a property and then assigns or sells their rights to that contract to another investor. That investor then assigns their rights to said contract to a third investor and so forth. In many cases wholesalers work together ensuring that all parties get paid on a transaction. This practice is often frowned upon in the real estate community since it seems unethical or illegal. In practice there is nothing illegal about wholesaling or assigning rights to a purchase contract even if it is multiple times. It is important to understand that the reason there is an opportunity to wholesale is because the original seller is selling the property for substantially less than market value. This usually occurs when either the property or the seller is in distress. Examples of distress could be a property damaged by fire, flood, hurricane or a homeowner that is facing foreclosure and is about to lose their home and is selling it for substantially less than fair market value. The practice of buying real estate at substantially below market value is called Distressed Real Estate Investing or Wholesale Real Estate Investing hence the term "wholesaler". Real estate flipping Profits from flipping real estate come from either buying low and selling high (often in a rapidly rising market), or buying a house that needs repair and fixing it up before reselling it for a profit ("fix and flip"). Under the "fix and flip" scenario, an investor or flipper will purchase a property at a discount price. The discount may be because of: the property's condition (e.g., the house needs major renovation and/or repairs which the owner either does not want, or cannot afford, to do), or the owner(s) needing to sell a property quickly (e.g., relocation, divorce, pending foreclosure). The investor will then perform necessary renovations and repairs, and attempt to make a profit by selling the house quickly at a higher price. The "fix and flip" scenario is profitable to investors because the average homebuyer lacks the time and funds to repairs and renovations, so they look for a property that is ready to move into. Also, most traditional mortgage lenders require the home to be habitable with no significant repairs. Second home flipping In the UK, Members of Parliament with constituencies outside of London are given an allowance to maintain an extra home in London allowing them to live closer to the Houses of Parliament