How Neelema Closed Her 1st Wholesale Deal From The MLS!

In this interview, Ryan Zomorodi (Co-Founder & COO of Real Estate Skills) speaks with Pro Wholesaler VIP Student Neelema on her success since being in the Pro Wholesaler VIP Program!

Neelema shares her inspiring journey of achieving impressive results within just three months of joining the program. Despite having an extremely busy life as an anesthesiologist, wife, and mother in New York, Neelema ventured into virtual wholesaling across states like Florida and Georgia. Neelema's transformational story is a testament to her determination and the power of the Pro Wholesaler program.

With the guidance of Real Estate Skills' expert coaches, she learned the ropes of real estate investing. Through dedication and resourcefulness, Neelema navigated challenges like negotiation, building rapport with cash buyers, and understanding the novation process.

Her second deal was another feat, securing a contract among multiple competing offers.

In this interview & Pro Wholesaler VIP Program Review, we cover these highlights:

✅ How Neelema was able to take what she learned using the Pro Wholesaler VIP Program and apply it to not one, but two different markets virtually!

✅ How Neelema was able to successfully wholesale her first house while working full-time as an anesthesiologist & an awesome mother! (She's a rockstar)!

✅ How Neelema wholesaled her first deal using what she learned in the Pro Wholesaler VIP Program!

✅ How Neelema changed her life and took back control of her time!

✅ How Neelema was able to take full advantage of the bi-weekly coaching calls and the community to expedite her learning curve!

✅ How Neelema plans to evolve as a real estate investor by adding Fix & Flipping and Buying and Holding properties to her exit strategies!

✅ How Neelema FIRST built strong professional relationships with her Cash Buyers!

✅ How Neelema presented herself as a PRO Wholesaler when it came to speaking with & developing relationships with agents!

If you want to learn EXACTLY how to wholesale real estate in Florida visit: How To Wholesale Real Estate In Florida: Step-By-Step

*For in-depth training on real estate investing, Real Estate Skills offers extensive courses to get you ready to make your first investment! Attend our FREE Webinar Training and gain insider knowledge, expert strategies, and essential skills to make the most of every real estate opportunity that comes your way!

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Ryan Zomorodi (00:01):
Hey everyone, it's Ryan Zomorodi, co-founder and COO of RealEstateSkills.com. And today I'm here with Neelema, who's an amazing member of our Pro Wholesaler VIP program. And she recently shared that she closed her very first wholesale deal for a net profit of $10,000 all within three months of joining the program. Now she's an investor based out of Long Island, New York, and she closed a deal virtually in Florida and she has another deal in the pipeline to close in Atlanta. So she's virtually wholesaling all while working a very demanding job as a physician, as a wife, as a mother. So she's a very busy gal. So Neelema, really excited to have you on today to share a little bit about your journey as a Pro Wholesaler and how you're able to take all the information, learn the program, and ultimately get these results. So first off, how are you doing today?

Neelema (00:54):
Doing very good. I wanted to say thank you to all of you for having me here on the show. I'm very honored to be here and share my experience, so I'm hoping to share my experience so that others can be inspired as well.

Ryan Zomorodi (01:09):
Absolutely. We appreciate that so much and your story certainly is very inspiring and ever since you shared your first win, we've just been celebrating in the community and congratulating you, so been really eager to get you on to share more about your journey just as an individual, as a professional, and then ultimately landing in the program. So maybe first off, if you don't mind just sharing a little bit about who you are, your background, what you're doing before joining the program.

Neelema (01:39):
All right. Yeah, so my background is I'm a New Yorker. I'm a physician here in New York. I'm an anesthesiologist. I've been in a schedule where I sort of wake up early in the morning and then my day's over by four or five o'clock, and then I used to run home to take the kids out to their extracurriculars, get home, make dinner, and then the routine of putting the kids to bed. And life was really great. I really enjoyed everything about my life. I was very thankful and grateful for everything I had. I felt very blessed, but at one point I got to a situation where my loved ones, they were getting sick. My father, he recently had to get sented in bat at Mount Sinai Hospital for cardiac disease. My mother had to have neurosurgery a few months later and my husband fractured his ankle playing basketball within a week.

