How to Wholesale Real Estate in Georgia (2024 Updated)
To help you begin wholesaling houses in Georgia, this article will guide you through everything you need to know on this topic.
We will cover the necessary contracts, marketing strategies, and offer additional resources.
By reading on, you can acquire the knowledge required to launch your own real estate wholesaling venture in Georgia.
Is Wholesaling Real Estate Legal in Georgia?
Newcomers to real estate investing often ask “Is it legal to wholesale real estate in Georgia?”. The answer is “it is”, as long as you comply with the law.
However, it’s important to be aware of the risks of wholesaling real estate and understand the Georgia real estate wholesaling laws.
The primary danger lies in utilizing unsuitable language while promoting deals to ultimate purchasers.
Marketing a property is restricted to licensed Georgia real estate agents or homeowners. As a wholesaler, you are only marketing the rights to a purchase contract.
You should review the rules and regulations of the GA Real Estate Laws to gain a better understanding of the relevant laws in Georgia.
Having any of the best Georgia real estate attorneys to review or draft templates of your purchase agreement and assignment contract is also advisable.
This will ensure that your business is fully compliant with Georgia laws and regulations.
How to Wholesale Real Estate in Georgia?
Similarly to other states, Georgia utilizes two methods for wholesaling properties, namely contract assignment and double closing.
It’s worth noting that residing in Georgia is not a requirement for wholesaling homes in the state.
With the advancements in technology, it’s now possible to carry out the entire real estate wholesaling process remotely from the convenience of your own home.
Contract Assignment
To learn how to wholesale houses in Georgia, new investors usually start by learning about the contract assignment strategy.
The process works as follows: you must first obtain a purchase contract signed by both yourself and the motivated seller as if you were the buyer.
But in actuality, there must be no obligation for you to purchase the property. The contract must have a provision that permits you to assign it to any third party.
Once finding an end buyer and getting the property under contract, both the seller and end buyer will sign an assignment contract.
This implies that you will be assigning the privilege of buying the property to the investor who intends to purchase the house.
The investor will pay you an assignment fee in exchange for having the contract assigned to them: this amount will be your earnings as a real estate wholesaler.
This method allows you to wholesale properties without having to have the funds necessary to purchase the home, as you will only need a refundable earnest money deposit of one or two thousand dollars to do a wholesale deal by using this strategy.
Double Closing
To gain a comprehensive understanding of everything you need to know about wholesaling real estate, it’s important to include mastering the double closing method in your Georgia real estate wholesaling checklist.
Wholesalers usually employ the double closing strategy if they are receiving a substantial amount as their assignment fee and do not wish to disclose their profits to the seller or end buyer.
The approach of double closing comprises two distinct settlements — one with the vendor and another with the ultimate purchaser.
There are pros and cons of real estate wholesaling to this strategy. The benefit is that you can keep your profits undisclosed to either party.
However, the drawback is that you need to obtain transactional funding to close the deal if you don’t have your own cash.
This is, however, normally not a problem as the funding can be provided by one of the best Georgia hard money lenders.
It’s crucial to prioritize finding a wholesale-friendly title company that understands double closings and can facilitate them effectively.
Virtual Wholesaling
Regardless of your location, you can engage in virtual wholesaling in Georgia.
However, since you won’t be physically present, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of wholesaling real estate step by step prior to trying to handle the process from a distance.
Before securing your initial property through a contract, it helps to possess a broad network.
Partnering with Georgia investor friendly real estate agents can also assist you in managing communication between you, your buyer, and the seller.
Two important vendors to locate before starting the process are:
- A dependable contractor or home inspector in Georgia who can give you reliable rehab estimates for the properties you have under contract, allowing you to analyze real estate deals effectively. Make certain that your agreement includes an inspection contingency clause that enables your contractor to enter the property and furnish you with a trustworthy appraisal before proceeding further.
- Additionally, you need a Georgia wholesale friendly title company that can handle your virtual closings.
Before and during the closing, select electronic signature software like DocuSign or Dotloop to sign documents remotely.
How to Find Properties to Wholesale in Georgia?
First, let’s talk about the importance of how to find properties to wholesale at the right price that will attract potential buyers.
These properties are usually sold by owners known as motivated sellers who are willing to offer their properties at a lower price.
Different types of motivated sellers often need quick cash and don’t have the time or resources to fix their properties or handle legal issues to sell them traditionally.
To find distressed properties, we will discuss three methods.
#1 Buy Georgia Distressed Seller Leads
To find motivated home sellers in Georgia, there are several options available to real estate wholesalers.
One of the easiest ways is to purchase leads from companies that specialize in finding motivated sellers through advertising and other methods.
Some real estate wholesaling software tools also offer lead purchasing as a feature.
