will attract potential end buyers.

These properties are typically sourced from motivated sellers, who are willing to sell their properties at a discounted rate.

There are diverse types of motivated sellers who frequently require immediate cash and lack the resources or time to address property repairs or legal problems complicating selling through traditional means.

In this discussion, we will explore three approaches that you can employ to find distressed houses.

#1 Buy New Jersey Distressed Seller Leads

One of the simplest methods is to purchase leads from companies that focus on advertising and various other techniques to find motivated home sellers and sell leads they generated to investors, agents, and wholesalers.

These companies typically offer their services at either a subscription fee or charge on a per-lead basis.

They specialize in various types of leads, including:

• Pre-foreclosure homes
• Homes sold by divorcing couples
• Probate homes
• Properties in poor physical condition
• Absentee owners, and others.

There are various real estate wholesaling software tools available in the market that provide a range of features to support your wholesaling business. Many of them sell leads, too.

Lead generators gather contact information from homeowners, along with details about their properties and information on why their sellers are motivated.

Some companies may offer leads of lower quality compared to others. It is crucial to evaluate the reliability and effectiveness of the leads provided by each company before making a decision.

It is essential to verify the reputation and track record of the company to ensure they have a proven record of generating quality leads.

Real Estate Bees offers a specialized lead marketplace exclusively designed for individuals engaged in real estate.

Within this marketplace, you can conveniently access and purchase premium leads that are tailored for wholesaling or acquiring investment properties.

This platform ensures that you have a reliable and efficient source for high-quality leads to support your real estate endeavors.

For an alternative approach, you can refer to this list of the top lead generation services for real estate investors and wholesalers.

This comprehensive compilation allows you to explore and evaluate various lead providers.

#2 Hire an Agency to Do Marketing for You

You have the option to delegate not only generating leads for wholesaling real estate but also the whole real estate investor marketing process to a reputable agency.

By outsourcing these responsibilities, you can focus on other aspects of your business while ensuring that your lead-generation efforts are handled by skilled professionals.

When seeking assistance from digital marketing agencies, you can benefit from a range of services tailored to your needs, including:

• Content development to attract users with informative articles
• Real estate website design to provide your visitors with good user experience
• SEO for real estate investors to improve the visibility and ranking of your website in search results
• Social media marketing to reach and engage with your target audience on various platforms
• PPC ad management for real estate investors to optimize your pay-per-click advertising campaigns and maximize their effectiveness

While paid advertising provides instant gratification, SEO builds a solid foundation that generates leads consistently over time.

Wholesalers are typically required to pay a monthly retainer to marketing agencies for the management of various campaigns.

Just like lead providers, these companies can be unscrupulous, failing to deliver services as advertised.

If you are leaning towards hiring an agency, you have to be able to sift through an overwhelming sea of bad companies to find one that will serve you as advertised.

But since you are our reader, our team has already done all the heavy lifting for you. We’ve polled and surveyed thousands of our real estate wholesaler members and the overwhelming majority recommended Magnyfi, run by Jacob Hicks.

The service provided by Magnyfi is not cheap. But it is definitely worth it if you are serious about growing your real estate wholesaling business.

Go ahead and watch Jacob’s video presentation on the Magnyfi profile page discussing their methodical process they have been using to successfully help other investors grow their businesses.

#3 Do Your Own Marketing by Yourself

When you begin by handling your own marketing efforts, you gain valuable insights into this aspect of your business.

This enables you to distinguish between competent and subpar marketing companies when the need arises to hire one.

The initial requirement is setting up a website for real estate investors tailored explicitly for motivated seller lead generation on autopilot.

To effectively capture leads from various sources, including online search and social media ads, a versatile website serves as an invaluable tool. Here are examples of good real estate investor websites.

When choosing a website solution, it is crucial to opt for a platform that enables the creation of a user-friendly and search-engine-optimized resource.

From the array of currently available options, select the best website templates for real estate investors.

However, it is important not to confine your marketing strategies solely to online methods. There are various offline approaches that can help you discover motivated sellers:

• Conducting thorough searches of public records for homes with tax- and mortgage payment-delinquent properties
• Driving for dollars
• Sending real estate wholesaling postcards and yellow letters
• Posting bandit signs
• Networking with fellow real estate professionals, and exploring additional avenues.

