Close Your First Wholesale Deal Like Henry Did! đź’Ş

In this episode of the Painless Wholesaling Podcast, host Nathan Payne interviews his student Henry, who recently closed his first wholesale deal. Henry shares his personal background—immigrating from Vietnam to Houston—and how his uncle’s success sparked his interest in real estate. He recounts his early, costly attempts at traditional wholesaling (buying lists, skip‑tracing, cold‑calling) that yielded no deals and led to doubt. Nathan advises against spending money on marketing when starting out and suggests leveraging free sources like MLS, driving‑for‑dollars, and especially real‑estate investor Facebook groups. Henry describes how he found a motivated seller in a Florida Airbnb through a Facebook group, offered to buy without commission, and then partnered with Nathan to structure a zero‑down, seller‑financed deal using a balloon payment. The partnership closed for a $5,000 wholesale fee, with Henry receiving a small ownership stake. Throughout the conversation, both emphasize the importance of finding motivated sellers, using creative financing, partnering with experienced investors, focusing on net profit rather than gross figures, and maintaining persistence. The episode ends with Henry recommending Nathan’s mentorship and offering final nuggets of advice for aspiring wholesalers.
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What is up everybody? You are listening to the Painless Wholesaling Podcast right here. I have one of my ultimate favorite guests. We got Henry on here. Henry is one of my students. He just got his first wholesale deal. So we're going to dive deep into Henry's life, why he decided to get into real estate, what his strategy was to get this deal done., and we're going to dive all into it so everybody that's listening can learn from Henry's experience and how he got his first deal with only being involved in real estate just for a little bit. So Henry, what is up, dude?
What's up, Nathan? Thank you for having me in the podcast, dude.
I am so happy that you're on this podcast with me, man, because when you— when we started working together, I knew you were going to get a deal, bro. I just knew it because I said this dude ain't going to give up. He's going to work hard. And that's exactly what you do, man. Is that— is that something that you've always done your whole life? Is just you You're just— you go for something you want and you work really hard at it.
Yeah, so I, I just go for it, like, uh, so, uh, so when I was young, I'm, uh, I'm just thinking about that and then I'm not taking the action at all. So right now I'm just, uh, go straight in, uh, taking action.
That's it, dude. I love it, man. What do you got to say for all the people out there that kind of find a little scary to take action? They've been watching videos and they just haven't done anything because maybe it's difficult.
Yeah. So to be honest with you, right? So don't be afraid to take action. You can fail sometimes. You can fail a lot. But the outcome is you know that you try your best and then the good thing will come to you.
That's some dang good advice. That's awesome. Because you know you're going to fail. Henry, I fail all the time, man. When I make offers, I don't get every offer accepted. Not even close. I wish.
Yeah, I also get a lot of rejection on my offer too.
Does that bother you when you get rejected now, Henry, or have you developed that tough skin already and you're like, who cares?
Yeah, so the first time I'm trying to wholesaling, right? And then so all of my offer got rejected. So I'm kind of a bit afraid, but I know if I keep making a lot of offer, then I know one will be accepted.
100%. So, Henry, let's, let's dive into your life and, and where you're from, because we've talked a little bit, but I've never really asked you too much about like your history and how you got started. So, Henry, tell the audience a little bit about yourself, like where you're from, you know, what you're up to. Yeah, let everybody know a little bit about Henry.
So, so I'm, uh, I'm from Vietnam, and then I've been here, uh, in the US for 2010, and then I've been in Houston for more than 10 years. So this is my hometown. Wow.
So, uh, Henry, what made you want to come to the United States?
So if you lived in Vietnam, all right, so all my, uh, family, so they, they've been in the US, and then my grandpa, they, uh, that they bring my family here.
Wow. Okay, so you had family here, so that's why you decided to move, right? Yep. Was it a difficult move for you to make, to move from Vietnam to the United States?
Uh, not at all. So this is a new adventure for me, yeah, to be in the new country, new opportunity.
That's amazing. Do you miss Vietnam at all? Do you go back and visit?
So let's say, so my, uh, my uncle and then my aunt, they, they have been, uh, come back to Vietnam. And then, uh, I'm, uh, I haven't been back in Vietnam yet, but that's my goal in the future. I will be back in Vietnam.
Oh, you want to go back? Okay, that's amazing. So I know I asked you this before, but let's tell the audience again. So, Henry, why did you want to get into real estate? You know, you came from Vietnam, now you're in the United States. You've been here for a couple years. What made you want to get into real estate?
So my uncle had been an investor in real estate for a long time, and then he really successful with that. And then he now become a landlord. So I'm trying to follow him. With his success.
And he's an investor, you're saying? Is he in Houston or where does he have his rentals?
Yeah. So he's an investor in Houston also.
Oh, okay. Awesome. And you ask him for a lot of advice. Do you talk to him a lot about real estate? Yes.
He's really busy. So he doesn't give me any— most of the advice. So basically, I try to learn everything for myself.
