All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.
Andrew S. has started 51 posts and replied 1006 times.
Post: Frustrated, almost had a deal, and then they claim they got a cash offer
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Originally posted by @Martin S.:
Every time my wife and I went to a RE office and sat down with an agent and discussed what we were looking for, we ended up with an agent that would just email us any random or new listing on an almost daily basis. That just showed me that most agents have no interest in actually finding a property I would actually want. They expect you to jump on just anything, even when you have a specific area or size or price, they will send you everything and anything. I'm more than capable of finding the properties myself, I even had access to MLS back in 2008/2009 when my auntie let me use her MLS, and I found that most online sites actually had up to date listings (like realtor.com), of course there was always some extra info on MLS but not always.
That agent that asked for 2 proofs of ID and my utility bill, started throwing me statistics he got from the internet. Telling me that most homes sell within 95% of asking price, and that foreclosed homes actually sell for 98% of asking price. I've been looking at houses in my price range for the last 5 years in Sarasota, and I would say that his numbers are wayyy off. Especially when around 1 in 3 listings are asking too much initially, and keep lowering their ask price almost every month until sold for 40% or less than what they initially started at. On the other hand, when they don't change the price, it might usually go for 90-95%. Many homes that are at or very close to being a good deal sell for less than 90%, it just shows that they were motivated sellers from the start... Ohhh wait, he just became a real estate agent in 2014 and he is like 40 years old. I've been dealing with real estate since I was 16, that was 15 years ago... I took every RE class available at Baruch College, even all the Law classes, did pretty well too. Even before that I've must have read 20-30 prominent books on RE... Just never had the opportunity (cash and ability to finance) like I have now, and yes, I know that there are many ways of getting cash and financing and I could have done it a long time ago, but I just wasn't ready then. Nearly everyone in my immediate family is a landlord, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc, etc. Here, there, even Internationally.
Martin, this is exactly why I suggested you take matters in your own hands and get a license. Sounds like you even have much of the background course work already, so it may be pretty straightforward to pass the exam.
EDIT: I posted this response before I read your latest 4 posts - based on what you are saying, clearly, you do not need any help from this forum.
I agree that in private sales it's: "whatever works for the seller is good enough". I'm sure there are plenty of situations where the seller either doesn't care or doesn't know enough about it to ask.
If I were the seller, I would not take you very serious with a $10 EMD offer.... but that may just be me
Post: Frustrated, almost had a deal, and then they claim they got a cash offer
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
@Martin S. Don't know about specific residency requirements but it probably depends on the particular state. I have no direct knowledge but I have heard on many occasions of agents who are double/triple licensed in border states (NY, NJ, PA). If you post what your hunting grounds are, someone might be able to chime in with specific info
Post: Frustrated, almost had a deal, and then they claim they got a cash offer
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Definitely sounds like you need to find the perfect buyer's agent - have you considered yourself for that job? Get a license and then you control the speed of the offer, viewing of the property (although from what I'm reading, it sounds like you are comfortable making offers without seeing the properties?), etc.
Post: Seller wants to shut off utilities, still have not closed...
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
I wouldn't necessarily call it "normal" but it's certainly not unheard of. The only problem I can think of immediately would be winter in a cold place where you'd run the risk of frozen pipes, etc. In that case, as someone pointed out above, you could always set up the utilities in your name ahead of closing (some utilities may not allow that but most will). That said, looks like you are in the South and it's early September, so pretty low risk...
Post: Tenant threatening to sue me for falling down stairs
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Based on the info you provided, I would do: nothing. Ignore her. If/when she pursues this in court (seems unlikely, but always possible), have your insurance company sort it out.
Post: Change the lock of my property
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
@Xin Z. I don't see anything illegal about having your contractor break into your own house. Isn't that what you'd ask a locksmith to do if you accidentally locked yourself out of your residence?
Post: HUBZU countered my bid
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
If I recall correctly, you don;t have an option to counter the counter-offer, so you can only decide to accept or reject their number.
I agree with @Troy Fisher - if the numbers don;t work for you then let it go. Chances are they'll bring it back with a new action and maybe next time they'll take the 25k
Post: How 2 Structure This Condo Deal? (Or IS it a deal at all?)
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
I think that HOA fee kills the deal.
Post: A recent flip I did in Raleigh, NC
- Investor
- Raleigh, NC
- Posts 1,048
- Votes 708
Congratulations, @Account Closed
Very impressive!
I had a question regarding the 3/1 configuration. Apparently, the 1 bathroom situation was no major issue for you since it's already under contract, but generally, I try to get to at least 1.5 bathrooms. Did you consider adding a half-bath to your rehab? Did you find it unnecessary or was there simply no space to do it? Just curious