All Forum Posts by: Debra Grumbach

Been decades since I was a real estate agent but here's what I would consider were I to do it again.

Since this is a way of being your own agent (and preserving some of your commission) and you have a "lead generating strategy" already, I would avoid agencies that require "up time." "Up time" is what we called for being stuck answering phones in the office and answering questions from "perspective buyers." 

After that I would talk with the broker directly about the commission split and other fees that the office charges each agent (desk fees, advertising fees, etc). Anything that they make every agent have, do, pay for. Just because an agency standard is a 50/50 and "up time" 2x per week, and paying for voicemail (do they still do that?!) etc, it's all negotiable. Remember, these agencies make no money unless they have agents. Then all things being equal, I might go with the agency that has the best reputation (not necessarily the largest). After all, when you put out a sign on a listing, it will have your name AND THEIR NAME on it. 

Thanks everyone. Looks like I just need to find someone else than the person I was referred to! That's what I was thinking.

Just starting out and spoke with a mortgage broker in Dallas, TX. He told me you cannot get conventional financing on an investment property for loans under $70K (which puts minimum purchase price at about $90K). I'm looking to start small buying condos and that price range will not cash flow from the properties I have evaluated (just running the known numbers). He told me this is true for all of Texas. 

So first question, is this true?

Second question, where would you go next? I plan on speaking with my credit union and then local banks and see if they will do a portfolio loan.

Third - he also told me that blanket loans (1 loan covering multiple units are not done in TX. Is this also True?

Thanks in advance!

 The guy I learned this from obviously had to pay his mortgages on time every month. So this garaunteed he had that money.

I used to work with an investor who told me he had never had a late rent payment. I asked him how he managed that. He explained that using late fees etc trying to force on time payment is useless, especially if there is a "grace period" before late fees kick in. Late fees just give people permission to pay late with a "known penalty." He told all his tenants that if they paid before the 1st of the month, they could deduct $25. This was off rents of approx $800-$1100 per month. He told me he had only ever had one person pay ON THE 1ST ONE TIME, everyone else always paid BEFORE the 1st. People LOVE to save money. 

@Kyle Krason  - good luck with finding a better company. Smaller isn't always better. It may just be a matter of "setting expectations" with the next company.

Just north of Dallas myself @Account Closed and looking into buying some rentals in Dallas. Would love to get a group together and toss around ideas, deals, and solutions!

buying performing notes

Why isn't your property manager telling you to impose late fees or start evicting? That's what they are there for!

I have a budget. I include breakdowns for weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual expenses.
Any "fixed" expense gets paid through direct debit through checking account or to a credit card. Any mandatory expense (e.g. gasoline, dry cleaning) also goes on a credit card. Savings is a fixed expense. I do take out cash for groceries. That's the only category that if I have a credit card or "excess cash" on me, I can/will spend more than the budget. All groceries, all eating out are bought with cash. It's a set weekly amount and I withdraw the cash the same day every week.

We have a budget for everything - haircuts, clothes, fun, airfare (emergency as we live 2000 miles from family), vacation, vehicle maintenance and inspection and registration even. And a few others. A total of 28 expenses in all.

All amounts for each expense, I attach a weekly number to.  So if I estimate $5200/yr car auto maintenance, $100 per week is set aside for that expense. And for larger, variable expenses like this, I keep track to see if I am going over on an annual basis. Everything else is easy to see on my credit card/bank statements. Then every time the paycheck clears, I put the total for all those quarterly and annual expenses, as well as a portion of our monthly savings, into the savings account.