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Are you looking for different opportunities to generate more income? Taking on similar real estate projects that use a skill set you already have is an advantageous way to create more avenues of income. So, if you’re a seasoned wholesaler, you might want to consider reverse-wholesaling.

What is reverse-wholesaling?

Reverse-wholesaling is when you focus on finding out what a flipper or landlord wants and then start prospecting for motivated sellers with properties that match. Just like in wholesaling, the motivated buyer will purchase the property as is, without any repairs or touch-ups. And just the same, reverse-wholesalers earn through the margins they make from linking a buyer to a seller.

How is reverse-wholesaling different from wholesaling?

You might not even know it, but you could have already done a reverse-wholesale deal! The difference between reverse-wholesaling and wholesaling is that the order in which you look for deals reverses—instead of first looking for a motivated seller, then a motivated buyer, you first look for buyers/investors, then find a motivated seller that has what they want.

Are there benefits to reverse-wholesaling compared to traditional wholesaling?

Here are 3 benefits that you should know if you’re considering reverse-wholesaling.

No Mortgage Concerns. In traditional wholesaling, buyers sometimes try to purchase the distressed seller’s property through a mortgage loan. But here’s the thing: It’s not always approved. You got everything lined up and ready to go, only to disappoint yourself and the seller if the buyer can’t go through with the plan. It’s stressful for everybody in the process.

Reverse-wholesaling eliminates this problem, since the strategy requires you to build a list of serious buyers with the cash to purchase before bringing a seller into the deal. With one less factor for a deal to fail on, reverse-wholesaling provides more assurance that the deal will push through.

Faster Closings. With buyers ready to pay in cash and the motivation for a distressed seller to quickly get a full cash payment, reverse-wholesale deals close much faster than traditional wholesaling.

More so, since deals faster, you have more time to focus on other projects and investments. As the saying goes—”time is money.”

Less Concern Over ARV and Repair Estimates. Inspecting a property, noting down what needs repair, and calculating for the repair estimates and after repair value (ARV) can be a tedious process. Apart from that, what needs repair and how much you will budget for them depends on your subjective assessment.

In reverse-wholesaling, buyers are more involved. When inspecting the prospective property, they may even send their own contractor to take note of the properties’ state. Buyers also decide on the extent of repairs they want, which might not align with your personal assessment. If you come by an investor that works this way, it takes the burden of inspecting, assessing, and calculating off your shoulders.

In addition, you can also learn from contractors and how they inspect to improve your inspection and assessment skills.

Skip the Listings. If you didn’t already know, it’s illegal to advertise a property that isn’t yours unless you’re a licensed broker or a real estate agent. Sometimes when looking for buyers, you may resort to putting the property up online to attract buyers instead. With reverse-wholesaling, the deal starts with the buyer, so that eliminates the need for postings and listings.

Challenges. Really the only challenge is making sure you’re dealing with serious buyers that have the cash to buy once you bring them a deal. No one has an endless supply of funds, so you should expect a buyer to occasionally pass on a deal you bring them. But that’s why you should try to find 2-3 buyers for each category of property you end up looking for.

Conclusion.

Traditional wholesaling is a quick and lucrative business, but it’s not perfect. Reverse wholesaling, on the other hand, has the same characteristics, except deals close faster, there’s less tedious work, and more assurance of a deal pushing through.

It may sound simple, but it’s a very smart way to minimize the common risks that come with the usual wholesaling process. Who knew that doing things in reverse can have such a great impact on your profitability? Well, now you know!

Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below!

Compared to long-term rentals, short-term rentals are constantly in flux. STRs generally don’t have tenants that stay long—it’s mostly vacationers and travelers who stay for a few days max.

The fast turnover makes marketing all the more important for STRs. You need to keep attracting guests, ensuring that your rental is occupied as often as possible to maximize profits. 

What’s the secret to attention-grabbing marketing? Great photos of a great-looking rental. 

A well-decorated rental gives a great first impression. Good design choices also make the space feel more comfortable and functional. The rental should feel just like home—only better! 

So, how do you decorate your rental to get the customers you want?

How to decorate your rental

Decorating is more than arranging flowers or hanging picture frames. Designing your rental to attract more guests requires strategy. 

Here’s what you need to do when developing an interior design plan for your STR.

Step 1: Know your guests.

In order to know how to impress your “customers” or potential guests, you need to know who they are and why they’re visiting the area. This will help you decorate your rental according to their needs and tastes.

The following information can provide a lot of insight:

• Age range
• Gender
• Hometown (where they’re from)
• General interests
• Purpose of their stay

For example, teenage guys from California who want to hike a nearby mountain will have extremely different design preferences over families who are visiting for the weekend. 

