How to Wholesale Real Estate in San Antonio: Complete 2025 Guide

What is Real Estate Wholesaling?

Wholesaling is how most investors break into real estate without needing a pile of cash or perfect credit.

Here's the short version: you find a distressed property, get it under contract at a discount, then sell that contract to a cash buyer. You never actually buy the house. You're the middleman connecting a motivated seller with an investor who wants the deal — and you pocket an assignment fee for making it happen.

Most wholesale deals in San Antonio net $5,000-15,000 per assignment. Some hit $20K+. And unlike flipping, you're not swinging hammers or praying the rehab comes in on budget.

The catch? You need to find deals before everyone else does. That's the game.

Why San Antonio is One of the Best Markets for Wholesaling

Not every city works for wholesaling. San Antonio does — and it's not close.

Population growth that doesn't quit. San Antonio's been one of the fastest-growing cities in America for years. More people means more housing demand, more investors buying rentals, more cash buyers competing for deals.

Price points that actually work. Austin priced out most wholesalers. Dallas is getting there. San Antonio still has plenty of $150-250K properties where the math makes sense for fix-and-flip investors. That's your buyer pool.

Military bases create steady demand. JBSA (Joint Base San Antonio) includes Fort Sam Houston, Lackland, and Randolph. Military families need rentals. Investors buy rentals. You find the deals.

Distress everywhere you look. Foreclosures, probate cases, divorces, tax liens, code violations — Bexar County generates thousands of distressed property situations every year. Each one is a potential deal.

Step 1: Find Motivated Sellers

This is the whole game. You can learn contracts, build a buyers list, and master negotiation — but none of it matters if you can't find deals.

Motivated sellers come from specific situations. Here's where to look:

Foreclosure

Homeowners behind on mortgage payments who are weeks away from losing their house. Texas has a fast foreclosure timeline — about 60 days from the first notice to the auction. These sellers are motivated because they're running out of time.

The best window is before the trustee sale. Once it goes to auction, you're competing with cash buyers on the courthouse steps.

Learn more about San Antonio Foreclosure Leads →

Probate

Someone died and left a house to heirs who don't want it. Maybe they live out of state. Maybe they can't afford the upkeep. Maybe multiple siblings inherited it and nobody can agree on anything.

Probate leads convert slower than foreclosures — the timeline is 6-12 months — but there's less competition and the deals are often cleaner.

Learn more about San Antonio Probate Leads →

Tax Liens

Property owners who haven't paid their property taxes in years. Eventually the county will foreclose and sell the property at a tax sale. Before that happens, you can offer to solve their problem with a quick cash purchase.

These sellers have been ignoring the problem for a while, which means they're not being bombarded with mailers like foreclosure leads.

Learn more about San Antonio Tax Lien Leads →

Divorce

Couples splitting up often need to sell the house fast. Neither wants to keep paying the mortgage on a place full of bad memories. Courts sometimes mandate the sale to divide assets.

Divorce leads require sensitivity — you're dealing with people in emotional situations — but the motivation is real.

Learn more about San Antonio Divorce Leads →

Code Violations

The city cited them for overgrown weeds, a junked car in the driveway, or a house falling apart. Now they're getting fined daily and can't afford the repairs. They want out.

These leads fly under the radar because most investors don't know how to find them.

Learn more about San Antonio Code Violation Leads →

Step 2: Analyze the Deal

You found a potential property. Now you need to figure out if there's enough meat on the bone for a wholesale deal.

Calculate ARV (After Repair Value)

This is what the property will be worth after an investor fixes it up. Look at comparable sales within a half mile — renovated properties that sold in the last 3-6 months.

Don't use active listings. Don't use "potential" value. Use actual sold comps for similar properties in similar condition.