(02:35):
And everything just sort of happened all at the same time. And what tipped me off was I didn't have control of my time. I had no management of my time, and I was very sort of sad and I came to a place of what is my end goal? How am I going to make myself more available to my family and family at the end of the day is my number one priority. And what came to mind was I needed to transform myself. I needed to do something different in order to make an income that didn't rely on my schedule from Monday to Friday, and that's when I decided it's time for a change.

Ryan Zomorodi (03:23):
Absolutely. Yeah. I think sometimes it takes some big events where we realize, hey, we need access to more resources or we need a way to fund these events that happen really in everyone's life at some point that doesn't just rely on the income stream that we've been building that you spent a lot of time to build towards however you wanted to seek some kind of income that you could have a little bit more control over controlling your destiny and making that money kind of on your own. So it sounds like, is that what ultimately led you to explore different options and ultimately find real estate?

Neelema (04:02):
Absolutely, yes. So at one point I was sort of alone in my own mind and I sat down and I thought, how and what should I do next? I needed a roadmap because I'm all about roadmaps and life, and I thought about real estate and I remembered that there was a time in my life where I wanted to do real estate, but I didn't know how will I do it, what do I need to do it? What are the challenges that I'm going to face? I didn't know anybody in real estate. I didn't know who to go and ask. And so I googled real estate and I came across Alex Martinez and I started listening to him on YouTube and I listened to video after video after video on YouTube of Alex Martinez just breaking it down and I couldn't believe how he really went. So he explained it so easily and stepwise and stepwise fashion of, okay, you have to first look within into yourself what your goals are and then figure out, okay, if you're going to be a wholesaler, you need to find your cash buyer, understand your cash buyer, and then go out and find that property.

(05:20):
And I then thought, wait a second, I probably should just look into doing that Pro Wholesaler VIP phone call. And that phone call with Max changed my entire life. That phone call was the turning point that really now has changed the trajectory of my entire life because I'm now not only going to be able to bring the income from being a physician, but I have the option of going per diem, not having to work full time and switch over to becoming a wholesaler to supplement my income. And I can't thank you guys enough. I can't thank you guys enough for providing me with that roadmap and showing me just how the program really tells as if somebody was holding my hand and walking me through every single step. There's five weeks in the program and each week is so essential in the transformation of going from not knowing anything about real estate to becoming a almost, I would call everyone a professional real estate investor. That's how you will feel when you go through the program.

Ryan Zomorodi (06:33):
Absolutely, and I completely agree with you. It's not just wholesaling. It's becoming that professional real estate investor and wholesaling just happens to be one of those exit strategies. So we don't necessarily want everyone in the program only to wholesale for the rest of their lives. The ultimate goal is to get paid to learn, which is one of the greatest things about wholesaling is that you're networking with your investors, you're learning how to underwrite great deals, and then ultimately projecting the returns on these deals, negotiating and then ultimately assigning that contract for a profit upfront. But at the end of the day, we're learning the business, we're seeing these deals through with our buyers, and then once we're ready to make that leap, we can now take them down as fix and flip projects and ultimately hold them for rental income at the same time. So hey, kudos to you for seeking out that information, and then we're so happy that you're able to find us and come into the program and ultimately put in the work to get the results right. I've seen you in the communities ask questions, hop on the calls, and so we're not just going to do the work for you. So you're able to really run with it and get those results. And I love that you have a very strong why that pushed you through the challenges and the ups and downs that obviously come with being an entrepreneur in the real estate business. So

Neelema (07:57):
I agree. I think that with the background of Real Estate Skills and everything that Real Estate Skills provides us with from the wholesale, the program video shows to the documents that give us the contract. There's lots of PDF files that give you exactly what you need. When you talk to a cash buyer or you're assigning a contract or you're closing a deal, you have everything. The platinum platter email is there, all of that is already written out for you. So I think that makes it much easier. And then in terms of flipping, I'm really hoping that once I become comfortable with understanding what cash buyers do with a property and how they flip it, that I eventually can take on a property and also flip it for that bigger profit. But right now it's baby steps.

