Social media open sales window for real estate ‘wholesalers’

Combine a large dose of soft housing market with equal portions of Twitter and Facebook and a hefty serving of the World Wide Web and you have a recipe for success. Then work hard stirring the mixture and listen to the chef.

The chef in this case is Dean Graziosi, author of "Be a Real Estate Millionaire" and its accompanying website (www.deangraziosi.com). He believes the bursting of the real estate bubble yielded huge opportunities.

"I teach people how to find foreclosures and short sales," he said from his Phoenix home. "Look at it this way. Two years ago, the market was going straight up. People were speculating the market would continue to go up and profit from it as it went up.

"Real estate was very sexy. You'd hear someone say, 'Hey, I bought my neighbor's house for $200,000 and sold it for $220,000.' Everybody and their brother was investing in real estate."

Graziosi said he saw opportunity when the real estate market took a big hit.

"When you buy in a down market and get a house below current market value, you get the profit on the way in," he said. "If a house on the outskirts of Las Vegas sold for $200,000 in 2005 or 2006, that house is now worth $100,000 (or less). We teach students how to get that house for $65,000 or $70,000."

The next step is finding buyers looking to invest and willing to pay the current market price. That's where the Web and social networking tools come in. It's a matter of finding the buyers who don't have the time to scour listings for foreclosures and short sales.

Carol Stinson, a stay-at-home mother of seven in Williamstown, N.J., is a fan of Graziosi's method. She read his book and sold her first investment home in July 2008. She recently closed deals in Georgia, New York and Florida.

Graziosi said many of his diligent followers earn between $5,000 and $10,000 a month.

"When you use this strategy you aren't actually buying the property, but you are controlling the property," Stinson said. "As a wholesaler, we aren't actually selling the real estate because we don't have a license. We have a purchase agreement with the seller.

"I'm a marketer and have homebuyers on my list," she said.

To make this work, Stinson said a wholesaler needs a strong online presence.

"I'm always in their face twittering and using Facebook and always writing articles," she said. "I don't stop."

Stinson's site (realwholesaling.com) shares her secrets of finding buyers.

"The best way to find a buyer is to find a property," Stinson said. "It's like fishing. If you have something really good on your line, you're going to pull them in."

You can buy Graziosi's book at his site for $19.95 plus $9.95 shipping and handling. He also offers his "success academy" to help students with their first sales. Average cost of the academy is $5,500.

Stinson invested in the book only and has become a master chef.

Share your Internet story with me at agibes@reviewjournal.com.