The Complete Guide to Buying and Selling Contracts in Finance and Real Estate

You’ve probably heard people talk about “buying and selling contracts” as a way to generate income. But when you hear that phrase, what comes to mind? Is it the fast-paced, high-stakes environment of Wall Street, with traders shouting over blinking screens? Or is it the world of real estate, where savvy investors flip properties without ever holding the keys?

Here’s the interesting part: you could be right either way.

The term “buying and selling contracts” is an umbrella that covers two distinct, popular, yet fundamentally different activities. For anyone just starting to explore this topic, the biggest hurdle is understanding which path they’re actually on. Let’s clear up the confusion and explore these two worlds, so you can see how they work and what makes them unique.

What Does “Buying and Selling Contracts” Actually Mean?

At its core, buying and selling a contract means you are trading the rights and obligations outlined in a legal agreement, rather than the physical asset itself (like a stock or a house). You’re essentially speculating on the future value of that underlying asset. But how this plays out depends entirely on the market you’re in.

The two most common arenas for this are financial markets and real estate. While both involve contracts, they operate under different rules, carry different risks, and require different skills. Understanding this distinction is the first and most important step.

Path 1: The World of Financial Options Contracts

When people in finance talk about trading contracts, they are almost always referring to options contracts. This is a popular form of derivative trading tied to stocks, commodities, or other financial assets.

So, what is an options contract?

An options contract is a legal agreement that gives the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a predetermined price (known as the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date).

Think of it like putting a deposit down on a hot new video game. You pay a small fee to reserve your copy at today’s price. If a glowing review comes out and the price skyrockets, you can still buy it for the lower price you locked in. If the game gets terrible reviews, you can just walk away, losing only your small deposit.

In this world, there are two primary types of contracts you can buy or sell. Understanding them is key to grasping the basics.

• Call Options: A call option gives you the right to buy an asset at the strike price. You buy a call when you believe the price of the underlying asset is going to rise.
• Put Options: A put option gives you the right to sell an asset at the strike price. You buy a put when you believe the price of the underlying asset is going to fall.

The “price” of an options contract is called the premium. This is what you pay for the right to control the shares. Your goal is to sell the contract for a higher premium than you paid before it expires, profiting from the change in the underlying asset’s perceived value.

Path 2: The World of Real Estate Contract Flipping

On the other side of the coin is buying and selling contracts in real estate, a practice commonly known as “wholesaling” or “contract flipping.” Here, you aren’t dealing with stocks on an exchange; you’re dealing with physical properties.

How does it work? A real estate wholesaler finds a motivated seller (someone who needs to sell their property quickly, often at a discount) and gets the property under contract. This is a standard sales contract that gives the wholesaler the right to purchase the property.

However, instead of buying the property themselves, the wholesaler finds another buyer—typically a real estate investor or house flipper—and sells them the rights to the contract. This is done through a legal process called “assignment.” The end buyer then closes on the property with the original seller, and the wholesaler earns an assignment fee for finding and securing the deal.

The key here is that the wholesaler never actually owns the property. They are simply controlling it with a contract and selling that control to someone else for a profit. They are a middleman who profits from connecting a discounted property with a ready buyer. This is different from buying the property outright, which would be governed by an asset purchase agreement.

Before weighing risks and rewards, it’s important to step back and understand the legal landscape that governs these activities.