Ryan Zomorodi (08:49):
Absolutely. And no doubt you'll be able to do that with the work you're putting in now, you're going to be seeing this first deal and the second deal and everyone after that, it's important to stay in touch with your buyer and then ultimately see that deal through its full cycle so you gain that confidence so that when you're ready to take down that deal, you can move forward with certainty and with even more confidence than you could have before. So sounded like you're very busy. You had a lot of things going on in your life before joining the program. I mean, how were you able to overcome that fear of not being able to put in the work and then ultimately getting to the point where you were able to commit to it and get the results that you were able to? How did you ultimately manage becoming a Pro Wholesaler while managing your life responsibilities?

Neelema (09:39):
So the amazing thing about the program is that the videos are all provided to you to proceed at your own pace. So I decided that instead of just getting up at six o'clock in the morning and going to work, I was going to wake up at five in the morning and start looking at the videos and also start looking for deals. And that one hour every morning has made a big difference in my learning curve. I learned a lot and I did the videos on my way to work, on my drive to work. I did them while I was at the gym. I did them while I was grocery shopping. I did them while after my children went to sleep, 20 minutes here, 15 minutes there, 30 minutes, it all comes together. And I felt myself changing. I felt Alex Martinez speaking to me when he said, you really have to believe in yourself, be determined and look at your dream and just go for it. You have to let your fears sort of just go away. And I felt if I really wanted this, I was going to find the time and time management was going to be the challenge, but I figured out a way to put time together to make it work.

Ryan Zomorodi (11:03):
Love that. And really at the end of the day, we all have the same amount of time and every single day. So ultimately how we manage our time and prioritize the things that are important to us is how we're able to accomplish goals. And if something's really essential to where we want to go, we're going to make time for that. So I mean, kudos to you for squeezing in the training and then once you felt comfortable taking action, then ultimately taking that action and moving forward.

Neelema (11:32):
Yeah.

Ryan Zomorodi (11:34):
Alright, awesome. So I'd love to hear how your experience has been since joining the program.

Neelema (11:42):
My experience, I have nothing but amazing things to say. My first sort of deal, I had decided that I was going to follow Alex Martinez advice to the T and he said to first, go find your cash buyer. So I found my cash buyers in Jacksonville and I spoke to them pretty much at length. They were willing to just tell me exactly what they wanted. And so I kind of felt like I was in the operating room where I have to please my surgeon. I provide that perfect field for a still patient, paralyzed patient and a surgeon who then can do their surgery appropriately. So the same way I treated the cash buyer as my surgeon and I spoke to the cash buyer and I wanted to know exactly what they wanted by figuring out their criteria, I decided that I was going to just go look for what they wanted. They're telling me what they wanted, why not just go look for it. That made it so easy. Once I found what the cash buyer wanted, it just came. It came so easy. One of the cash buyer that I spoke to, he said, look, I'm looking for a property by the water and I want it to be in the Arlington section of Jacksonville.

(13:08):
I looked and I looked and I looked and there was no property coming up. So when a property did finally come up, I called the listing agent and I spoke to the listing agent and she said, wait a second. Are you an agent? I said, I'm not an agent I, I'm a real estate investor. And then I thought about what Alex had said that they're going to, if they ask you if you're a wholesaler, and I remembered getting so confused because I thought they were going to say, are you a wholesaler? And I was ready for that answer that, well, our company has different exit strategies. We could do wholesaling or fixing and flipping or buying. So I was ready for that, but that never happened. And then she was like, well, are you a cash buyer? And then I was like, yeah, I'm a cash buyer.

(13:58):
That's what I am. And I was able to use that and really pull her into what I was saying to build that relationship. And she described the deal. She said, it's a three bed, three bath, it's by the water. She actually was friends with the seller. It was an elderly woman who she had known for a very, very long time and she wanted to make sure that she made out on the sale. So I used the deal calculator, which I used very frequently, as does everybody else. It's an amazing tool. And that deal calculator gave me that I should offer two 15 to two 20. The asking price on the property was three 15. And so I offered two 15 and she came back and said, well, the woman, she really needs some money for retirement and can you come up a little bit? And I said, okay, how much would you like me to come up?

