all very good points. I run a REIA called Fresno Deal Seekers and many of the new attendees are new investors who think that wholesaling is the way to go. They are lured in by the idea of "no money down" and " investing without money" but in all reality , it is as you've said - the successful wholesalers are spending thousands of dollars on advertising and marketing campaigns. I usually tell them wholesaling is a lot of work and akin to being a real estate agent but without the legal protections.
I used to write up wholesale offers for people , but I no longer do that. I stay out of wholesale deals for the most part - I will connect my investor to a wholesaler - then when he fixes up the place and puts it on the market - I will lists it for them.
I bought a duplex as my 1st investment - lived in one side and rented out the other - did this a few times successfully.
We typically look for $100 / door cash flow - not screaming deal , but worth the time and effort out into it. Anything less that that and we pass -I don't want a bad AC unit or water heater eating up a year's worth of profit
Great article !! thanks for sharing