For many graduates, paying off student debt takes years. But one driven woman, Sadie Earl, cleared $16,000 in just 11 months using a powerful real estate side hustle: wholesaling. She did it without investing her own money and shows how anyone can follow her path.
Wholesaling as a Side Hustle
A real estate side hustle means earning extra income from housing deals while keeping your day job. Wholesaling real estate is one of the easiest and cheapest side hustles. Here’s how it works:
- Find distressed properties: run-down or vacant homes with sellers in a hurry.
- Get them under contract: you pay a small deposit to reserve the home, but you don’t buy it.
- Assign the contract to a buyer: sell that contract to someone else for a fee.
- Walk away with cash: you never own the home. You just get paid for connecting seller and buyer.
You don’t need big investment money. You need drive, a team, and a system to find good properties quickly.
Tech side hustle tip: Tools like DealMachine make this easier. You drive neighborhoods looking for houses that need work, then drop pins in the app to track properties for follow-up. It helps scale your hustle.
Why This Side Hustle Works
- Minimal startup cost: just gas, phone, and software.
- Fast turnaround: deals can close in weeks.
- High profits: typical fees range from $2,000 to $25,000 per deal.
- Scalable: do a few deals a month, then add a team.
Sadie’s Real Estate Side Hustle Journey
Sadie Earl graduated from college in May 2020 and started working for Mainstate Property Group in Indianapolis. She had $16,000 in student loans and no plans to wait years to pay them off.
“I had bigger dreams than having this cloud stand over me,” she said.
Her plan? Use her wholesaling real estate side hustle as her engine. She joined a “driving for dollars” contest at her company and leaned into it.
Step One: Build a System
To win the contest and win back her financial freedom, she:
- Picked several neighborhoods around Indianapolis.
- Spent evenings driving to find homes with signs of distress.
- Texted her future husband: “We don’t have plans after work.”
- Took note of places with uncut lawns, piled-up mail, or cars on the lawn.
She built a repeatable process: spot, log, contact, contract, repeat.
Step Two: Use the Compensation Model
Mainstate’s bonus setup rewarded sales brought in through the side hustle program. Sadie earned about 50% of the total deal revenue because she sourced the contracts herself.
Within two deals, she earned enough to pay off the entire $16,000 in loans in less than a year.
How to Find Profitable Properties
Many new wholesalers fail by adding every run-down home they see. Sadie found focusing on high-probability signs gives faster results:
- Vacancy signs – mail piled up, no tire tracks or footprints in snow.
- Tenant trouble – cars parked on lawns signal landlord stress.
- Visible distress – broken windows, damaged roofs, flaking paint.
Stick to a shortlist of these red-flag indicators. You’ll close more quickly and with better results.
Remember: Quantity is a distraction. Quality gets deals.
Real Numbers from Real Estate Side Hustle
Let’s talk dollars:
- According to industry reports, beginner wholesalers typically earn $2,000–$10,000 per deal.
- Experienced wholesalers in larger markets can pull in $15,000–$25,000 per deal.
- Sadie’s two deals totaled $16,000. That suggests each deal averaged ~$8,000. Not bad for a few evenings of side hustle work!
The takeaway: even part-time wholesalers can unlock enough income to pay off student loans or build a nest egg quickly.
Tools & Tactics for Side Hustle Wholesalers
Here are ways to start or improve your real estate side hustle:
1. Driving for Dollars
Use apps like DealMachine to catalog distressed homes in a market. Drive consistently and watch for key signs.
2. Focus Lead Lists
Choose only homes with visible neglect or vacancy. Avoid wasting time on any old run-down house.
3. Contact Owners Quickly
Use skip tracing, mailers, or direct calls. In wholesaling, speed matters more than volume.
4. Build Buyer Network
Connect with cash buyers or rehabbers ready to close fast. The easier you make the transaction, the faster you get paid.
5. Negotiate Smart
Your goal is to secure a contract price low enough to leave room for your fee. Know your margins.
6. Track Metrics
Log how many drives, calls, contacts, contracts, and deals you make. This turns your hustle into a repeatable process.
How to Turn This into a Full-Time Business
Sadie didn’t stop after one contest. After paying off her debt, she became VP of Marketing at Mainstate, and she’s now building her investment portfolio with her husband.
If you want to grow your side hustle into real income, follow these steps:
- Document your process – from driving to deal close.
- Use tech – apps for skip tracing, mailers, and deal-tracking.
- Hire help – virtual assistants or bird-doggers can scale your finders.
- Invest profits – use side hustle income to buy rentals or fund rehabs.
This builds a long-term business, not just one-off deals.
Common Questions About Real Estate Side Hustle
Q: Do you need a real estate license?
Not in most states. Wholesalers don’t buy homes; they assign contracts. Still, check your state’s rules or talk to a real estate attorney first.
Q: How much money can you make per deal?
Typical fees range from $2,000–$10,000 for starters. In bigger markets, $15,000–$25,000 is common. Sadie cleared $8,000 per deal on average.
Q: What tools should you use?
Apps like DealMachine, skip tracing tools for phone numbers and mailers, and a CRM to track contacts. Even just a phone and a notebook work if you follow up consistently.
Q: How long does each deal take?
From driving to assignment, deals can close in a few weeks. With the right buyer network, it’s a fast cycle compared to flipping homes.
Next Steps to Start Your Own Real Estate Side Hustle
- Pick a local market: focus on neighborhoods with distressed homes.
- Drive for dollars: use an app or even paper maps to mark properties.
- Contact owners: send mailers or call quickly.
- Negotiate a deal: aim low so your assignment fee is meaningful.
- Assign to buyers: have your network lined up and close fast.
- Reinvest in process: scale with tech and help.
Treat it like a business, and your side hustle can provide serious income, fast.
This side hustle approach helped Sadie pay off $16,000 of student debt in 11 months. You don’t need to be a full-time investor or have deep pockets.
With consistent work, you can earn enough to crush loans or jumpstart a real estate portfolio.
