Video summary

How to Get Your First Wholesaling Deal in Under 2 Weeks with Zillow

Main summary

Key takeaways

Business

Goal / Positioning

  • Find and close your first wholesaling real estate deal on Zillow in under 2 weeks, using no money and no experience.
  • Core idea: Zillow lets you find sellers (FSBO) and find buyers using different Zillow search tabs (e.g., tabs for rent, new construction, etc.).

Playbooks / Frameworks / Processes

1) Market Selection Strategy (Avoid the “Local-Only” Trap)

  • Start with one city/market, but if there aren’t enough FSBO listings, expand.
  • Example issue: Columbus, GA reportedly had only about 555 owner-posted properties.
  • If listing volume is low, switch to a broader approach:
    • State-by-state approach (e.g., “GA” then filter statewide).

Why: More listings mean more chances to find motivated sellers and lock deals quickly.

2) Lead Filtering Process (Zillow Filters)

Use these Zillow filters:

  • Location: state-level (e.g., Georgia)
  • Property status: For sale only
  • Price cap: use Zillow’s state median/average home price as a guide
    • Example cited: Georgia average price ≈ $326,000
    • Filter to ≤ $326,000
  • Home types (target 3 buckets):
    • Houses
    • Lots / land
    • Manufactured homes (mobile homes), with an important ownership condition (below)
  • FSBO-only constraint: filter to Owner posted
  • Aging requirement: target listings older than 100 days on Zillow
    • Sort by newest, then scroll to entries around 100+ days old
  • Manufactured home “land owned” rule:
    • Proceed only if the land underneath is owned, not just rented
    • This avoids dependence on lot rent

3) Deal Underwriting Heuristic (“Zach’s Magic Math”)

Rehab/comps analysis can be supplemented with AI, but the main rule-of-thumb is:

  • MAO (max offer/threshold) = List price × 0.7 (70%)
  • Then lowball further (examples given):
    • Offer roughly $30k below MAO, or
    • Another $20k below, or
    • Adjust the discount based on deal severity

Concrete example:

  • List price: $210,000
  • MAO: $210,000 × 0.7 = $147,000
  • Proposed low offer: ~$117,000

Optional AI Workflow (Underwriting Support)

  • Copy/paste the listing link + photos into ChatGPT
  • Ask what offer you should make based on photos/condition
  • Suggested prompt note: “do the comps” for better accuracy

4) Seller Outreach / Negotiation Process

Outreach volume (hit-rate heuristics)

  • Implied staffing expectation: call many leads
  • Rule-of-thumb:
    • ~1 deal per 20 calls
    • More generally: about 1 out of 10 for a “reasonable seller”

Outreach script goals

  • Validate identity + confirm the listing is still relevant/motivating
  • Questions to ask:
    • Are you the owner of the address?
    • The listing is “over 100 days”—do the photos still reflect current condition?
    • Did anything change/improve since those photos?

Handling objections

  • If they ask for an offer immediately:
    • Frame yourself as a legitimate buyer
    • Explain you’re asking questions because you’re evaluating the purchase properly

Negotiation tactics

  • If they push back at full price:
    • Counter closer to your target
    • Gauge their reaction
    • Example: “I’d need to be closer to about $180,000”—then negotiate from there

5) Buyer-Finding Workflow After You Lock a Deal

A) If you locked a house deal

  • Example city: Hartwell, GA
  • Buyer search method:
    • Search Zillow “For rent” in the target city
    • Identify landlords/property owners (skip “realtors”)
    • Call the landlord/owner:
      • “I’m a wholesaler; I locked a deal nearby—are you looking to buy more deals?”

B) If you locked a land (lots) deal

  • Buyer search method:
    • Stay in for sale results and filter to new construction homes
    • Identify the builder
    • Use county property appraiser/records to determine the builder/owner behind the property
    • Then:
      • Find builder contact via website / LinkedIn
      • Skip trace and reach out (call/Facebook message/cyber background checks mentioned)

Key Metrics / KPIs & Thresholds

  • Time-to-first-deal target: under 2 weeks
  • Listing age threshold: > 100 days on Zillow (main filter)
  • Price anchor: state average/median (example: Georgia ~ $326,000)
  • MAO rule: List price × 0.7
  • Lowball step: typically $20k–$30k+ below MAO (varies by deal severity)
  • Conversion heuristics:
    • 1 deal per ~20 calls
    • 1 reasonable seller per ~10
  • Manufactured home disqualifier:
    • If there’s meaningful lot rent (example cited: ~$1,400/month; another example: $623 lot rent)
    • Reason: you’d need to pay the landowner, so it’s “not worth it” to proceed

Concrete Recommendations / Actionable Steps

  • Use a state-by-state Zillow search rather than limiting to one city.
  • Filter to:
    • FSBO (owner posted)
    • For sale only
    • Under the state’s average/median price
    • Houses + land + manufactured homes
    • Only listings older than 100 days
  • Apply “Zach’s math”:
    • Start with 0.7× list price as MAO estimate
    • Lowball with an additional discount (often $20k–$30k)
  • Outreach:
    • Call many aged FSBO leads
    • Ask a question that confirms listing relevance and whether photos still match condition (also helps reveal motivation)
  • Post-lock buyer strategy:
    • Houses: look for landlords via Zillow “for rent”
    • Land: look for builders via Zillow “new construction” + property appraiser records

Presenter / Sources

  • Presenter: Zack Gin (mentions “my dad” and live calls with him, e.g., “Zack Gin or Flip With Rick live call”)
  • Primary sources referenced:
    • Zillow (core platform)
    • ChatGPT (used for underwriting assistance)
  • Example local references: Columbus, Georgia; Georgia statewide; Hartwell, Georgia; Hart County property appraiser; “GDP Builders” (builder example)

Original video