All Forum Posts by: Anthony Vann

When you click on the house in the HUD website it should take you to a page with multiple tabs. One of those tabs is where HUD does their own inspection so you should already have an idea of what the issues are. It's called the property condition report I believe. They test the electrical, the plumbing, the HVAC, and if it doesn't work it's usually on that report. With that said, in my area, HUD always allows you to do an inspection. But as an investor you can't use that inspection to get your EMD back and they make it difficult to get out of the purchase unless HUD approves your reason.

Following.

While I don't have any book recommendations, I wouldn't invest in an area I hadn't researched and didn't know. In my part of Virginia there are neighborhoods that run the gamut and many times they're fairly close to each other. Especially when you're looking at B versus C versus warzone. Maybe go to a local REI meeting and get to know the people who do deals in your area or hook up with a local realtor and ask if they could give you some insight.

Every state has different rules for their agents but it would be very difficult to be an agent and a wholesaler. As an agent you have a fiduciary responsibility to get the most for your clients. So, if you get a house under contract for 50K then assign that for 55K the owner could say you knew it would go for 55K in the first place and file a complaint to whatever your overseeing department is in Texas. In VA it's DPOR. As an agent you are held to a much higher standard in anything involving real estate. I would be much more worried about that aspect than the commission. Check on that first.

I just had a deal for one of my clients fall through because she co-signed on a loan for her daughter. She was devastated. With that in mind I just thought I'd ask. Since credit is such a large part of the business, do any active real estate investors co-sign on loans for anyone for any reason? If you have how has that worked out for you?

I'm conservative and pretty new to the investing side of things but I'll give you a couple of things to think about. But this advice is probably only worth what you paid for it :)

The market in my area is heating up. The more experienced flippers are making a killing. They're confident in their numbers, they're finding great deals, and they are doing very well. But I am seeing more and more unfinished flips on our MLS. Another one just came on the market today as a matter of fact.

I wouldn't chase anything. If the numbers work, they work. If they don't, they don't. Make sure you've got accurate ARVs. That might be the only thing you need to adjust. All of the properties you just mentioned I would keep on my radar and see what they actually sell for once rehabbed. If they're being picked up by people who don't really know what they're doing then they might not be making that much on them at the end of the day. You can't compete with people who'll work for free.

In my area the flips where you can make 50k are snatched up by the pros before anyone else. The semipros are looking for the 20-30k range, and if you're just starting out than all that's left is something where you can make 10-15k. Everyone here has HGTV fever and people are coming out of the woodwork so the competition is fierce. 

But the people who have been in the game much longer than I have tell me that real estate is a marathon not a sprint. So just keep trying and you'll find the right properties.

It seems like the biggest thing people are bringing up is debt. Because your college schedule is so flexible I don't see why you can't start out as an agent or do some type of paid (hopefully) internship with an REI firm part time, do school full time, and work to minimize the debt load. I went to a public college so it was far cheaper than any private university. And it's never kept me from getting anywhere I wanted to go in my career outside of real estate. I know a couple students who worked their butt off to make sure most of their education was paid for and they didn't accumulate a lot of debt. It honestly can be done. That way you get the best of both worlds. I definitely wouldn't limit my options at 21. Who know where you'll be and what you'll love doing at 41?

You might try the metal ones that @Corina Eufinger mentioned above. The sign you have pictured is the one we use when a home is for sale. In my area of Virginia because you have to anchor them so deeply in the ground you can't use those signs until you call utility companies and they come out and mark where all the lines (water, power, etc) are. It usually takes between 5-7 days to even get clearance from the city to put in the sign. It's just too much of a hassle for me.

But as to the design, they basically all look the same. Big picture of the real estate agent or company at the top and phone number below. The idea is brand awareness. You want customers to see these signs all over the place and create the idea that you are dominating the market. If that's your goal, I wouldn't get too outside the norm because by standing out you risk people thinking you're new or don't know what you're doing. Although it could work the other way too. Marketing is such a crap shoot :)

I'm a teacher. I do real estate in the afternoons and evening. For many of the younger people commenting, you might consider it. Not only do you get the benefits of helping children in your own community but you also have time after school, on weekends, and during the summer. There are a couple of nights when you're grading papers but if you manage your time during the day correctly there won't be many of those nights. My school runs from 7:20 - 2:05 and I stay after to do tutoring once a week. Most contract negotiations can be done through email so in between classes I can work on those if I need to. But most of the time I'm done with school stuff by 3:30 and I switch gears to real estate and can take care of everything in the afternoon. I don't have many properties to manage though. We'll see how well it works as I continue to grow.

I recently took the real estate licence exam and this exact scenario was one of the questions. States differ but in my state this could lead to an agent losing their license. You have a fiduciary responsibility to your client so if you know the property is worth more, then you have to sell it for your client for more. It's just like @Randy Johnston said above. Aren't you doing your client a disservice by not getting them top dollar for their property? I think you have to pick one or the other. You can't be a wholesaler and an agent because the goals of each job are different and conflicting in some cases. Just my two cents.

I have a background in education so what I see is a common problem. Remember when you were in school learning the "theory" behind whatever it is you were trying to learn. Then you hit the real world and realized that "theory" didn't exactly hold up. It's the same with everything. BP is a great place to learn the "theory" behind real estate investing. But once you go out into the real world nothing works out exactly the way it's planned. You have to adjust and modify. That's how education works. There's no way anyone can educate you on all the nuances of any subject. You just have to think your way through them when they come up. And having a solid background of "theory" and knowing how it should work helps you to do that. In my mind BP is doing exactly what it should be doing.