All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

Joel is 100% right on the money. Most residential agents know some investors, but few specialize in investment properties and actually study it the way a commercial agent would.

A lot of the times they do a CMA on it without taking into account the income or expenses. I have seen several investment properties (ie duplex) with NEGATIVE CASH FLOW at full retail price because the agent had no idea what they were doing.

This isn't an attack on agents as I am licensed myself, but people should stick to their niche. When you aren't a top producer it's just hard to turn down listings, even if the code of ethics says you should.

The choice is pretty easy, go for the guy who already has experience with the neighborhood.

I hate hearing "use him" for 2%. He's not a prostitute.

You're right, however even old timers need to lead generate (their old contacts for example).

I'm not joking, there's an agent at the office, some folks told him they thought he was dead. If he had been more proactive and did semi regular calls / mailings, they would probably have given him some sales/referrals.

Like Bill mentioned, every case will be different. It's hard to put a %.

The Keller Williams model is to do 2 hours a day between 9 and 11. That is a reproduceable model you can follow. 2 hours of calling sphere of influence, leads, cold calls to expired etc.

But it's all relative. I can send 50,000 postcards in 15 minutes and get much better results (if I had the money to do it repeatedly ;)

If you want to do door knocking or cold calling, the % is going to be much higher to reach the volume of calls needed.

If you lean on your team (in a good way) then age/experience isn't as much of an issue. You don't talk about how many houses you personally have sold, you talk about the fact your team, or your office, has sold XX million worth of real estate this year, which amounts to XX transactions per month.

You present yourself as a cog in the machine, as opposed to an individual.

Like James said, most people should start part-time. Very few people do well at first. But to be honest, I hate to repeat this in every thread but what is her goal?

Real estate IS something that people just pick up one day and start doing. That's why so few people stick with it long term. For a lot of careers you need to be in college for 4+ years while to be an agent in some states you can do it in 1 week.

Yes, she can do it part time but make sure it's something she wants to do long term and not just a hobby she'll get bored with after 6 months.

Most of the answers depend on what your goals are.

ie Are you only wanting to do it to check MLS and do 1-2 deals a year, or do you want to find clients part-time like friends and family, or are you thinking of transitioning into a full time real estate agent?

I hate to answer your questions by asking more questions. You were talking about covering the costs by doing 1-2 transaction per year. In a case like this I personally wouldn't bother. Having MLS access would be nice but is it worth spending money and a lot of time with continuing education etc?

I don't know the specifics about California but in general, you can find auctions through:

1) The newspapers

2) The local auctioneers' website

3) Trustees' website

I'm sure there's other ways but those are the ones I personally check.

Hey Brenda,

That's great to hear. What got you thinking about those 4 states?

It's a lot more complicated than that. Each state has its own rules, each board has its own rules etc.

Typically salespersons can't get any referrals/commissions, only the broker can.

The spirit of the rules is that you have to disclose to people that you have a vested interest in them purchasing the thing.

Some attic insulation guys just gave us a presentation at the office and they give you a kickback if you sell their stuff. We couldn't just tell homebuyers "oh by the way, have you thought about getting better insulation? you could save on your electric bill.. here, call this number".

Note that I'm talking about a product here, not a mortgage.

I really don't recommend that you do anything before you've talked to your broker and understand this well.