Estimate Repair Costs

You don't need to be a contractor, but you need ballpark numbers. For San Antonio:

• Light cosmetic refresh (paint, carpet, fixtures): $15-25/sq ft
• Medium renovation (kitchen, bathrooms, flooring): $25-40/sq ft
• Full gut rehab (everything down to studs): $40-60+/sq ft

When in doubt, estimate high. Nothing kills a deal faster than your buyer discovering $30K in repairs you didn't account for.

Apply the 70% Rule

Most fix-and-flip investors use this formula to determine their maximum purchase price:

Max Purchase Price = (ARV x 0.70) - Repair Costs

That 30% margin covers their holding costs, selling costs, and profit. Your job is to get the property under contract for less than this number, leaving room for your assignment fee.

Example:

• ARV: $200,000
• Repairs: $30,000
• Max purchase for investor: $200K x 0.70 - $30K = $110,000
• If you get it under contract for $100,000, you can assign for $10K profit

Step 3: Make Your Offer

You've found a motivated seller and the numbers work. Time to make an offer.

Lead with Solutions, Not Numbers

Most sellers in distress care about more than just price. They want certainty. They want it to be easy. They want the problem to go away.

Your offer should include:

• Cash purchase — No financing contingencies, no banks, no falling through
• As-is condition — They don't need to fix, clean, or stage anything
• Quick close — 7-14 days if they need it
• Flexible timeline — Or 60 days if they need time to move
• You handle everything — Title, paperwork, coordination

Sometimes you'll beat a higher offer just because you can close faster and with less hassle.

Scripts That Actually Work

Don't overthink this. You're not tricking anyone — you're offering a solution to someone who needs one.

Opening: "Hi, I'm [Name]. I buy houses in San Antonio, and I came across your property. Are you considering selling?"

If they say yes: "Great. I can make you a fair cash offer, and we can close in as little as two weeks. What's your situation?"

Then shut up and listen. The more they talk, the more you learn about their motivation and timeline. That information helps you structure an offer that works for both of you.

Cold Calling Setup

If you're going to be on the phones, invest in decent equipment. A quality wireless headset makes a huge difference — noise-cancelling so you sound professional, and comfortable enough for 4-hour sessions.

See our Cold Calling Setup Guide →

Step 4: Get it Under Contract

Verbal agreements mean nothing. You need a signed contract before you have a deal.

Use the Right Contract

In Texas, most wholesalers use the standard TREC (Texas Real Estate Commission) One to Four Family Residential Contract with an addendum that includes assignment language.

Critical elements:

• Assignment clause — Language that allows you to transfer (assign) the contract to another buyer
• Earnest money — Shows you're serious. $500-1,000 is typical for wholesale deals
• Inspection period — Gives you time for due diligence (and an exit if the deal falls apart)
• Proper legal description — Get this from the county appraisal district, not just the street address

Consider an Attorney

If you're new to this, have a real estate attorney review your contract before you start using it. $200-500 upfront can save you from expensive mistakes later.

A good foundational book is If You Can't Wholesale After This — it walks through the contract process step by step with examples you can actually use.

Step 5: Find Your Buyer

You've got a property under contract. Now you need a cash buyer to assign it to.

Build Your Buyers List Before You Need It

The worst time to find a buyer is when you already have a deal under contract and the clock is ticking. Start building your buyers list now.

Where to find cash buyers:

• Local REI meetups — San Antonio has several. Show up, network, collect contact info.
• BiggerPockets forums — Search for San Antonio investors, send messages
• Cash purchases in public records — Anyone who bought a property with cash recently is a potential buyer
• Foreclosure auctions — The people bidding are cash buyers
• Facebook groups — Search "San Antonio real estate investors"
• Title companies — They know who's actively buying

Marketing Your Deal

When you have a deal, send it to your list with:

• Property address and photos (exterior at minimum, interior if you have access)
• ARV with comparable sales to back it up
• Estimated repair scope and costs
• Your assignment price (contract price + your fee)
• Timeline to close

Keep it factual. Don't oversell. Good deals sell themselves.