(15:03):
I can try to make it work. And she said, I need you to come up to 2 45. And so I was very hesitant, but I thought, you know what? This is going to be my first deal, and even if I have to terminate the contract, like Alex said, that's okay with me because if I go through one deal, I'll learn a lot. So I was willing to have it terminated if it needed to be. So we signed, and all of this happened within an hour of, we had the conversation on the phone, the seller signed, I signed, and then I couldn't believe I had my first contract signed. I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe it actually worked. Everything that Alex said worked. And after that I was like, oh my God, where's the number for the cash buyer that told me to find the property in Arlington? So I looked for the number the next day and I called him and I was like, I have this property. Are you interested in seeing it? And he's like, what's the address I'm going to swing by right now? And he swung by and then he is like, okay, how much do you want for it?

(16:17):
No, he said, you want two 80 for it, right? And I put out the purchase, the platinum platter email for two 60, but he thought I put it out for two 80. And so I said to him on the, I was like, I'm not putting it out for two 80. It's two 60. And then he went back and forth and was like, well, how about we negotiate a little bit? I know you're making some money on this. And I was so worried that I was going to lose the deal if I pulled too much on the assignment fee that I was like, okay, what would work for you? And he was like, I could do 2 55. And so I agreed to it, and that's how I got the $10,000 assignment fee. And then since then, him and I have actually kept in touch and I'm still looking for properties in that area so that I can call him and give it to him. And that was that first wild moment that I can do this.

Ryan Zomorodi (17:19):
Yeah, it's like the aha moment when you realize, hey, this isn't just all talk. It's not all conceptual. It's not something that you just watch on YouTube and never happens for you, but you actually went out there and you made it happen. Like you said, you followed the steps to the T, you trusted the process, you believed in yourself, and then the stars aligned and the deal worked out and you're ultimately able to collect that fee. That was your very first contract, is that correct?

Neelema (17:50):
Very first contract. And it was seamless. I mean, I was worried that she was going to figure out that I'm a wholesaler because at one point I had to, once I had the cash buyer signed the assignment contract, I had to call her back and say, I would like to get an assignment addendum. And when I said that, she was like, okay, yeah, sure. And even then I was thinking that there was going to be a hiccup, but it was like, okay, sure. It was just so, it just flowed. I didn't really feel like it was difficult.

Ryan Zomorodi (18:35):
Yeah, that's great because a lot of, especially new wholesalers that they really think that the assignment of a contract is this really big deal that is going to ruin the deal, but at the end of the day, it's a very common thing that happens in real estate transactions. And so as long as you have the right approach to the whole situation, then we do find that it's very seamless and there really isn't any hesitation or there's no disruption to the flow of the transaction. So I'm glad that you found that the case. And ultimately, how many offers do you think that you made prior to getting this contract accepted and ultimately closed?

Neelema (19:16):
So I was sending out at least four or five offers a day. So I started the program in April, but I didn't start sending out offers I think until May. And I got this property under contract on June 28th. So it took time, but I had several properties under contract prior, but none of them, I wasn't able to follow through. I couldn't find a buyer and I wasn't sure of what I was doing. I was just kind of doing it to follow through. But then this is the one that it kind of came together for me.

Ryan Zomorodi (19:59):
Totally. And I think a lot of people get hung up on, Hey, this is taking a while for it happen. I've already sent 10 offers, 20 offers, and either have haven't had it accepted or I'm hitting all these challenges, Hey, this doesn't work. But in your case, and really in any case, if you want to be successful, you just have to keep pushing through. And it's that one, yes, you might get 99 nos, but that one yes, makes up for all of those nos. And then it's just that moment where you realize, Hey, this works. Let's go. Let's just rinse and repeat. So I'm really proud of you for making that happen and pushing through all those offers

Neelema (20:35):
Without you guys. So I mean, you guys are amazing. I have used the community, the Real Estate Skills community very frequently. Anytime I have a question I post in the community, and Mike, Colin, you, all of you have been so instrumental in me getting to move forward.

