The Golden Rule: Your Cash Buyers List is Your Business

Let’s be crystal clear: in wholesaling, you are not in the “house” business. You are in the “relationship” business. You connect a motivated seller with a motivated buyer. The product that moves between them is a house. Your most valuable asset isn’t your ability to find a deal it’s your curated list of cash buyers ready to act immediately.

A deal without a buyer is just a liability. It’s a contract ticking towards expiration, an earnest money check about to be cashed, and a reputation about to be damaged.

Should You Build Your List Before Getting Homes Under Contract?

The answer is a non-negotiable, resounding YES.

Imagine you’re a general preparing for battle. Would you wait until the enemy is at the gates to start recruiting your army? Of course not. You build your army first.

Walking into a negotiation with a distressed seller without knowing you have a exit strategy is not confidence; it’s gambling. Confidence comes from knowing that the second you have that property under contract at the right price, you can pick up the phone and have five interested cash buyers lined up to see it.

The sequence is everything:

Build Your Army (Cash Buyers List)
Locate the Battlefield (Find Motivated Sellers)
Execute the Plan (Get a Property Under Contract)
Deploy Your Army (Assign the Contract to a Buyer)

Trying to do step 3 before step 1 is how new wholesalers panic, fail to assign the contract, and either lose their earnest money or are forced to close on a property they never intended to own.

How to Build a Powerful Cash Buyers List: The System

This isn’t about collecting random names. It’s about building a database of serious, funded, and responsive investors. Here’s your action plan:

1. Define Your Ideal Cash Buyer:

Are they fix-and-flip investors? Buy-and-hold landlords?
What areas do they invest in? (Get specific on zip codes, neighborhoods)
What type of properties do they want? (Single-family, multi-family, condos, condition?)
What is their typical investment price range?

2. Source Your Buyers (The Hunt):

Driving for Dollars & Vacant Properties: This is gold. When you see a rundown property, note the address. Skip-trace it or check county records. Often, it’s an out-of-state owner—an ideal motivated seller. But also check if it was recently sold. The buyer might be a local investor you can add to your list.
County Recorder’s Office / Clerk of Courts: Search for recent real estate transactions. Look for LLC names, trusts, and individuals who have bought properties with “all cash” (no mortgage deed). These are your cash buyers. Pull every name and number.
Online Platforms: Use PropStream, BatchLeads, or ListSource to pull lists of recent cash buyers, absentee owners, and landlords.
Local Real Estate Investor Associations (REIA): This is non-negotiable. You MUST attend every meeting. This is where the serious players are. Don’t just sit in the back. Show up early, stay late, shake hands, and exchange business cards.
Bandit Signs & Craigslist: Respond to “We Buy Houses” signs and ads. These are your competitors, but they are also potential buyers for deals that don’t fit their model.

3. Build and Manage Your List:

Use a CRM (Customer Relationship Manager): A simple spreadsheet is better than nothing, but a CRM like HubSpot (free tier), Podio, or FollowUpBoss is a game-changer. It lets you track notes, preferred criteria, and most importantly, set reminders to follow up.
The Initial Contact Script: When you call a potential buyer from your research, be direct and confident.“Hi [Buyer’s Name], my name is [Your Name] with [Your Company]. I’m a local wholesaler and I’m building my preferred buyers list. I see you’ve purchased properties in [Neighborhood] recently. I’m curating off-market deals in that area and wanted to connect. What specific criteria are you looking for in your next investment?”
Listen and Take Notes: This call is about them, not you. Where do they buy? What’s their max budget? What’s the minimum ARV (After Repair Value) or rent they need? Do they need a rehab discount of 30% off ARV? Note everything in their file.

4. Nurture Your List (The Most Critical Step):
A cold list is a useless list. You must build know, like, and trust before you have a deal.

Email Blasts: Even if you have no deals, send out a “Market Update” email every two weeks. Share a property you saw (but don’t have under contract) and ask, “Would this be something you’d be interested in if I can get it?”
Text Messages: Get permission to text. A simple “Hey [Name], driving through [Neighborhood] and saw a potential deal. Are you still looking for 3/2s in this area?” keeps you top-of-mind.
Follow-Up Calls: Call your A-list buyers just to check in. “Nothing for you today, just touching base to see how your current project is going.” This builds genuine relationships.

When you finally get that first property under contract, you won’t be scrambling. You’ll open your CRM, filter for buyers who want that exact area and property type, and start making confident calls. You’ll already have a relationship. They’ll take your call because you’ve provided value first.

The Common Thread: What Everyone Wants

You’re right. Everyone in this transaction wants to gain something:

The Distressed Seller wants to gain relief from a massive, stressful problem.
You, The Wholesaler want to gain a fee for your skill in connecting the two parties and solving the problem.
The Cash Buyer wants to gain a good deal on an investment property that meets their profit criteria.
The Title Agent/Closer wants to gain a smooth, professional transaction and future business.

Your entire system is designed to facilitate these gains ethically and efficiently.

The System is Your Key

You now have the blueprint. The motivation is the financial freedom and the career you’re building. The action is to go out and start building your list TODAY. Not tomorrow. Not after you find a deal. Right now.

But a blueprint is just a drawing. To build the house, you need the right tools and deeper knowledge. To truly systematize this, to have the unshakable confidence that comes from proven scripts, negotiation tactics, and contract mastery, you need to invest in your education.

I recommend you immediately get a copy of “The Book on Investing In Real Estate with No (and Low) Money Down” by Brandon Turner on Amazon.

Disclosure: Some of the links in this article are affiliate links. This means that, at zero cost to you, I may earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. I only recommend products and books that I have personally vetted and believe will add tremendous value to you.

While the title focuses on investing, the principles of finding deals, analyzing them quickly, and understanding the mindset of the cash buyers on your list are absolutely critical for wholesalers. This book provides the foundational knowledge that, when combined with the action steps above, will remove the guesswork and set you on the path to closing your first deal, and your hundredth.

Now stop reading. Start doing.

The advice in this article is based on standard wholesaling practices and the direct experience of successful investors. Always ensure you comply with your state’s real estate licensing laws and regulations regarding wholesaling.

Consult with a knowledgeable real estate attorney to structure your business and contracts correctly. The book recommendation is based on its widespread acclaim and practical, actionable advice for new investors.