All Forum Posts by: Brendan Taylor

Quote from @Eric Vlahos:

Quote from @Brendan Taylor:

As someone who is local to the area I would pick Akron. The appreciation topic the last guy mentioned is something to consider but I would not invest in Cuyahoga Falls for appreciation anyway so go where cash flow is stronger. You’ll probably get similar if not better appreciation numbers in parts of Akron anyway. Not that either place will be great for appreciation. Take the cash flow in Akron. If your concern is self managing, a tenant can take advantage of you anywhere at any rent amount. 

 Great points. What parts of Akron? I've eyed North Hill, various spots of Firestone Park, and Highland Square. What areas have you been looking at?

Those areas work. Wallhaven and Ellet are also going to be a little “nicer” if that is what you want. Although Wallhaven prices are starting to not work for buy and hold unless you buy a multi family or find a good deal. Goodyear Heights another area to consider as well as parts of Kenmore. 

As someone who is local to the area I would pick Akron. The appreciation topic the last guy mentioned is something to consider but I would not invest in Cuyahoga Falls for appreciation anyway so go where cash flow is stronger. You’ll probably get similar if not better appreciation numbers in parts of Akron anyway. Not that either place will be great for appreciation. Take the cash flow in Akron. If your concern is self managing, a tenant can take advantage of you anywhere at any rent amount. 

Any licensed agents in Ohio that are wholesaling out there? Have some questions for you as online resources are not answering specific questions for me. Thanks in advance!

I am a relatively new agent. Real estate has treated me well so far but i have to be honest, I HATE calling leads whether they be buyers or sellers. I dread it. Its the worst part of the day and often I do not do it. Still my business has grown over the past 6 months.

Many people have told me you just need to do it. Make calls. Make calls. Then make more calls. I think that is terrible advice. I believe my disdain for calling is counterproductive. Maybe its the millennial in me who just hates talking on the phone.

My thoughts are why not hire someone to do this for me? If I do my due diligence in the hiring process it will be someone who is much better at it than me and launches my business to the next level. I would most likely have to get a personal loan to pay this person so some risk involved but I see it as being very calculated. This person would make me money by gaining appointments because face to face interaction is where I excel. If I take a step back in the short term then so be it. 

I guess my question is what do people look for when hiring someone? This would be my first hire and I want to get it right. Also to people who have had success with ISAs, whether they be in house or virtual, what do you look for? Any advice on this topic would be much appreciated. 

Sent you a PM. I would love to help.

Welcome Erik. Always great to see more locals on here. 

Like many have said look into discount brokers. A full time agent is gonna have a tough time charging only 4%. With discount brokers you will get it on the MLS but that may be it. It could be a great fit and work out perfectly. At the end of the day you can mess around with commissions but sometimes you miss out on the dollars because you are worried about the cents.

I really like 44310 for buy and holds. Definitely my favorite zip code for that. Otherwise it all depends on your budget and strategy. Obviously Highland Square, Walhaven, Merriman Hills,  etc. are the most desirable areas to find flips but hard to make the numbers work there. 

It all depends on your strategy and what you want out of real estate. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions. I'm here to help.

Originally posted by @Dan Roma:

Thanks Brendan Taylor , Thank you so much, that was a great synopsis. Where would I be able to get information on sales per agencies and any other metric to make my decision easier? Also, what is the typical desk fee? And, do you think mentoring is needed, especially in the beginning?

You can check out the national brokerages numbers for deal per agent but most of that is all propaganda. Yes, I work under the RE/MAX brand but really I work for myself. Ask the broker of the franchise or office what the number of transactions per year the average agent does there. If its below 12 thats a red flag for me. 

Desk fees are usually $100ish. At least in my market. I am not sure how they differ. For me I get your typical stuff: showing time, dotloop, bomb bomb, etc. but the big kicker is that I have access to a top of the line CRM. A good CRM is priceless when staying in contact with and managing your database. 

Mentoring is definitely something that is needed but paying for it, I am not so sure. Unless you think this mentor is going to really invest their time into helping you do not pay for that. I help people and I do not ask for any referral fee. You can not make it without a little help in this business and all I ask is they return the favor one day. Try to find a mentor that invests time in you and sees your potential. This might involve joining a team at first. Yes, that means lower commission splits but a good team feeds you leads and, ultimately, deals that you were never going to have anyway. 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing. Plus if you are on a team, the team leader must be pretty good at what he/she does and you can learn from them. 

Typically realtors do not like to deal with wholesalers. You would have to be willing to offer some kind of commission for the realtor. Buyers are not very willing to cover the commission because they are use to no charge for the realtors services.