Case Study: Finding a Flip Buyer in Houston in 48 Hours
A wholesaler locked up a 3/2 single-family home in the Oak Forest neighborhood of Houston at $165,000. The property needed approximately $40,000 in cosmetic renovation, with an ARV of $285,000 based on four comparable sales within 0.3 miles. The option period was 10 days. Here is how they found a buyer in 48 hours.
The deal
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Address | Oak Forest, Houston TX 77018 |
| Property | 3 bed / 2 bath, 1,650 sqft, built 1962 |
| Contract price | $165,000 |
| Asking price | $180,000 |
| Estimated repairs | $40,000 (cosmetic: kitchen, baths, flooring, paint, exterior) |
| ARV | $285,000 (4 comps, 0.3 mile radius, 5 months) |
| Buyer's projected profit | $35,000+ after all costs |
Day 1: Preparation and search
Within two hours of getting the contract signed, the wholesaler completed the deal analysis. ARV was calculated from four MLS sales of renovated homes in the same subdivision, all within the previous 5 months. Repairs were estimated from a 20-minute property walkthrough with photos of every room. The asking price of $180,000 left the buyer with approximately 25% margin after repairs and holding costs — well within the range that attracts serious flippers.
The investor search identified 37 active investors within 0.5 miles: 22 landlords and 15 flippers. The top-ranked flipper had completed 4 transactions in Oak Forest in the past 18 months. The top-ranked landlord owned 6 rental properties within 1 mile.
Skip tracing the top 25 investors returned valid contact information for 19 (76% hit rate). The wholesaler created a deal page with all photos, comps, repair breakdown, and an offer submission form, then sent an email blast to the 19 traced investors plus 45 buyers from their existing list.
Day 2: Responses and walkthrough
By 10 AM the next morning, 3 investors had replied. Two were flippers who wanted to walk the property. One was a landlord asking about rental numbers (the wholesaler had included both ARV and rental analysis).
Both flippers walked the property that afternoon. Flipper A was the top-ranked investor from the search — the one with 4 Oak Forest transactions. He spent 45 minutes at the property with his contractor. Flipper B spent 20 minutes and said he would "think about it."
Day 2 evening: Offer received
Flipper A submitted an offer through the deal page at 7:14 PM: $178,000, cash, 14-day close, $3,000 non-refundable earnest money. The offer was $2,000 below asking but came with proof of funds, a fast close timeline, and a track record of 4 completed deals in the area.
The wholesaler accepted. Assignment fee: $13,000. Total time from contract to accepted buyer offer: 48 hours.
What made this work
- Speed. Deal analysis, marketing package, and buyer outreach completed within hours of getting the contract, not days.
- Targeted search. The top-ranked investor from the search became the buyer. Investor Score ranking put the most likely buyer at the top of the list.
- Professional presentation. The deal page with comps, photos, and repair breakdown gave the buyer enough information to make a decision after one walkthrough.
- Strong pricing. The $180K asking price left 25%+ margin for the buyer, generating multiple interested parties within 24 hours.
Key numbers
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Investors identified | 37 |
| Skip traces (successful) | 19 of 25 (76%) |
| Emails sent | 64 |
| Responses | 3 (4.7% response rate) |
| Walkthroughs | 2 |
| Offers | 1 |
| Time to offer | 48 hours |
| Assignment fee | $13,000 |