Wholesale Questions to Ask Sellers
Questions for a real estate wholesaler on a first call or walkthrough with a property owner, covering condition, ownership and title, what is owed against the house, the seller's timeline and reasons, and how the price and the assignment are discussed honestly.
20 questions, each with the reason to ask it · includes a conversation guide
The questions
Open any question to see why it works.
- 1
How did you come to own the property?
Bought it, built it, inherited it, or ended up with it in a divorce or a settlement. Inherited and settlement properties often mean more than one decision maker and a title that has not been cleared, which is the single biggest cause of deals dying at closing.
- 2
Is anyone living there right now?
Owner-occupied, vacant, and tenant-occupied are three different transactions. A tenant with a lease conveys with the property, a squatter is a legal process, and a vacant house raises questions about insurance and how long the utilities have been off.
- 3
How long have you had it, and when did you last live there?
An owner who moved out years ago will describe the house as they remember it rather than as it is. Their estimate of condition is usually the most inaccurate part of a first call, so weight what you see over what you are told.
- 4
Walk me through the condition room by room. What works and what does not?
Let them talk and note the items they skip. Sellers volunteer cosmetics and omit systems, so ask specifically about the roof, the furnace, the water heater, the electrical panel, and whether the plumbing has ever frozen.
- 5
When was the roof last replaced, and has water ever come in?
Roof and water damage set the floor of your rehab number and they are the two things a seller most often describes as minor. Ask where the stains are rather than whether there are any, and ask whether it was ever repaired or only patched.
- 6
Has any work been done without a permit?
Finished basements, added bathrooms and converted garages are frequently unpermitted, which can mean the square footage on record does not match the house and a buyer's lender will not count it. It also raises the chance of an open code violation.
- 7
Why are you thinking about selling now?
The reason drives everything else: what they need, how fast, and whether price or certainty matters more. Ask it early and openly, then stop talking. Filling the silence is the most common way wholesalers lose the real answer.
- 8
Is there a date you are working toward?
A court date, a job start, a tax deadline, or a family arrangement makes speed genuinely worth something. No date at all means you are competing purely on price, which is the position a wholesaler is least able to win from.
- 9
Have you listed it with an agent, and is that listing still active?
An active listing agreement usually means the agent is owed a commission on any sale during the term, including one you arrange. Ask when it expires and get the answer before you spend time on a number.
- 10
Is there a mortgage on it, and roughly what is the payoff?
The payoff sets the floor under any offer, because the loan gets paid at closing. Sellers often quote the original balance rather than the current one, so ask whether they have a recent statement and whether payments are current.
- 11
Are there liens, back taxes, code violations, or an association balance?
Judgments, contractor liens, unpaid taxes and municipal fines all attach to the property and reduce what reaches the seller. Ask anyway even though a title search will find them, because their answer tells you how prepared they are and whether the number will surprise them later.
- 12
Who is on the deed, and does everyone agree about selling?
Siblings after a death, a former spouse still on title, or an estate that never went through probate will all stop a closing. If the person you are talking to cannot sign alone, you need the other names and their position before you go further.
- 13
Has anyone else made you an offer, and what were they offering?
Ask what the offer was and why it did not happen. Frequently the answer is that someone tied it up and disappeared, which explains any suspicion you are getting and tells you exactly what reassurance this seller needs.
- 14
What do you need to walk away with?
Ask for the seller's net rather than a sale price. It is easier for them to answer, it accounts for what they owe, and it moves the conversation from a number they read online to what the sale has to accomplish for them.
- 15
How did you get to that number?
A payoff plus moving costs is a real figure you can work with. A neighbor's listing price or an online estimate is a starting point that has never been tested against the condition of this house, and it usually moves once you walk it together.
- 16
If we closed quickly and you left behind anything you did not want, would the number change?
This tests whether price is the actual constraint. Sellers dealing with a cleanout, a long distance, or a deadline often value not having to empty the house more than the last few thousand dollars, and this is where a cash offer earns its discount.
- 17
If there are tenants, can I see the leases, the rent roll, and the deposits?
You are buying whatever the leases say, including below-market rent and deposits you become responsible for returning. Verbal tenancies and missing paperwork make the property much harder to assign to a buyer.
- 18
Has an insurance claim ever been paid on the house?
A paid claim where the repair was never done shows up in the insurance history and can make a property difficult to insure. It also explains a partly finished repair you are looking at and did not have an explanation for.
- 19
I work by getting a property under contract and then bringing in the buyer who will close on it. Are you comfortable with me showing it to my buyers before closing?
Say plainly how you operate rather than letting the seller discover it later. Assignment disclosure requirements differ by state and some now regulate this activity directly, so confirm the rules where you work and put the arrangement in the contract.
- 20
If we cannot agree on price, is there another structure that would work for you?
A later closing date, a leaseback so they can stay a few weeks, or seller financing can bridge a gap that cash cannot. Asking keeps the conversation alive with the sellers who have time but not flexibility on price.
Talking to a seller before you write an offer
Practical guidance for the conversation itself.
Before you call
Before you call
- 1Pull the public record: owner of record, last sale price and date, assessed value, tax status, and any recorded liens. Half the questions above then have a version you can check the answer against.
- 2Look at recent sales on the same street with similar bed and bath counts, and note what the finished ones sold for. You need a range in your head before price comes up.
- 3Check the property's listing history. A house that was listed and withdrawn twice tells a story the seller may not volunteer.
- 4Know your own numbers first: repair estimate ranges per square foot in your area, and the spread your end buyers work with. Without those you cannot answer the seller's questions credibly.
- 5Confirm what your state requires you to disclose about assignment and whether any licensing rules apply to what you are doing.
How to run the conversation
How to run the conversation
Ask about the situation before the house
Condition questions are easy to answer and reveal little. Why now, what deadline, and who else is involved decide whether there is a deal at all. Sellers who feel interrogated about defects tend to stop volunteering anything.
Let silence do the work
After you ask what they need to walk away with, wait. The first number is often followed, unprompted, by the reasoning behind it, and the reasoning is where the flexibility lives.
Do not give a number you cannot honor
A high verbal figure buys a walkthrough and loses the seller when it drops. The sellers most worth working with have usually been through this once already and will end the conversation the moment it happens again.
Be plain about what you do
Say that you intend to assign the contract and that your buyer is the one closing. Sellers rarely object when they hear it up front, and they almost always object when they learn it at the title company.
Verify before you go under contract
Verify before you go under contract
- Order a title search early. Probate, unreleased liens and a name on the deed that nobody mentioned are the usual reasons a signed contract goes nowhere.
- Get the mortgage payoff in writing rather than the seller's recollection of the balance.
- Check the municipality for open permits, code violations, and unpaid utility balances that transfer with the property.
- Walk the house yourself, and take a contractor or an experienced buyer through it before you commit to a repair number.
- Confirm occupancy in person. A property described as vacant that is not is a legal timeline, not a cleanout.
- Put the inspection period, the assignment language, and the earnest money terms in the contract in writing, and use a title company or closing attorney that has handled assignments before.