Ryan Zomorodi (20:58):
We love to hear that and we're always happy to help. We're always happy to be there every step. Answer those questions best we can. And I mean, thanks for sharing your win. We have a lot of members who are crushing it and maybe they don't decide to share their win. They feel like they're bragging or boasting. But I'd love to just read your post. It was just such an amazing moment in your journey. You said today, July 18th, 2023, I had my first wholesale deal close seamlessly, and $10,000 was wired into my bank account. I could not believe it. I started this journey back in April with a phone call with Max today, marks the beginning to an amazing future ahead. I could not have done any of this without you all. I'm grateful, appreciative, and unstoppable every day. I have humbling experiences where I'm learning and evolving today.

(21:46):
The fruits of the labor came through. Thank you all. That was just such an inspiring post, and I just really love that you showed that and dated it too. I mean, what I look at that it's like a lot of people into today's market. You closed this deal in July, 2023. A lot of people think the real estate market is unapproachable. Interest rates have gone up, people think there's low inventory, and you were able to pick this up and make this happen within a relatively short amount of time. So I mean, kudos to you overcoming obstacles and really just not letting a lot of that negativity and speculation what if get you down and you took the action and ultimately made this work. So congratulations. We're just so proud of you, Neelema.

Neelema (22:34):
Thank you so much. And I just want to put this out there that don't let your fears stop you from achieving greatness. If you really believed in yourself and you're confident determined that you want to achieve your dream, there are people out there who can help you. And Real Estate Skills will give you that roadmap to achieve what you want. So you have to trust that Real Estate Skills will take you there. Trust the process. Nothing happens overnight. And if you do your job as a habit every day, get up in the morning, make your goal to make five or six offers a day and do it consistently. Consistency, determination will get you there. Let your fears fall and just melt away and believe in Real Estate Skills. Anything you need is available. Ryan, Colin, Mike, Max, all these great men, they're there waiting to help. So just believe in yourself.

Ryan Zomorodi (23:39):
Absolutely. And I know the deal hasn't closed yet, but you were sharing that you have another one in the works. What do you think you might earn on that one and how close you are to getting to the finish line?

Neelema (23:53):
So that one's an interesting deal. I'm getting an assignment of $10,000 also for that one, but that one was a novation deal, and I had just learned about Novation recently. But with that one, the buyer was actually someone who had, so they have an LLC, they purchased the property and they did an novation. So from my understanding, a novation is a replacement of a contract that's in place, and there's an understanding between the seller and the next buyer that the person in between is allowed to remodel or renovate and then whatever the difference is, they would make it out the note. The person who's signing the novation would make out that difference. So that's how they get their profit. So apparently that's what they did and they put it back on the market and I ended up looking at it and I felt that it was still in distress.

(24:55):
It still needed work. And so I placed an offer on the property for 200,000. When I called them, they said, well, they have 17 offers for 200,000. So then I spoke to the listing agent and I said, I'd like to be different from all the other investors. What can I do to make the offer sweeter? And that's also something that Alex had said in one of the videos, try to build that relationship, try to make yourself different from the other investors, come across as a professional. At the end of the day, we are professionals. We're not just any other wholesaler, and I really believe in that. So I said, what do I need to do to make this deal a little different? Then she told me, well cut down on your inspection contingency, increase your offer, and let me get back to you. So I said, okay, how about I offer you 2 0 5?

(25:55):
Then she said, okay, let me speak to the seller and I'll get back to you. And then the next thing I know, I had it under contract. So what I did was I called up a investment company who also functions as a cash buyer, and I was trying to get a $20,000 assignment beyond that one. But they were saying to me that that's interesting. We already have in our database that we placed an offer on this property. How did you get it under contract? We have it documented that at eight 30 in the morning, we had also placed a $200,000 offer. I said, that's interesting because I just got off the phone with them and I was able to get it under contract. So he said, well, what offer did you get it for? And I said, 2 0 5. And I didn't want to hide that at that time because I felt that they already committed to taking the property and being the cash buyer.