Okay, and tell me how you got into wholesaling. I know, again, I asked you this before, but how did you come into wholesaling versus just doing another strategy?
So I'm, uh, I'm a research on Google how to invest in the real estate with no money at all, and then the first thing pop up on Google is wholesaling. And then after that, I'm, uh, I'm watching a YouTube channel from, uh, Jerry Norton, Page Morby, and then another big guy in wholesaling. And then I, I decide, uh, I will give it, give it a try.
And you just started, you just gave it a try just like that, huh? Yep. That's amazing. What was your first experience? Like, what, what were you doing at first to try wholesaling? What were you doing first?
So, so I have my first try on wholesaling. Yeah, basically I do, uh, do exactly the same, uh, thing that, uh the YouTuber that are telling everyone. So like, um, pulling a list of off-market property and then skip trace and then, and then call, call, and then make offer with that.
And did it work for you? Did that work for you?
Uh, not at all. Yeah, so this is my first mistake right there.
Yeah, well, tell me about— tell us, tell this audience about your, your experience doing that, uh, of pulling a list, skip tracing, calling it. How did it go?
So it's got a lot of money for me to be doing that. So I try to wholesale for more than half a year and then it gets no result at all. So I'm somehow, I'll give up and then I guess a doubt, is it really working? Yeah.
Yeah. So you're starting to doubt because you skip traced, you called list and it wasn't working. You spent a lot of money. Is Is that what you're saying?
That's right.
You know, and Henry, what I teach is I say, hey, look, if you're brand new to wholesaling, don't go out and spend a ton of money on marketing. There's so many opportunities that are on the MLS that are from other wholesalers. If you can get in tight with buyers and you know your market, you know your area, you can find deals without spending any money. And that's exactly what we did on the deal that you— your first wholesale deal, right? That's right. So tell everybody that's watching how you got your— how you found this opportunity on this deal that we, uh, we were able to wholesale together.
So I find my first deals by— so one time I'm on Facebook, right? I'm in the real estate investing group. And then there is one lady, she posts that she's tired of doing the Airbnb rental. And then she decides to sell all of her property. And then she's looking for a realtor. And then so I decide, I text her that I can sell her property at her asking price. Without a realtor, so she doesn't have to pay any commission at all. And then I see she, uh, she told me, all right, uh, I will let you do that.
Wow, wow. Yeah. So, Henry, if I understand, you went on Facebook groups that were strictly for real estate investors, and the seller posted on there that she was looking for an agent. Is that correct?
That's right.
And you said, hey, I can work with you where you don't have to pay any commissions. And, and that's what happened, correct? Correct. Yep. And then what happened after that? So you texted her and she said, yes, that's fine. So what was the next step? What did you do?
So the next step, she sent me her property address. It's all the way in Florida. And then so I decided that I had no experience wholesaler outside of Houston. So I reached out to you, Nathan, and then asked that you can JV with me on this deal. And then, uh, we, we, uh, we wholesale out.
There you go. Just bada bing, bada boom, right? Just like that. So you found this lead on Facebook without having to spend any money. And, and then you, you found out that she was willing to sell for cash and then you, you gave it to me and then I called her and then I started negotiating. Is that, is that kind of the, the, the gist of the story?
Yep. That's right. And then you, uh, you call her and then you, uh, negotiate everything live on a, on a stream. Yeah.
And then I, I was in, uh, in that too, in that live too. You were?
Yeah, I listened to everything.
What did you learn from that conversation I had with her?
So she asking for the retail price, and then I saw, so there is no way for her to offer her cash offer below the ARVs. So you show me one advanced way. What is it?
Say creative financing?
Yeah, creative finance. And then with A little down with a little down payment.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
And then that's, that's exactly right. So everybody that's watching, so what happened is I called the seller that Henry brought me and she had some motivation. There was motivation that she wanted to sell. She had multiple properties in Florida. She was from California and she just wanted to get rid of it. She wanted retail, like close to retail. And I told her like, hey, the only way we're able to buy this property for you know, close to what you're asking is if we buy it on terms. If you can give me the terms, I can give you the price. That's basically what I said. And she said she was okay with that. Now, the thing when you make cash offers is they have to be really, really low because you have to have your, your holding costs, your hard money costs, all the fees of the flipper that's going to put the rehab, make his profit, and then resell it. You have to get it down very low. This property was an Airbnb. Already fixed up, already was cash flowing pretty good for her. She just didn't want it anymore. So I said, hey, the only way we can do this, if we come into this deal, we can take over your payments and then we can pay you your price in a balloon payment out in a couple of years from now. And but I can't bring any money to the deal because it's just not going to work. And she said that was okay. Now, Henry, I've been doing this for a long time. Not a lot of people are usually open to zero down that I've experienced, but she was. And it's because she just didn't want the headache of the deal anymore. She just didn't want it. So a very interesting situation. Like I said, I wasn't— didn't think she was going to accept that, but that's why you just have to get on the phone and ask people questions and see what's the best option for them, you know what I'm saying? So, Henry, what advice would you give everybody that's, uh, you know, on the Painless Wholesaling Podcast that's going to listen to this or that's watching this live or will watch it? What advice would you give to them about getting started in real estate just like you have?
