All Forum Posts by: Brian D. Beatty

Dallas,

Good bet, on moving away from the Stock Market! I just rolled Half on my IRA into a Self Directed Ira and picking up rentals now. Diversification should leverage the downside of the next dip! Also have contacts in Atlanta.

Steven,

Sorry to hear your situation. Biggest Hurdles may be your debt to income ratio, if you have a extreme amount on credit cards. My mortgage connection tells me the VA loans he deals with are pretty forgiving and the FICO score can be in the Low 500's. The other question would be the cost of Duplexes, in these areas, I am not familiar with your area? Our local market has limited supply and very high demand, so they don't last long and go for top dollar! When purchasing with a VA Loan, some of the Sellers do not entertain these offers with some of the requirements. Which only makes the pool of available homes smaller. You definitely want to find the right agent and Loan officer in that area, who is knowledgeable in the Duplex market and what hurdles you will face through the VA loan process. Good luck, I may have resources for you, if you need?

A good agent is definitely a great starting point. One that invests themselves is important. Most residential agents do not understand the investors needs. They need to understand that the strategy, whether its cash flow or appreciation or the buy low and add value (where the value add is in every property), to know what your goals are and then present you with opportunities. You can still do your own research and find deals, but try not to work with more than 1 agent per Market. If you want to build a long term relationship, for future deals. Also your Realtor, down the road, will start to know what you are looking for and start presenting them before you ask. Hope this helps, I will message you, might have a connection for you.

Brian Beatty

Sending you a PM. 

Try Googling "What is required to start a Property Management Company in Florida". It will give you links to pages that have different criteria. Depends on the level of business you run.

https://bizfluent.com/how-6708729-start-property-management-company-florida.html

This above link was the first one I saw. DBPR is the department that sets the requirements. 

Chris,

It depends if the person referring has a Real Estate License, in Florida we only allowed to give a gift of no more than $25.00 to non-licensed referral. Licensed referral can be what ever you negotiate what ever percentage, the referral agent will allow. Typical is 25%-35% of the commission. 

In the State of Florida, you are allowed to property manage your own properties. To legally property manage others properties requires a Brokers License and established Escrow account, to Start. In order to get the Brokers license, you have to have a minimum 2 years as licensed agent. So unless you have a Brokers license or can partner with one, that's the beginning. 

Benjamin,

As a Buyer, you should bring your Real Estate Agent, to represent you! You can allow the Listing agent to Facilitate the entire transaction, which they will be happy to do (since they are now doubling their commission, in most cases). Find a good agent, that will look out for your best interest. Lender may be fine, but if your agent has a history with a certain lender, sometimes they communicate well and help smooth the process for you.  

You do not, but like Mindy said, You may want an attorney to look over the contract, make sure you are not missing anything. Also as a Buyers agent, they are typically paid by the Sellers agent splitting a portion of the commission, they are collecting. You may pay around $300 brokerage or transaction fee, to a Buyers agent. So at that cost, I would consider using this as not only someone to review the contract, but also negotiate for you, schedule any inspections (and be there, if you are an Hour away), also know the transaction process and local area better than most, since they are active in it daily? Just a thought!

Your agent may be used to selling homes to Soccer Mom's in Mini-Vans! This does not make sense, for a newbie, you don't have a big portfolio to leverage taxes. Nor should your agent be advising you on it! Their job is to find, analyze, negotiate the deal and get you through the process. Any tax implication should be analyzed by your CPA. Sounds like this agent wants to show as few properties and get their commission!