All Forum Posts by: Darren Sager

VERY nice information in this thread.  I'd say this is one of the things I love about the BP forums.  There's gold nuggets everywhere.  This is a BIG one.  I don't think I could add much other than if you have older properties with steam boilers to check the water levels and coloration on a consistent basis to make sure system is operating at peak efficiency.  We normally service the boilers about a month into the season after they've loosened up anything which then made it's way back to the boiler.    :) 

Buyer's agent commissions are typically paid for with a share by the listing agent however there are many times where this can be not the case, or the commission shared is less than what would be considered an average rate.  If you're working with a buyer's agent they may require you to sign an agreement that they get paid out a minimum amount, a minimum commission rate, or a combo of both to cover themselves if you choose a property that this happens to be the case.  A for sale by owner could be a situation where this comes up, or a listing agent decides they only want to share 1% and take 5% for themselves, because they can.  Listing agents can share whatever they want.  It's a share not a guarantee to the buyers agents.  IF a buyers agent values their time they will in many cases have a buyer sign an agreement (we do) to cover themselves so they're not out there working for nothing.  This bothers a lot of buyers saying that they shouldn't have to pay anything however I'm sure that they don't work for free or let anyone else dictate how much they're making at their salaried job without knowing it first.  If you value the buyer's agents knowledge and skillset, then value their position by giving them a sense of security knowing that they don't need to fear working for just being kind in helping others find a home.

Go to the BiggerPockets Events and Happenings area to find local meetups in the NJ Essex County area.  They exist!  Just plug in.

Arvit just go into the Real Estate Events and Happenings section here on the BiggerPockets forums and you'll see that there are plenty of ways for you to not recreate the wheel with other networking events already in place.  Just plug in.

@Mike Adams most investors think they're helping themselves by locking in a tenant for life at particular rate and not increasing the rents.  Here's the perfect scenario which shows how they shoot themselves in the foot by doing so. And yet they still want market value for a property that doesn't come close to producing market value rents.   If you can't get a loan on it, you're left to cash buyers only and they usually want a discount.

We'll use whatever word the state tells us to use in that locality.  As long as the $$$ comes in on the first of the month,  I personally don't care what they call us.

Move on to another lender. It's evident they don't care about your business.  There are plenty who will.  

Time will tell for sure.  Would be great to see it repealed regardless if it means that taxes will go up in other places.

@Elvin Salcedo really depends on what you can afford to and what your tolerance to risk is.  Those will better determine which areas of the Tampa- St. Pete region may be good for you.  We're also looking down there ourselves.  

@Tyler Psenicska why can you list with another realtor and get a referral back on your own property? You can negotiate more than a standard referral fee if you're willing to do most of the heavy lifting. And it'll come across better to the public than a FSBO. Sure there's some hungry newer agent that would jump at it just to get all the possible buyer leads and the chance to get the buyer's side of the transaction too.