To successfully market your New Jersey wholesale properties and find real estate investors, owning or having access to a list of cash buyers is the key.

Your under-contract properties may attract various types of real estate investors, including real estate investing companies, hedge funds, and individual investors.

Having lists tailored to each type of cash buyer is an excellent approach to keep things organized, considering that different cash buyers have varying buying criteria.

Utilize the following marketing strategies for wholesaling real estate to reach out to these cash buyers.

Build Your Own Cash Buyers List

It is crucial to start building a sizable list of New Jersey real estate cash buyers as early as possible, as this process takes time and substantial networking efforts.

One of the ways to do it is contacting reliable vendors in New Jersey who have expertise in catering to real estate investors.

This includes speaking with contractors working on fix and flip projects and New Jersey lenders who cater to New Jersey real estate investors.

Also, attend local real estate clubs and REIA meetings to meet investors in person.

Building a cash buyers list doesn’t happen overnight. It’s a continuous process. Fortunately, it can be significantly sped up by Real Estate Bees’ revolutionary invention — Property Marketplace Widget for Wholesalers.

It basically allows you to build your own cash buyers list on autopilot, and it’s the only online tool of this kind on the market.

What’s even more powerful is that this tool lets you syndicate your contracted properties directly to Real Estate Bees’ massive marketplace of wholesale deals for sale in New Jersey and instantly reach thousands of potential buyers!

Leverage Other People’s Cash Buyers Lists

In case you are short on time to create your personal list of companies that buy houses in New Jersey, there is an alternative option available where you can utilize existing cash buyers lists compiled by others.

Years of effort have been invested by numerous prosperous New Jersey real estate wholesalers and other professionals in the real estate industry to cultivate strong connections with investors.

Although opting for this approach is an effective shortcut, it’s important to note that list owners often expect a significant portion, up to 50%, of your assignment fee as compensation.

If you want to avoid giving away half of your profits while using someone else’s cash buyers list, you can use a robust property syndication tool developed by Real Estate Bees to help wholesalers with the disposition.

The tool lets wholesalers leverage Real Estate Bees’ extensive list of New Jersey cash home buyers to blast their contracted properties for free.

To take advantage of this cutting-edge functionality, create your free account and list your contracted properties.

Contract Assignment

Wholesaling houses in New Jersey is done by signing two separate contracts: a contract for the purchase of real estate and an assignment contract.

The initial purchase contract specifying the deal’s terms is signed by both you and the seller.

Subsequently, upon finding your end buyer, an assignment contract is prepared, and both the seller and the buyer sign it.

By presenting this contract, you demonstrate transparency to both the seller and the end buyer, making it clear that you are not personally acquiring the property.

To facilitate the closing process, the title company will require copies of both contracts.

Double Closing

As mentioned earlier, wholesalers employ double closings when they prefer to keep the profit they make from the deal undisclosed to both the seller and the end buyer.

To successfully complete the closing process, you must present two contracts to the title company:

• A contract for the purchase of real estate, indicating the wholesaler’s acquisition from the seller.
• A contract for the purchase of real estate, signifying the end buyer’s acquisition from the wholesaler.

If you lack sufficient funds to cover the entire house price, you will additionally need to acquire transactional funding.

Transactional funding refers to a short-term loan, usually spanning 24-48 hours, which enables you to close the deal with the seller first before proceeding to close with the end buyer.

Although having an active New Jersey real estate license is not mandatory for practicing wholesaling, engaging in wholesaling with a real estate license can offer valuable protection for both you and your business.

With a license, you have the advantage of being able to market a property both as a real estate agent and as a wholesaler, expanding your marketing options.

To obtain a real estate agent license, it is necessary to affiliate yourself with a New Jersey real estate brokerage.

To ensure a smooth experience, it is essential to conduct interviews with various brokerages and select one that is supportive of wholesaling, as many brokers may have reservations about their agents engaging in this practice.

For further information on obtaining a license, we recommend referring to our comprehensive guide on how to get a real estate license in New Jersey.

Even though there is no age restriction for engaging in wholesaling real estate in New Jersey, it is crucial to be aware that individuals must be at least 18 years old to enter into legally binding contracts in the United States.

Consequently, if you are below the age of 18, title companies will be unable to provide their services to you, and the contracts you establish with sellers will not carry legal validity.

However, if you are younger than the required age, you have the option to collaborate with someone else who can sign contracts on your behalf.

