All Forum Posts by: Abel Curiel

Hello @William Arias,

Welcome to the community!

I think several members here will agree that wholesaling abroad brings challenges to an already challenging business. You will be competing with people who have 'boots on the ground' and can visit any property owner with short notice.

While wholesaling from afar is possible, it is recommended to begin closer to home. If you're expecting property owners to sell their home to you at a discount, you'll need to earn their trust - whether that be by demonstrating a successful track record with purchasing/selling similar deals OR by meeting them face to face and separating yourself from the dozens of local investors and realtors.

Lastly, I'd recommend searching past posts related to this topic as well as checking out books related to your target investment strategies.

All the best!

Abel

Hello @Lorraine Hadden,

I've represented several sellers who were previously listed FSBO.

The 2 most common experiences are:

1. Seller reluctantly decides to sell with me after weeks of negotiating commission and asking price. These sellers can be more critical of everything you do i.e. the property description posted, choice of images to upload, frequency and time of open houses, negotiations etc. 
2. Seller is an investor who sells dozens of properties each year (some of them via fsbo) but ultimately give in and choose to let you list b/c they’re having trouble offloading this particular property OR want to spend their time on something else. These sellers hand you the keys and stay out of the way until its time to sign a contract. 

To answer the title of your post, selling fsbo can be a good idea if:

- you have experience selling RE

- you price the home to sell

- you have systems in place to collect inquiries and facilitate showings i.e. call center/email/google forms for screening inquiries, showing agent, lockbox, security alarm, etc. 
- you have dozens of local agents who can market the property for you and bring you a buyer

- you are listing in a desirable area with low-inventory 

- you are not in a rush to sell

Has the client mentioned any agreements - past or present, written or verbal - between them and the principal broker?

Client agreements have expiration dates and oftentimes include clauses that entitle agents to commission several months after the expiration of the buyer agreement. In the commercial space, different rules may apply.

Other than this, you'd have to discuss the logistics with your broker. What I can say is that in any business, it can take years or decades to create and nurture a client relationship. Your broker may feel entitled to an additional split based on past dealings or conversations with this client.

Hello @Sol Baum,

Does the principal broker have a signed (and current) agreement with this party? i.e. single proper Buyer agreement, exclusive buyer agreement, etc.

Does the principal broker her a signed agency disclosure with this party?

Do you have a disclosure or buyer agreement signed with this buyer?

Was there a referral agreement signed at any point for this party?

Lastly, what is on your ICA? Is there any team/commission agreement that you've signed with your broker to outline what the splits are in a situation like this?

If there is no agreement signed and this person is just someone listed from the broker's database, I do not believe it is acceptable for the broker to collect a split in addition to the house split.

If you are to consider negotiating this additional split, there is a lot to take into account here... what is the % of business that you generate on your own vs. how much your broker contributes? How much do you value the broker relationship? How will 5, 10, 25, 50% on a deal affect the business relationship?

Hello  @Thomas Sheehan,

If your goal is to invest in an apartment where you don't have to concern yourself with maintenance and cap Ex, this deal (or perhaps another with similar rents and lower price) could make sense.

The downside to deals like this is that your rents could eventually hit a ceiling as newer apartments (some with more amenities) become available. You have less control with a property like this when compared to other asset classes.

The upside here is that it seems there is room for negotiation because of the below-market rent tenants.

If you're looking to put down $200-250K, I would recommend looking into a multifamily property, especially one with additional income potential. 

Two recent clients purchased properties with less than $250K down in New Hyde Park and Lynbrook.

One property has a detached garage to bring in additional income and the other has a 1-bedroom ADU.

Both deals cashflow.

These aren't easy to find in a seller's market but they're out there. 

Lastly, have you tried running the #s to look at long-term appreciation on a unit like this vs. a Single-family or Multi-family property?
A rental property analysis can give you a different perspective. 
In my experience, apartments do not have the same long-term value growth as 1-4 unit properties.

All the best!

Abel

Hello @James Wang,

Your current management experience will be helpful as a realtor in NY.

What are some specialization of realtors? : I understand that there is commercial and residential, but there has got to be subgroups

While I don't think you need to niche down immediately, some specializations in residential RE are:
- Co-op
- Condo (incl. luxury)
- SFR (median pricepoint)
- SFR Luxury
- MFR
- Rentals

There are a ton of commercial RE specializations including retail (various types), restaurant, other food/bev., warehouse, storage, and dozens more.

What should I expect when first coming into the profession ?

Expect to spend a considerable amount of your time speaking to people.
Expect to work dozens of hours/week with little to no immediate result.
Expect most of your early interest from potential clients to come from your sphere of influence.
Expect to go 3-6 months without getting paid (unless you do rentals which usually pay faster)
Expect to be bombarded with distractions - mainly, people/companies marketing to you so that you choose their system for quick and easy buyer or seller leads. Other distractions include non income-producing activities - aka any distraction pulling you to do something other than speaking with and following up with people.

How can I prepare myself? recommended steps 30, 60, 90-180 days of getting my realtor license

1. Create a list (you can download a csv from your phone) of ALL of your contacts.
2. Call/text/email/DM everyone you know to let them know you're in the RE business. Don't say "i'm trying something new" or "I'm thinking of getting into RE" or anything else that could make people take you less seriously.
3. Find ways to consistently and systematically add more people to your database each week - i.e. cold calling, networking, online marketing
4. Use a CRM to save everyone's contact info, set reminders for yourself to follow-up, create follow-up campaigns, etc.
5. Work on your business as well as in your business. Dedicate time to "2nd quadrant activities" (Stephen R. Covey).
6. Read: The millionaire real estate agent; Hyper Local Hyper Fast Agent

What are some effective ways to network with individuals at all levels?

Find local events via eventbrite, meetup, and here on BP. 
The best advice on this topic, in my opinion, comes from 2 books:
How to win friends and influence people
Never eat alone

I am also looking for brokerages to work with or even experienced shadow / intern for to gain experience and additional knowledge.

Basically any brokerage will want to have you on. For brokers, it is a numbers game and most of them want to consistently bring on new agents.
You may have to meet with multiple brokers to decide which is the best fit for you.

All the best!

Abel

Hello @Brandon Tusing,

I agree with @Bob Stevens. Most serious and qualified tenants are searching on the major 3rd party platforms you mentioned + realtor.com, redfin, and a few others.

Apartments.com & homes.com are owned by the same company and may offer some additional marketing options.

Another strategy to consider here is social media - video marketing. Specifically, creating a video that other agents in your market can use to post. 

There was a guy here in NYC (CashJordan or CashGordon?) who would post tons of local rental listings and had a massive following on IG and YT. If you find someone (or multiple agents) who are taking advantage of similar marketing strategies, you can get more inquiries this way.

Lastly, I'd recommend an email campaign to all buyer, listing, and rental agents who are active the same area as the rental listing.

All the best!

@Jay Check welcome to BP!

Try searching Morgan Reed in Atlanta, GA. 

Not sure what company he is associated with currently but he does a lot of business in the area including wholesale deals.

Thats what it is all about right there!

Blessings!

1. about 30 hours assuming we have a lockbox in place. Close to double that if owner wants the listing agent present for showings

2. ask for pre-approval, ID, timeline, duration of home search, reason for buying, and additional pre-screening questions as needed