The former may prefer cool gadgets, a more nature-focused design, and plenty of cold water at the ready. The latter, on the other hand, may prioritize clean, spacious, and baby-proof spaces. 

Step 2: Find updated, modern inspiration.

You have to make your STR look fresh and new. Nobody wants to rent a place that feels like it hasn’t been occupied (or redesigned) since before the millennium. 

Search online for inspiration. The following sites are goldmines for decorating ideas:

• Pinterest
• Instagram
• Furniture catalogs (e.g. IKEA catalogs)
• Google search

If you have a friend with an eye for design, you can also ask them for advice on how to spruce up your STR to make it more modern!

Step 3: Check out your competitors.

The easiest way to impress people is to be better than your competitors.

Take a look at the other STRs and hotels in your area, paying more attention to particularly popular listings. Look at their reviews online and on-the-ground. 

From there, all you have to do is make sure that your STR is equal to (or better than) the rest. And avoid what under-performing rentals are doing! 

If you find that most of your target tenants prefer warm lights, thick curtains, and a large TV set, incorporate those elements into your design. Even better, figure out why those designs appeal to guests more, and use that to guide your design choices. 

Conclusion

Most people want to stay in pleasant-looking accommodation—where they stay is just as much part of the vacation as the rest of the trip! With great decor, your STR will stand-out from the countless other options online.

Know your target audience, find design inspiration, and level-up your STR against its competitors. If you make your STR look impressive, you’ll have no problem attracting guests and increasing your revenue.

Got more tips on great decor? How do you decide what to put in your STR?

As the pandemic is still on-going, visit our article on how to attract guests during COVID as well. There, we shared our advice on attracting guests with safety and cleanliness as a highlighted feature.

Image courtesy of Ksenia Chernaya

You do your best to find quality tenants for your rental property through proper screening, but there will always be scammers who try to “work the system”. Though larger multi-unit properties are not immune, rental scammers tend to target individual landlords.

Scammers know many DIY landlords have loose requirements & screenings, and feel confident they can talk landlords into their scams. Implementing strict procedures and being aware of common scams will help you avoid frustration, court costs, and loss of rental income.

Be Aware Of These Common Tenant Scams

The Wire Scam

This one is an oldie but a goodie, its use is not limited to landlords. After the application is approved, the renter “mistakenly” sends a check for more than the required amount and asks for the excess to be wired back to them. Of course, the original check is bogus but will take time to bounce. By that time, the bank notifies the landlord, the money has been wired, the recipient has received his “refund,” and the landlord is out the cash.

Fake Pay Stubs

You can buy anything online. Nowadays, the internet is an incredible source for counterfeit documents. Also, with today’s technology, it can be difficult to recognize falsified documentation. Always make sure to verify employment as part of your screening process. Lookup the employer online and call the number you find for them. An applicant may not make enough money to qualify or doesn’t have a job at all. Either way, you’ll have problems collecting the rent through the lease term. 

Fake Verification

This one is as old as the telephone. The prospective tenant provides bogus contact information, so when you call to verify, you’re actually talking to an accomplice in on the scam. If you’re calling to check employment, don’t assume the information is correct, cross-reference the number with a quick internet search. If the applicant has provided a cell phone, call the business directly and ask to speak to someone in human resources. Same goes for verifying rent payments with current &previous landlords.

Falsified Credit Reports

Similar to faking pay stubs, an applicant may attempt to provide you with a faked copy of their credit report. Often these are cut & paste hack jobs that are relatively easy to spot if you’ve seen actual credit reports in the past. It’s always better to obtain an applicant’s credit report via your own resources, than accept one they provide.

The Illegal Sublet

This bit of deceit is unique in the fact that it not only affects the landlord, but an innocent third party as well. The original renter sublets to another person, without telling the landlord. They collect rent from this sublettee, often for months in advance, and pocket it instead of paying the landlord. The landlord is then stuck having to evict the scammed sublettee, who often takes their frustrations out on the innocent landlord.

Delaying Eviction 

There are a couple of ways to execute this one. First, the tenant makes partial payments for past rent due after the eviction process has been initiated. By accepting money from the tenant, you may need to restart the eviction process anew giving the scammer more time in your unit. Second, on the day of eviction, the tenant will ask for a little more time to get their things out. By allowing a “little bit of time” after a legal move out time was set, a landlord may be inadvertently resetting the clock on the eviction process.

The Tenant Swap

This list of tenant scams is by no means complete, as shysters are always coming up with ways to hoodwink an unsuspecting landlord. The best way to avoid falling victim to tenant scams is to implement a comprehensive screening process. If you sense that something is amiss, double-check information and don’t allow the applicant to sign a lease until you’ve been able to eliminate any doubt. Even when it’s not a matter of trust, it’s just good business.