These companies collect contact details and other information about properties from homeowners who are looking to sell quickly for cash.
Some examples of leads include expired MLS listings, absentee owners, pre-foreclosure homes, and probate houses.
While these companies may charge either a subscription fee or per lead, it’s important to ensure that they have a good reputation and a track record of generating quality leads.
One reputable provider of lead generation services for real estate investors is REB Leads, a program created by Real Estate Bees.
By signing up for this program, wholesalers can get access to affordable and high-quality motivated seller leads. Sign up for it now.
#2 Hire an Agency to Do Marketing for You
Another option available to wholesalers is to delegate wholesale real estate lead generation and other duties to a professional agency with expertise in real estate investor marketing.
These agencies can develop a customized plan for you that fits your budget and handle various services, such as:
- Real estate website design
- SEO for real estate investing
- PPC ads for real estate investors
- Content development
- Social media marketing
However, keep in mind that different strategies can take different amounts of time to generate leads.
For instance, SEO and content development may take longer than digital advertising, which provides quicker results but can be more expensive.
Typically, these agencies charge a monthly retainer to run multiple marketing campaigns for you.
Some agencies may only excel at marketing their own services and may not necessarily put in enough effort for you.
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 successfully helping other investors grow their businesses.
#3 Do Your Own Marketing by Yourself
To work within a small marketing budget, it’s necessary to do the work yourself.
The first essential requirement is a real estate investor website created for motivated seller lead generation.
A website can convert leads coming from various channels like social media ads or online search, making it a versatile resource.
It’s crucial to choose a user- and search-friendly website solution from the best real estate wholesaler website templates available in the market.
However, relying solely on a website isn’t enough; you should also consider offline methods like using bandit signs, driving for dollars, real estate wholesaling postcards, looking through public records, networking with other real estate professionals, and more.
How to Market Georgia Wholesale Deals to Investors?
To market Georgia wholesale properties and find real estate investors, owning or having access to a list of cash buyers is the most effective approach.
Various types of real estate investors, including hedge funds, real estate investing companies, and individual investors, may express interest in your under-contract properties.
There are several marketing strategies for wholesaling real estate that you can employ to reach out to these cash buyers.
Each type of cash buyer will have distinct buying criteria, so having lists for each type is a wise way to ensure comprehensive coverage.
Build Your Own Cash Buyers List
In case you have a limited budget, creating a list of Georgia real estate cash buyers can be achieved by networking.
You can approach trustworthy Georgia vendors who cater to real estate investors, such as contractors who handle property flips or Georgia lenders who collaborate with Georgia real estate investors.
Additionally, it is advisable to participate in as many virtual real estate networking groups as you can, as these groups often organize virtual meetings and are active on Facebook.
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 Georgia and instantly reach thousands of potential buyers!
Leverage Other People’s Cash Buyers Lists
If you don’t have enough time to create a list of companies that buy houses in Georgia, you can opt for another approach, which involves using someone else’s list of cash buyers.
Adopting this method can accelerate the growth of your business. However, the owners of the lists might demand up to 50% of your assignment fee.
Numerous successful Georgia real estate wholesalers and other professionals have spent years forming connections with investors.
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 Georgia 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.
What Documents Are Needed for Wholesaling Real Estate in Georgia?
Contract Assignment
It’s necessary to have two separate contracts signed when wholesaling houses in Georgia: a contract to purchase real estate and an assignment contract.
The initial purchase contract is signed by you and the seller and outlines details such as the purchase price, property address, and other deal-related terms.
Once you locate an end buyer, both the seller and buyer sign the assignment contract, which demonstrates transparency to both parties and assures them that you are not buying the property yourself.
For closing purposes, the title company requires copies of both contracts.
Double Closing
Wholesalers use double closings when they want to keep their profit margin hidden from both the seller and end buyer, as previously mentioned.
To close the deal, you will be required to provide two contracts to the title company: a contract to purchase real estate by you from the seller and a contract to purchase real estate by the end buyer from you.
Additionally, you may need to obtain transactional funding if you do not have enough cash to cover the entire cost of the property.
This short-term loan usually lasts between 24-48 hours, enabling you to close with the seller first before proceeding to close with the end buyer.
Do You Need a License for Real Estate Wholesaling in Georgia?
Although an active Georgia real estate license is not necessary for practicing wholesaling, wholesaling with a real estate license can offer protection for both you and your business.
With a license, you can advertise a property as a real estate agent as well as a wholesaler.
To become a licensed real estate agent, joining a Georgia real estate brokerage is required.
It’s important to note that some brokers may not permit their agents to practice wholesaling, so it’s recommended to interview different brokerages to find one that is friendly towards wholesalers.