Having an LLC is not a mandatory requirement for legal wholesaling in New Jersey.

Nevertheless, it is important to consider that setting up the appropriate business entity can offer an additional level of safeguard for your business.

Incorporating an LLC or another form of corporate entity is a vital aspect of implementing any of the real estate asset protection strategies.

When conducting wholesaling activities as an LLC, you become eligible for business loans, which is not the case when wholesaling as an individual.

Furthermore, operating under an LLC provides you with tax advantages that are not available when using your personal name.

It will also cultivate a professional image for your business by not only enhancing your standing within the community but also amplifying your influence and credibility.

As a result, home sellers will perceive you as a trustworthy investor, further bolstering your reputation and potential for successful transactions.

The reason why many investors begin with wholesaling as their real estate investment strategy is that it doesn’t require much investment capital.

If you consider wholesaling as a serious ongoing venture, you will require some budget for marketing purposes.

This will largely depend on which of the previously mentioned approaches you choose and how many leads you need to generate per month.

For each deal, be prepared to put an earnest money deposit ranging normally from $1,000 to $2,000.

If double closing is your preferred strategy, and you do not possess significant cash reserves, you will require transactional funding.

Qualifying for transactional funding does not necessitate a high credit score, employment history, or similar requirements.

If you’re seeking the most suitable transactional funding in New Jersey, you can utilize the “request financing” form provided by Real Estate Bees.

By filling out this form, you can effortlessly obtain quotes and compare rates from numerous lenders with just a few clicks.

The potential profit in wholesaling real estate in New Jersey is directly proportional to the effort you invest.

Consider this: for a typical property in its community with a cost of $150,000, the average assignment fee ranges from $10,000 to $15,000.

However, the extent of your business growth determines the remainder of your earnings.

The viability of wholesaling real estate in New Jersey is predominantly influenced by the specific city or neighborhood in which you intend to conduct business.

However, to obtain a broad understanding, you can examine the prevailing trends in the New Jersey real estate investing market.

When it comes to wholesaling real estate in New Jersey, several cities stand out as prime locations for lucrative opportunities.

Below, you’ll find a list of the top ten cities in New Jersey that present exceptional prospects for wholesaling real estate:

1. Newark NJ
2. Jersey City NJ
3. Trenton NJ
4. Paterson NJ
5. Elizabeth NJ
6. Edison NJ
7. Woodbridge NJ
8. Toms River NJ
9. Clifton NJ
10. Cherry Hill Township NJ

We have discussed the basics of wholesaling real estate for beginners. But it is advisable to expand your knowledge on the subject before you start.

Familiarizing yourself with more in-depth information will help you make informed decisions, such as when coming up with a good name for your real estate investment company.

To expedite the process of starting a real estate wholesaling business, below are the most effective methods for acquiring valuable insights and expertise.

Courses

A significant number of accomplished wholesalers are enthusiastic about sharing their expertise and assisting others in achieving financial independence.

Their depth of knowledge is substantial enough to create comprehensive educational programs.

Nevertheless, it is essential to remain cautious, as there are numerous dishonest individuals who seek to exploit inexperienced and unsuspecting wholesalers.

For authentic and simply the best real estate wholesaling training, refer to Real Estate Bees’ list of the best options available.

Mentors

To ensure steady progress and avoid costly errors, we strongly advise enlisting the services of a real estate wholesaling mentor.

By having a seasoned professional guide you through the process, you can stay focused and motivated.

Engaging one of the best New Jersey real estate investment mentors or coaches will provide you with a structured business plan, assist in setting attainable objectives, and aid in selecting effective marketing strategies tailored to your needs.

Books

Exploring books on wholesaling real estate is an excellent approach to gaining valuable insights into the industry.

Books cost less than courses and you aren’t locked into a specific training schedule. While they aren’t a full substitute for having a mentor or taking a course, they can be a great addition.

Investor Clubs

In New Jersey, numerous local investor clubs are available for you to join and learn from experienced members who possess firsthand knowledge.

Attending these clubs presents an opportunity to find cash buyers for wholesaling real estate.

Many established investors are enthusiastic about supporting others in their journey, and you may encounter someone who can provide valuable guidance to streamline your business and expedite its profitability.

To discover reputable clubs to join, refer to Real Estate Bees’ list of real estate investor clubs in New Jersey.