Initially, do I tell my financing partner I’m selling the deal for $270,000 plus my $10,000 wholesale fee, or do I tell them I am selling the deal for $280,000 without mentioning the wholesale fee.

When you email or speak with the financing partner, let them know of the price you want to sell the property at with your wholesale fee included into that price. In this case, that price would be $280k because you got the property under contract at $270k & your desired wholesale fee is $10k.

You do not need to tell your cash buyer of your specific wholesale fee right out of the gate. He will come to realize it if he wants the deal, but his initial thoughts only need to be on the property and if he wants it or not. Serious cash buyers should not care about your wholesale fee as long as they are making the profit they need to make the deal work for their criteria.

For example, here's one way you can word it:

"Hi (*Financing Partner Name*),

I have a property under contract and the purchase price will be $280k, the repairs needed on the property are about $30k, and the ARV is $370k. Please let me know if you would like to move forward on this property as I will be working with the investor who is the best in communication and acts quickly.

I look forward to potentially working with you on this property and many more down the line!

Thank you,

(Your Name)"

A great saying is "never count another person's money." This is how the best financing partners / cash buyers are. They shouldn’t care about paying you $10k or $100k from a wholesale fee as long as they hit the minimum returns they need on a deal.