Practical guides on finding deals, finding buyers, and closing your first wholesale assignment.
A real estate transfer tax is a one-time tax a state, county, or city charges when ownership of real property changes hands, usually figured as a percentage of the sale price and collected when the deed is recorded. Who pays it, how much it costs, and whether it applies at all depends on the state and often the city, from zero in Texas to more than 4.5% of the price in Philadelphia.
A mechanics lien is a claim against real estate filed by a contractor, subcontractor, laborer, or supplier who improved the property and was not paid, and it can be foreclosed to force a sale if the debt stays unpaid. For investors, it matters any time work was done on a property in the last several months.
The Arizona foreclosure process is almost always a nonjudicial trustee’s sale: once a homeowner is more than 120 days behind, the trustee records a notice of sale, and the auction can happen no sooner than the 91st day after that recording.
A real estate acquisition manager is the person in a wholesaling or investing company whose job is to turn seller leads into signed purchase contracts at numbers that work. Here is what the role covers, how it is paid, and when a solo wholesaler should hire one.
A land trust in real estate is a private agreement where a trustee holds legal title to a property while you, the beneficiary, keep control of it. Investors use land trusts mainly to keep their names off the public deed, simplify transfers and avoid probate.
A financing contingency is a clause in a purchase contract that lets the buyer cancel and get the earnest money back if they cannot get the loan described in the contract by a set deadline. Investors waive it when buying with cash and run into it when a financed buyer purchases from them.
A subordination agreement is a signed, recorded document in which a lienholder agrees to let its lien sit behind another lien that would otherwise rank below it. For investors, it is the tool that keeps a HELOC, a seller-carry note, or a land seller’s mortgage in second position so a first-position lender will fund.
Foreclosure surplus funds are the money left over when a foreclosed property sells at auction for more than the debt, sale costs and liens paid from it. That leftover goes first to junior lienholders and then to the former owner, but only if someone files a claim on time.
The Morby method pairs a DSCR or conventional investor loan for 75% to 80% of the price with a seller-carried second for the down payment. It only works legitimately when the first lender knows about and approves the seller note.
A real estate letter of intent is a short document that lays out the main terms of a proposed purchase (price, deposit, due diligence, closing date) before anyone signs a full purchase and sale agreement. A well-drafted real estate letter of intent is mostly non-binding, with a few clauses like confidentiality or exclusivity made enforceable on purpose.