How to Wholesale Real Estate in Virginia
Virginia caps how often you can wholesale without a license rather than banning it outright. Since July 1, 2024, dealing in assignable contracts on two or more occasions in any 12-month period for compensation makes you a real estate broker under state law.
The short answer
Is wholesaling legal in Virginia?
Legal, but a second assignment within 12 months requires a broker license.
Here is what the rules mean in practice for a new wholesaler in Virginia, and how to set up your contracts, marketing, and closings so you stay compliant from your first deal.
Virginia wholesaling at a glance
| Legal to wholesale? | Yes |
|---|---|
| License required? | Yes, if you deal in real estate contracts, including assignable contracts, two or more times in any 12-month period for compensation |
| Required disclosure | No wholesaling-specific disclosure in statute |
| Seller cancellation right | No wholesaling-specific right in statute |
| Key law | Va. Code §54.1-2100, amended by HB 917 (2024), eff. July 1, 2024 |
| Who handles closings | Settlement agents (title companies and attorneys) |
The law
What Virginia law requires of wholesalers
- Virginia’s definition of real estate broker includes anyone who, for compensation, sells, buys, negotiates, or otherwise deals in real estate contracts, including assignable contracts, on two or more occasions in any 12-month period.
- That change came from HB 917 and took effect July 1, 2024. One assignment in a rolling 12 months does not trigger the license requirement; the second one does.
- Unlicensed brokerage is enforced by the Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation and can carry criminal penalties, so track your deal count carefully or get licensed before you scale.
Closings
How wholesale closings work in Virginia
Virginia closings are handled by settlement agents, which can be title companies or real estate attorneys. Ask your settlement agent whether they close assignments, how they record the assignment fee, and whether they handle double closings, where you buy and resell the property yourself rather than assigning the contract.
Virginia tip
Track your rolling 12-month count
The two-deal limit is measured over any 12-month period, not a calendar year. Keep a dated log of every contract you assign. Many Virginia investors who plan to do more than one deal a year either get licensed or buy the property and resell it as the owner.
Where to start
Best markets to wholesale in Virginia
Wholesaling works anywhere there are motivated sellers and cash buyers. These Virginia markets are where most investor activity happens.
Richmond
A large mix of older rowhouses and suburban ranches with a deep landlord and flipper buyer pool.
Hampton Roads
Norfolk, Newport News, and Portsmouth offer military-driven rental demand at moderate prices.
Roanoke
Low entry prices and steady rental demand in southwest Virginia’s largest metro.
Wholesaling in Virginia’s major cities
How to wholesale in each of Virginia’s major cities. The Virginia rules above apply in every one of them; what changes is the county or city records office you search, the price point, and the buyers you sell to.
City of Richmond (independent city)
Richmond
City of Richmond (independent city)About $426,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Richmond is an independent city, so deeds and wills are recorded at the Richmond Circuit Court clerk, not a county office. Stock ranges from 1800s rowhouses in Church Hill and Jackson Ward to 1920s Northside bungalows and postwar Southside ranches. Flippers pay well for rehabs inside the city’s old and historic districts, but exterior changes in those districts need design approval, so price that into your offer. The city’s delinquent tax sales are another lead list.
How to wholesale in RichmondCity of Virginia Beach (independent city)
Virginia Beach
City of Virginia Beach (independent city)About $431,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Virginia Beach is mostly 1960s–90s ranches, split-levels and townhomes, with Navy personnel from NAS Oceana and JEB Little Creek–Fort Story driving rental demand. Landlords and military-market buyers are your main exit. Check whether a house sits in an Oceana noise zone or a flood zone, since both affect resale and insurance. Land records and estate filings are at the Virginia Beach Circuit Court clerk, and PCS transfers produce many motivated sellers.
How to wholesale in Virginia BeachCity of Norfolk (independent city)
Norfolk
City of Norfolk (independent city)About $335,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Norfolk has early-1900s homes in Colonial Place, Park Place and Ghent, beach cottages in Ocean View, and wartime and postwar houses across the rest of the city. Landlords renting to sailors at Naval Station Norfolk and to Old Dominion students buy steadily. Tidal flooding is a real factor here, so check flood zone and elevation before you contract. Search deeds and probate at the Norfolk Circuit Court clerk and code cases through the city.
How to wholesale in NorfolkCity of Chesapeake (independent city)
Chesapeake
City of Chesapeake (independent city)About $447,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Chesapeake is suburban: 1970s–2000s brick ranches and colonials around Great Bridge, Greenbrier and Western Branch, older homes in South Norfolk, and rural land in the south of the city. Buyers are landlords renting to shipyard workers and Navy personnel plus flippers updating dated ranches. Land parcels and septic lots need extra diligence. Pull deeds and estates from the Chesapeake Circuit Court clerk and watch the city treasurer’s delinquent real estate tax list.
