The Disposition Process: From Contract to Close
Acquisition gets all the glory. Finding motivated sellers, negotiating contracts, locking up deals below market value — that is what most wholesaling courses teach. But disposition is where the money actually changes hands. If you cannot sell the deal to an end buyer, all that acquisition work produces nothing.
This guide walks through the entire disposition process from the moment you have a property under contract to the day you collect your assignment fee at closing. Every step, every timeline, every document.
Phase 1: Preparation (Days 1-2)
Verify your contract terms
Before you market anything, confirm the critical dates in your purchase contract: option period expiration, earnest money deadline, closing date, and any contingencies. These dates define your marketing runway. In Texas, a typical option period is 7-14 days. Some states use inspection periods of 10-21 days. Know your deadline — it is the clock you are racing against. For more on contract mechanics, see our contracts guide.
Run your deal analysis
Complete your ARV analysis, repair estimate, and pricing calculation before contacting any buyers. Set your asking price based on what the deal can support, not what you hope to make. A properly priced deal sells in days. An overpriced deal sits until your contract expires.
Prepare marketing materials
Take property photos (or collect them from the seller/agent), create your marketing package, and build a deal page with all the relevant information. Every minute spent on preparation saves hours in buyer Q&A later.
Phase 2: Buyer identification and outreach (Days 2-4)
Find your buyers
Run a targeted investor search focused on the area around your deal. Identify landlords and flippers who have recently purchased nearby. Skip trace the top 30-50 prospects to get their contact information.
Send your initial blast
Email your deal to your existing buyer list plus the newly identified investors. Follow up with SMS to your highest-priority prospects. Make phone calls to any investors who have previously closed deals with you or who you know are actively buying in the area. See our marketing checklist for the complete outreach sequence.
Phase 3: Interest management (Days 4-7)
Respond to inquiries immediately
When a buyer responds to your blast with questions, answer within an hour. Speed signals professionalism and seriousness. If they ask for additional information you do not have, say so honestly and provide it within 24 hours.
Schedule walkthroughs
Serious buyers want to see the property before making an offer. Batch walkthroughs into specific time blocks to create social proof and urgency. "I have three investors walking the property Saturday morning" motivates faster decisions than "Let me know when you want to see it."
Track engagement
Monitor who opened your emails, clicked the deal page link, and how long they spent viewing the deal. These are buying signals. An investor who spent 4 minutes on your deal page and clicked twice is more serious than one who glanced for 10 seconds. Prioritize your follow-up calls accordingly.
Phase 4: Offers and negotiation (Days 7-10)
Collect offers through a structured process
Have buyers submit offers through a standard form that captures: offered price, proof of funds or financing method, desired closing timeline, and any contingencies. A written offer is concrete. A verbal "I might be interested at 180" is not.
Evaluate offers on more than price
The highest offer is not always the best offer. Consider closing speed (can they close in 2 weeks or do they need 45 days?), earnest money amount (skin in the game), financing method (cash is faster than hard money which is faster than conventional), and the buyer's track record (have they closed before or are they a first-timer who might get cold feet?).
Negotiate from strength
If you have multiple interested buyers, communicate that honestly. "I have three offers on this property and I am reviewing them this afternoon" is not pressure — it is transparency. It also motivates buyers to put their best number forward rather than lowballing.
Phase 5: Contract execution (Days 10-12)
Assignment contract
The most common wholesale closing structure is an assignment. You sign an assignment contract with your end buyer, transferring your rights in the original purchase contract. The assignment contract specifies your assignment fee — the difference between your contract price with the seller and the price the end buyer is paying. For a breakdown of wholesale contract types, see our contracts explained guide.
Collect earnest money
Your end buyer should deposit earnest money with the title company within 1-3 business days of the executed assignment contract. Non-refundable earnest money is standard for wholesale assignments. The amount varies but typically ranges from $1,000 to $5,000.
Open title and escrow
Send both the original purchase contract and the assignment contract to the title company. They will begin the title search, prepare the closing documents, and coordinate with all parties. Choose an investor-friendly title company that understands wholesale transactions.
Phase 6: Closing (Days 12-30)
Monitor the timeline
Stay in regular contact with the title company, your seller, and your buyer. Title issues, lien discoveries, or document delays can push the closing date. You need to know about problems early so you can solve them before they kill the deal.
Clear any title issues
Liens, judgments, unpaid taxes, or boundary disputes can appear during the title search. Work with the title company and the seller to resolve these. Some issues are quick fixes. Others can take weeks. Factor this into your closing timeline.
Attend closing
On closing day, the end buyer signs the purchase documents and wires the funds. The title company distributes the proceeds: the seller receives their sale price, you receive your assignment fee, and the title company collects their closing costs. Your assignment fee is typically wired to your account the same day or next business day.
Common disposition failures and how to avoid them
- Overpricing: The number one reason deals do not sell. If you have not received serious interest within 5 days, your price is too high. Lower it 5-10% and re-blast.
- Weak marketing materials: Blurry photos, missing comps, no repair estimate. Buyers will not do your homework for you. See our marketing mistakes guide.
- Slow follow-up: Responding to buyer inquiries 48 hours later instead of 2 hours later. Speed is a competitive advantage.
- Not tracking the pipeline: Losing track of which buyers are interested, which have walkthrough dates, and which submitted offers. Use a deal board or pipeline tracker.
- Waiting too long to start: Beginning disposition on day 7 of a 14-day option period leaves zero margin. Start marketing on day 1 or 2.
Related
- The Complete Guide to Disposition Software
- Disposition vs Acquisition: The Two Halves
- Wholesale Contracts Explained
- The 15-Point Deal Marketing Checklist
- Your First Wholesale Deal Checklist