For more information on obtaining a real estate license in Georgia, refer to our guide on how to get a real estate license in Georgia.
What Is the Age Requirement for Real Estate Wholesaling in Georgia?
In Georgia, there is no age restriction for engaging in real estate wholesaling. However, in the United States, you must be at least 18 years old to enter into a legally binding contract.
Consequently, if you are under 18 years old, sellers and title companies will not cooperate with you.
If you are younger than the legal age requirement, you can collaborate with someone who is of legal age to sign contracts on your behalf.
Do You Need an LLC for Wholesaling Real Estate in Georgia?
In Georgia, it is not mandatory to have an LLC in order to legally engage in wholesaling.
Nevertheless, it is essential to highlight that selecting a suitable business entity can offer an extra level of safeguard to your enterprise.
Establishing an LLC or another type of corporation is a crucial component of any real estate asset protection strategy.
By operating as an LLC, you become eligible for business loans, which is not possible when wholesaling as an individual.
In addition, running your business as an LLC can also provide tax advantages that might not be accessible if you utilize your personal name.
Furthermore, it can enhance the professionalism of your business and bolster your reputation in the Georgia real estate investing community.
This can also foster trustworthiness among home sellers and enhance your credibility as an investor.
How Much Money Do You Need to Wholesale Real Estate in Georgia?
Wholesaling is a popular real estate investing strategy because it is relatively inexpensive compared to other approaches.
To locate distressed sellers and potential buyers, you will need to allocate some funds for marketing, but there are several techniques discussed earlier to minimize these expenses.
Nonetheless, to carry out a double closing (unless you have adequate cash), you will need an earnest money deposit of $1k-2k, as well as transactional funding.
Since transactional funding is a short-term loan, having a high credit score or job history is not necessary to qualify.
To find the most suitable transactional funding in Georgia, use the “loan request” on Real Estate Bees.
It enables you to get quotes and compare rates from multiple lenders with just a few clicks.
How Much Money Can You Make Wholesaling Real Estate in Georgia?
The potential profit achievable from wholesaling real estate in Georgia is linked to the effort you are willing to put in.
As an example, a typical property in the area costing $150,000 could yield an assignment fee of around $10,000 to $15,000.
The remaining profit is determined by how swiftly you can expand your business.
Is the Georgia Real Estate Market Good for Wholesaling?
The level of success attainable in wholesaling real estate in Georgia is primarily influenced by the specific city or neighborhood where you intend to conduct business.
However, to gain a broad understanding, you may examine the trends in the Georgia real estate investing market.
What Are the Best Cities for Wholesaling Real Estate in Georgia?
Some of the most competitive cities to wholesale real estate in Georgia are Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, Macon, and Columbus.
These cities have a high demand for properties and an active real estate market, which can make it more challenging to find deals.
However, they also offer opportunities for higher profits due to the potential for greater property appreciation and a more significant return on investment.
Here are the best cities to wholesale real estate in Georgia:
How to Learn Real Estate Wholesaling in Georgia?
Although we have covered the fundamentals of wholesaling real estate for beginners in Georgia, it is recommended to expand your understanding before taking any significant steps.
The following are some of the most effective methods to gain knowledge so that you can start your wholesale real estate business promptly.
Courses
There are wholesalers who have a lot of knowledge and passion for educating others to achieve financial freedom, and they can even develop comprehensive educational programs.
However, there are also many fraudsters who target new and inexperienced wholesalers.
To avoid these scammers and find high-quality courses, Real Estate Bees provides a list of the best real estate wholesaling courses.
Real Estate Wholesaling Mentors
It is strongly advised to hire a mentor for real estate wholesaling who can provide you with detailed guidance.
Having a professional to oversee your work can prevent you from making expensive errors and keep you motivated.
The best Georgia real estate investment mentors or coaches can assist you in developing a business plan, determining attainable objectives, and selecting marketing techniques.
Books
To learn about wholesaling real estate without spending too much money, reading books is an excellent option.
You can also check out a list of the best real estate wholesaling books for more suggestions.
Investor Clubs
You can join various local investor clubs in Georgia to gain insights from active members with practical experience.
Numerous established investors are enthusiastic about guiding others, and you might come across someone who can help you optimize your business and accelerate its profitability.
Real Estate Bees’ list of real estate investor clubs in Georgia provides a selection of trustworthy clubs that you can consider joining.
Participating in these clubs is a reliable method to find cash buyers for wholesaling real estate.
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About the Author
With over 20+ years of experience in real estate investment and renovation, Brian Robbins brings extensive knowledge and innovative solutions to the HouseCashin team. Over the years Brian has been involved in over 300 transactions of income producing properties across the US. Along with his passion for real estate, Brian brings with him a deep understanding of real estate risks and financing.