Step 6: Close the Deal

Two ways to close a wholesale transaction:

Option 1: Assignment of Contract

You assign (transfer) your position in the contract to your end buyer. They pay you an assignment fee at closing. The title company handles the paperwork.

Pros: Simple, fast, minimal moving parts

Cons: Everyone sees your fee on the HUD-1 (closing statement)

Option 2: Double Close

You actually buy the property using transactional funding (a short-term loan that lasts for a few hours), then immediately sell it to your end buyer. Two closings, same day.

Pros: Your profit stays private — neither seller nor buyer sees what you made

Cons: More complex, transactional funding has fees, need a title company that does double closes

Most wholesalers start with assignments for simplicity, then graduate to double closes for larger spreads where they don't want to show their fee.

Common Wholesaling Mistakes

Overestimating ARV. Be conservative with your comps. If you're not sure, go lower. Your buyer will verify everything anyway.

Underestimating repairs. Especially on older San Antonio properties. Foundation issues, HVAC, electrical panels — they add up fast. When in doubt, pad your repair estimate by 20%.

Tying up deals you can't sell. Know what your buyers want before you put properties under contract. The "I'll find a buyer later" approach leads to blown deals and angry sellers.

Not building relationships. The best deals come from repeat sellers and repeat buyers. Treat everyone well, even when deals fall through.

Inconsistent marketing. Most wholesalers give up after a few weeks of cold calling or a few mailers. The ones who make money do consistent lead generation every single week, regardless of how busy they are.

What's Realistic for Your First Year

Let's set honest expectations:

Months 1-3: Learning. Finding leads, making offers, probably not closing anything yet. This is normal.

Months 3-6: You should close your first deal if you're putting in consistent effort. Average first deal: $5,000-8,000.

Months 6-12: Building momentum. 1-2 deals per month is achievable. At $8,000 average, that's $96,000-192,000/year potential.

The key variable is lead flow. Wholesalers who struggle are usually struggling because they don't have enough leads, not because they can't negotiate or close.

Tools of the Trade

Skip tracing — Finding phone numbers and current addresses for property owners. Essential for cold calling and texting. Services like BatchSkipTracing or PropStream include this.

Direct mail — For sensitive leads like probate and divorce, mail often outperforms calling. Handwritten yellow letters still work.

CRM — You need somewhere to track your leads, follow-ups, and deals. Podio, REI BlackBook, REsimpli — pick one and actually use it.

Comps tool — PropStream, Privy, or even Zillow can work. You need recent sold comps to calculate ARV accurately.

Contract templates — TREC forms plus your assignment addendum. Get these from a local investor-friendly title company or attorney.

Lead source — This is the actual bottleneck. Whether you're driving for dollars, pulling lists, or using a service like OpenDockets, you need a consistent pipeline of distressed property leads.

Getting Started Today

The biggest mistake new wholesalers make is overthinking it. You don't need to master every step before you start. You need to start generating leads and making offers — you'll figure out the rest as you go.

Week 1: Pick your lead source. Either start driving neighborhoods, or sign up for OpenDockets to get same-day court records delivered to your inbox.

Week 2: Make your first 20 offers. Most will be ignored or rejected. That's fine. You're learning what works.

Week 3: Follow up on non-responses. Most deals come from follow-up, not first contact.

Week 4: Evaluate what's working. Adjust your approach. Do it again.

Consistency beats perfection. The wholesalers making real money aren't smarter than you — they just make more offers.

Related Guides

• San Antonio Foreclosure Leads — Pre-foreclosure and trustee sale notices
• San Antonio Probate Leads — Inherited properties from estate cases
• San Antonio Tax Lien Leads — Delinquent property tax opportunities
• San Antonio Divorce Leads — Motivated sellers from divorce filings
• San Antonio Code Violation Leads — City citations and compliance issues
• Cold Calling Setup for Wholesalers — Equipment and scripts
• Driving for Dollars in San Antonio — Best neighborhoods and routes

Last updated: January 2025