All Forum Posts by: Dan Bernstein

@Joe S. You agent should ask the other agent about other offers and depending on the circumstance, you might want to add an escalation addendum to your offer.  In DC, most of our clients are dropping most, if not all, of the contingencies in a multiple offer situations.  In this case, it is a bit surprising that a cash buyer would come over the top when they property has been sitting so long.  Did they just do a price reduction?

@Steve Vaughan...I guess you need to know what questions to ask.  

I think if you ask your realtor to help you analyze a deal, he/she should be able to outline the basics, pull out their phone, punch some numbers and give you advice on the spot.

Also, who do they know?  If you are doing deals, you should have a great broker network and great cooperating partners. 

What are they currently working on? 

For commercial real estate, do they have CoStar? Are they paying 8-10K per year for a commercial MLS. I have seen many residential realtors list serious commercial assets on the residential MLS.

Are they there to act in their own best interest, or the best interest of the client?  There is a huge problem in this industry when Realtors take on sales that they are grossly unqualified to handle.  This typically happens out of greed and an unwillingness to bring on a cooperating expert.

Here's a great question:  What do you do when you run into a problem that you haven't seen before?  

There are so many things to list, I could spend all day on this...Go with your gut.  A huge red flag is when someone oversells their service.  They talk talk talk and never listen.

@Steve Vaughan, this is always an interesting topic.  I have noticed that many of our larger commercial clients never question our 3% fee on an off market acquisition.  Its mostly the investors that are just starting out or have a few deals that try to avoid agents like the plague.  Obviously, my opinion might be a little biased, but I like to think its like anything else, some Realtors and Brokers are "good" and some are "bad".  Its also hard to quantify a good agents value, since a buyer/seller will never know how much $$ they lost during the transaction due to poor negotiation.  You don't know, what you don't know.  I do this full time and I'm learning every day.

@John Herbert Please send some more details to [email protected].

Thanks!

@Kyle Lange Happy to help you through the process.  I'll PM you.

@Josh Liang Another option would be a 2-4 plex in the dc metro.  You can count 75% of the rental income to offset your debt to income.  This means for the same amount of money down, you can finance multiple units under 1 roof.  A four plex is a great place to start.  There are many available in DC.

@Joe Ian, @Ozzy Sirimsi is correct, make sure to get someone who has expertise in the specific type of property you are looking for.

@Sean Price Depending on price and location, there are countless neighborhoods in and around the DC metro that could work.  Falls Church could be a good option.  Close proximity to the DC Metro, high rated school and lower price per sqft than Arlington.  Only downside, in Falls Church City, the taxes are higher.  I agree with @Tom Gimer, you should factor in the commute.

@Justin Blankenship, If you want to receive a commission fee, legally you will be required to hold a license.  I am not sure about getting paid through assigning the contract.  I would be concerned with being sued for practicing real estate without a license.  Consult a real estate lawyer and/or a broker.  

I agree with @Ned Carey, there are many potential ethical issues with wholesaling and the rep of the industry being full of "bottom feeders".

@Christopher J Lemmon

Anything over 4 units will need either commercial lending, seller financing or private equity.  Generally, it will make more sense to go with a 4 unit over a 5 unit, because a commercial loan will have at least a point higher interest rate.  You would have to analyze the difference in cost spread where it makes sense going commercial based on the number of units compared with the interest rate.  Also, the term of a commercial loan will be shorter typically...10-15 years.  If you need a commercial or residential lender referral, PM me.