I love ambitious kids. They never fail to amaze my friends when they meet someone with the entire world before their and is eager to find their way. There have been instances when young people (yikes is it possible that I am already so old?) have sought my financial advice regarding real estate investments. Although I am happy to assist investors of all ages but dealing with investing for minors has unique issues. What is the reason? What age do you need to be to buy wholesale real estate?
Legally, anyone younger than 18 years of age within the United States is forbidden from signing a legally binding contract. Although there aren’t any age restrictions that are directly related to investing in real estate and investing in real estate, you aren’t likely to locate title firms or even lenders willing to sign an agreement with you.
It can be a bit depressing, particularly when you’re older than your age. However, not all hope is all gone. There may be a way to continue your career as an investor in real estate by hiring partners. We’ll discuss that in the near future. Let’s first discuss what I mean by “real estate wholesaling” and the reason we have laws that protect minors from being held responsible for shady contracts.
WHAT IS REAL ESTATE WHOLESALING?
Wholesaling real estate is a bit different than the well-known fix and flip business model. In fix and flip the timeline typically follows this format:
You find an investment property, purchase the property with your own funds or through an outside lender, then spend additional money to improve and improve your property and then put the property on MLS and then sell it at an income.
If you buy real estate wholesale the property, you do not actually own the property. Instead, you hold the contract to purchase the property. It begins in the same manner to find a property and then begin by securing a contract which will transfer the title ownership between the vendor and the prospective buyer. However, instead of as the purchaser, are wholesalers actually offer the option of closing in on the agreement to a third party.
Wholesale Expense
Wholesale is less expensive in comparison to the other investment business models since it doesn’t require a mortgage or invest money on expensive repairs. In most cases, wholesalers only have to pay for deposits of earnest money (which usually are refundable) as well as some appraisal or inspection fees. These charges are typically included in the purchase price of your contract, but.
Wholesaling can be appealing for those with less than stellar credit or have little money to invest, since you won’t be required to navigate the procedure of obtaining a mortgage or even putting down a large amount of money.
So what’s the disadvantage of selling goods to others? It’s certainly not as lucrative as other investment business models because you’re trading time for money. However, it is a lucrative option when you get into the groove and establish an efficient workflow that swiftly shifts multiple properties through their company.
For young prospective real estate investors selling wholesale could be the least obstacle to becoming an entrepreneur of the future. What’s the reason they can’t start such a company? A large part of it has to be related to CDs (Compact CDs, not Certificates of Deposit). It’s time to let everyone know my age…
THE COLUMBIA HOUSE RECORD CLUB ISSUE
In the 1980s, and throughout the 2000s, a lot of us were bombarded with mailings and magazine advertisements from a company known as Columbia House Record Club. If you’re old enough you might recall their outrageous deals: Choose ten CDs from the list and only pay $1 to buy the discs.
Before MP3s, wav files or even midis CDs were the only convenient way to access high-quality audio. Thus, having a massive collection of CDs wasn’t cheap. they generally cost anywhere between $15-$20 per CD. Imagine how appealing the thought of getting TEN CDs for $0.01 could be to those who aren’t used to scouring for the catch or understanding carefully the details.
Because these advertisements were distributed to the homes of millions and homes, they would catch the attention of children who were poor in cash and hungry for their favourite music. Teenagers would register to receive their CDs giving their details, along with their signature, and a penny that was physically attached to the outside of an envelope . The envelope was then sent off the address of Columbia House.
Columbia House
Even though this might seem like an ad but in reality Columbia House would hold up their word and deliver the CDs that their new customers chose. The catch is this the issue these teens didn’t realize was that, by signing up to receive these CDs they also agreed to become an associate participant in Columbia House, which meant that every month , they’d have to pay the subscription fee which was much greater than $0.01. In the blink of an eye, children were informed they’d be liable for monthly subscription costs which were higher than the amount of money they had available.
The promotion of $0.01 was a lose-maker to Columbia House and was used to lure people into the doors. Most likely, it was likely to be difficult to end a subscription particularly if you’re a nervous teenager who’s got over their head.
Columbia House ended up in court for this issue, declaring that the children signed legally binding contracts with the firm. Fortunately, the courts agreed with the children and stated that minors don’t have any obligation to any contract they sign regardless of whether they are aware of the conditions or they do not.
The truth is that the kids enjoyed a wonderful arrangement: Columbia House was legally bound to honor their end to the deal, however the minors didn’t have a legal obligation to fulfill their own. I’m not certain whether Columbia House is around anymore However, if they’re it’s likely that they’re more careful about their marketing strategies.
Contract law was not created solely to safeguard minors, but minors are one of the groups protected by it. However, I’m mentioning this because it’s an excellent illustration of the reason courts believe minors aren’t able to practice the due diligence necessary to sign the terms of a contract.
Suppose you’re an ambitious, go-getter young person who is intrigued by investing in real estate.
When you’re not yet 18 years old, there’s no way to get out of the law that prohibits you from signing an legally binding contract. However, the fact that you can’t sign a contract does not mean that you can’t sign it by an adult taking the plunge. Think about joining forces with your parents, family relatives, and other parents who may be interested.
It can be a difficult deal since they’d be the legal liable party to the terms of their contract. If you’re determined to get into real estate, now is the perfect time to work on your selling skills. Develop an outline of your business and pitch deck that proves that you’ve completed the research necessary to be successful in this industry. Provide a portion of profits , and an exit strategy that they can work out once you’re a legal adult.
Even if you don’t have someone to support you, completing this task today can save you a lot of time when you’re ready to go by yourself.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Many ways selling wholesaling is the best method for a new person to begin their journey into real investment in real estate. It doesn’t require any capital, a good rating on credit, or the actual ownership of a property. If you’re not yet 18 , in the US and you’re a minor, real estate investment isn’t a good idea because of the law on contracts. If you’re able to conduct your research and develop your business plans today then you’ll be in more advantageous position when you’re legal.