How to wholesale in ChesapeakeCity of Roanoke (independent city)
Roanoke
City of Roanoke (independent city)About $250,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Roanoke’s lower price point draws small landlords and flippers. Stock is heavy on early-1900s foursquares, bungalows and Victorians in Old Southwest, Grandin Court and neighborhoods near downtown, many with hillside lots and aging systems. Old Southwest is a local historic district, so check exterior rules before pitching a rehab. Look up deeds and wills at the Roanoke City Circuit Court clerk and use city code enforcement cases to find tired, vacant houses.
How to wholesale in RoanokeCity of Newport News (independent city)
Newport News
City of Newport News (independent city)About $320,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Newport News deals cluster in the older southeast end and the mid-century ranches off Warwick Boulevard and in Denbigh. Watch the Codes Compliance condemned and weed reports, estate qualifications at the Circuit Court Clerk, and landlords in the four rental inspection districts. Buyers are mostly landlords housing shipyard and Fort Eustis workers, and each paid assignment counts toward Virginia’s two-per-year license trigger.
How to wholesale in Newport NewsCity of Alexandria (independent city)
Alexandria
City of Alexandria (independent city)About $736,000 median sale (Redfin, 3 months ending Aug 2026)
Alexandria deals are few but large: dated bungalows in Del Ray, older homes in Arlandria and mid-century colonials in the west. Estates at the Clerk’s Wills and Fiduciary Division and landlords facing the rental inspection program’s fees are the best leads. Sell to renovators and infill builders, and remember Virginia requires a license after one paid assignment in 12 months.
How to wholesale in AlexandriaCity of Hampton (independent city)
Hampton
City of Hampton (independent city)About $300,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Hampton offers some of the lowest prices in Hampton Roads, with early-1900s houses in Phoebus and Olde Hampton and postwar ranches near the Coliseum. Mine the city’s code violation maps, the eight rental inspection neighborhoods and estates at the Circuit Court Clerk. Landlords serving Langley and NASA staff are the core buyers, and Virginia’s two-assignment license rule applies.
How to wholesale in HamptonCity of Suffolk (independent city)
Suffolk
City of Suffolk (independent city)About $405,000 median sale (Redfin, Aug 2026)
Suffolk is Virginia’s largest city by land, so deals range from old downtown houses to rural homes on acreage in Whaleyville and Holland. Work the Circuit Court Clerk’s probate and land records divisions and owners behind on taxes. Rural parcels sell to builders and land investors, downtown houses to flippers, and a second paid assignment within 12 months needs a Virginia license.
How to wholesale in SuffolkWholesaling in states near Virginia
More guides for Virginia wholesalers
Step by step
How to wholesale real estate in Virginia
- 01
Pick one market
Start with a single metro so your buyer list and your comps line up. Richmond is a strong first choice in Virginia, and you do not have to live there to work it.
- 02
Build your cash buyer list first
Pull every cash purchase in your target county from the last 12 months, find the repeat buyers and LLCs, and qualify 25 of them before you make an offer. Here is the full process.
- 03
Find motivated sellers
Driving for dollars, absentee-owner and inherited-property lists, and cold calling are the three channels that work in every state.
- 04
Run the numbers
Use the MAO formula: after-repair value times 70%, minus repairs, minus your fee. See a worked example.
- 05
Sign a compliant contract
Use an assignable purchase agreement with an inspection period. In Virginia, count your assignments: a second one within any 12-month period requires a real estate broker license.
- 06
Assign and close
Send the deal to your A-list, sign the assignment, and close with a settlement agent experienced with investor deals.
FAQ
Wholesaling in Virginia: common questions
Is wholesaling legal in Virginia?
Yes. Virginia limits unlicensed wholesaling to fewer than two assignments in any 12-month period. After that, you need a real estate license.
Do I need a license to wholesale in Virginia?
Only if you deal in real estate contracts, including assignable contracts, for compensation on two or more occasions in any 12-month period. One deal in that window does not require a license.
When did the Virginia rule change?
HB 917 amended Va. Code §54.1-2100, effective July 1, 2024.
Can I double close in Virginia without a license?
The license rule targets dealing in contracts. Buying a property and reselling it as the owner is a different transaction, but talk with a Virginia real estate attorney before relying on that structure.
Other states
Wholesaling laws in other Southeast states
Working a market outside Virginia? Compare nearby states, or see the full 50-state guide and our overview of whether wholesaling is legal.
Sources. Last reviewed September 2026.
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