All right, so, so my first advice that I don't make a mistake like me. Yes, you, you, you don't have to spend a lot of money, uh, to, to, to, to, to put a list and then, uh, cold call and then marketing. It's a— it really costs a lot of money. And then just, just find a free way to do that and then stick with that, and then you definitely will get your first deal like me.
That's right, bro. And you got— you said we JVD on this deal, so I got it closed, I sold it to the buyer, and, uh, we wholesaled it for $5,000, and then I got a little bit of ownership in the property and me and you just split the wholesale fee. Now obviously there's a lot bigger deals, but for us, I mean, I'm glad that he got it done. You got— did you get the money sent? I sent it to you.
Did you get it? Uh, yes, I am.
How does that feel, bro? How does that feel to have, you know, get your first check from, uh, wholesaling a deal?
Uh, it feels wonderful. Yeah, so, so that's, uh, at that time I know I, I can wholesale again and again, bro.
Let's do it again and again. And the key, Henry, I'm just telling you, the key is finding opportunities and, and motivation. You just have to find someone who wants to sell and is open to a cash offer, and they're open to, if not like a lower cash offer, open to terms. That's it. You're just looking for ways that you can help people. Because if you call someone like me and say, hey, can I buy your house, I'll give you cash offer, I'm not motivated. There's no reason for me to sell my house at a discount. But if someone has a situation where it's a rental, they need to fix the property or anything, you, you just have to find those opportunities, right? That's what you got to do. Well, everybody, again, This is it. Henry's doing it. I'm doing it. If we can do it, you can do it. Don't let, I guess, being apprehensive or scared or maybe not feeling like you're good enough stop you because you definitely, definitely have what it takes. You can do it. All you have to do is do the actions. And another thing is, if you don't feel like you know how to do the whole negotiation process, you can partner up with people. There's so many people out there that would love to help you out. You know, if you have a property and you just maybe don't know how to negotiate it, maybe you can't even go see it. It's not in your market and the seller wants you to go see it. Collaborate, work with people, because that's what we're all here for. We want to help each other succeed.
Yep, yep.
So, Henry, before we sign off, because I know you got to go and so do I, what last piece of advice would you give everyone on this podcast? What's the last thing you want to leave, like a golden nugget, something you want to leave everybody with?
All right, so if, uh, if you was still struggle, like, let me in the back, uh, try to guess your first possible scenario, you should join Nathan Payne's mentorship. He will guide you one-on-one from, from, what is it, come to the property and then negotiate with the seller, and then as said, written up the contract, and then send that to the seller to sign, and then after that send to the title, and then The last thing, if I buy a—
yeah, that's right, brother. You know, hey, I'm always down to help out where I can, and I was so happy I could help you out, Henry. We both, we both benefited from it. Now, there actually are some little couple questions that have come through on here on the, on the Facebook group. Let me— is it okay if I ask you one of the questions, Henry, someone had? Sure, sure. So someone just asked, so we just go to Facebook groups and look for deals wholesalers can't move? That— is that true, Henry, that you just go to Facebook groups and look for deals that aren't selling?
Uh, yes. So, so, so Facebook is one way. You can actually, uh, go outside looking for a, a broken-down house and then make an offer on that. And you can, uh, you can go to the MLS and then, uh, make an offer. So that's, uh, some way to do the wholesale. Facebook is only one of the way.
That's true. Yeah. So Facebook is a free way to drive for dollars and mark properties and then make offers. That's a free way. And then, you know, MLS is a free way and JVing. JVing, kind of like how we JV'd technically, you know, you brought me a deal. I didn't spend any money. You didn't spend any money. So this was like an ultimate free deal that no money was spent on, which is great. And I love those because, you know, a lot of people will talk about, oh, I made $50,000, I made $40,000, I made whatever. And it sounds like a great big number. But they never tell you how much money they spent to get the deal. And sometimes they can make $10,000, but they've probably spent $10,000. So really they're breaking even or losing money. So don't always get stuck, everybody, on how big it is because no one is ever going to tell you how much they spent or usually they don't, you know.
Yeah, they always show the gross profit, but not the net profit.
Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And we're all about the net, right? Henry, we don't care about the gross, especially if the gross, if it doesn't mean anything, you know, you're not netting anything. Yeah.
If the expander take all the profit, then, uh-uh.
That's right. Well, everybody, um, you know, Henry, well, everybody congratulate Henry. Leave in the comment section and say, Henry, you're freaking awesome. Reach out to Henry if you need anything. Please reach out to me and my team if you need anything, if we can help you out. And Henry, I want you to have a great day, man. I'm proud of you for working hard. Keep working hard and you're going to achieve your dreams, man. You're going to be a landlord. You're you're going to have all the properties you want. Just never give up.
All right. Thank you. Thank you, Nathan Payne Payne.
All right, everybody. Peace out. We'll talk to you later on the next podcast. Peace.
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