(26:52):
So they signed, and then I got a call from the listing agent that this company, this investment company has another end buyer that's going to be taking the property. So now we have five players involved in this deal. And that's where it's another learning process for me because I had learned A to B to C, and that's what was stuck in my mind. But this is the evolution process where now I've learned that somebody can actually take a property, assign it to me, and then I have an assignment with my cash buyer and then my cash buyer's giving it to an end buyer. So I didn't know that that can work, but we have an attorney on board on this deal, and apparently everyone's going to make out great in the deal. So that's how this other deal is working.

Ryan Zomorodi (27:50):
Wow, what a story. I mean, you beat out 17 other offers including what sounds like a relatively large investment company local to that market. So way to be resourceful, way to think on your feet and be a professional and do what it takes to win that contract, which ultimately they're willing to pay more for than you had. And ultimately you made that connection. And yeah, it's important to realize even if there's an asking price, there's oftentimes investors who are willing to pay a lot more than the asking price of a property and vice versa, even if you wholesale a property, sure, you might make 10, 20, $30,000 on an assignment fee. It doesn't mean that the end buyer isn't also going to do very well. I mean, that's the goal of buying these distressed properties, investment real estate. There's a different strategy at the end. And so even if there's multiple layers, multiple players in the deal, everyone can still win at the end of the day, the seller people involved in the middle and ultimately the end buyer. So way to create that win-win for everybody.

Neelema (28:57):
Yeah, I was very happy that everybody could be a winner here, and we're all on the same page. We're actually all on one email. It couldn't be more transparent. So to the attorney, all of us, all five of us are on that email to the attorney for closing. So I was like, okay, there's nothing else here to be worried about. Hopefully we'll see what happens on closing day on August 14th.

Ryan Zomorodi (29:20):
Yeah, wonderful. That's just a few days from now. So definitely sounds like things are going the right way, and I'm proud of you for building your business ethically, and it shows that you're building rapport with everyone that you're talking to and you're got a lot of great momentum and you're doing things the right way, leading with integrity. So that's really amazing and can't wait to hear your update once that closes. So just kind of changing gears and starting to wrap up a little bit, now that you've had this big win, you're onto your next deal, where do you see you taking your business and what's next for Neelema?

Neelema (29:58):
So what's next? I'm really hoping that I can work per diem as a physician and continue wholesaling, and I want to eventually do fix and flips, buy and holds, and really just kind of continue on so that I can become very comfortable in the real estate world. My goal is to leave a lot of properties for my children. I don't want them to have to worry about college and expenses. I want them to live comfortably and I want to be able to take my parents and my family on vacations that's been on the back burner for quite a long time, and I think it's time that we tend to some sort of fun. So that's what I have planned.

Ryan Zomorodi (30:44):
That's fantastic. Yeah, I can definitely resonate with that. And it's a strong why and a strong motivator. I can imagine. Then just to wrap things up, I mean, do you have any advice for someone who might be sitting on the sidelines who's thinking about getting involved in real estate investing and even joining the Pro Wholesaler VIP program?

Neelema (31:04):
If you come across Real Estate Skills, your life is going to transform. Take it from me. You need to dream big and believe in yourself. If you want to transform. Real Estate Skills will give you the roadmap. They will take you from not knowing anything about Real Estate Skills to giving you all the tools necessary to become that professional real estate investor. So if without any hesitation, you should sign up for that phone call and you'll see the difference that will happen to you once you trust the process. So dream big, stay motivated, stay focused. Don't let your fears get the best of you. Just believe in yourself.

Ryan Zomorodi (31:52):
Love that. That's super inspiring. Neelema and your story is definitely something that I'm sure will resonate with our audience, and you're someone who dreams big and is pursuing a better future for yourself and your family. And I know a lot of people, including myself, really resonate with that. So again, thank you so much for sharing your story today and a little

Neelema (32:11):
Thank you so much for having me.

Ryan Zomorodi (32:13):
Absolutely. Yeah, we're really honored to see your growth and this is really just the beginning. So it's the start of something amazing and we look forward to continuing to serve you and work with you and see your growth as you continue reaching those goals. So again, thank you so much and for anybody else who's interested in learning about Real Estate Skills and how to get involved with the Pro Wholesaler program, just go to RealEstateSkills.com to learn more.

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