All Forum Posts by: Grant P.

You really want your own agent. They represent you and not the other party.

I could get into all the details, but this is the conclusion.

I pay a service to take my photos for me. With all the talk about $1100 cameras, that sounds like something I don't want to deal with.

The other big upside to the service is I don't actually have to go out and take the time to do it. If my listing is 30min each way away, just travel expenses and travel time kill me.

You would be shocked how inexpensive it is to get a quality service to take photos of you property done, and all you do is wait for that email, instead of using your valuable time.

Not sure if they are everywhere, but in my market OBEO is by far the best in my opinion. There pictures always look great!!!

We are dealing with this on a constant basis here in Denver.

Not sure if everyone realizes how common pot has become here in Denver the "weed capital" of the country, but there are more dispensary's then Starbucks at this point. You have to adapt or get left behind.

The grow lights always concern me, however I require my renters to have renters insurance, and I make sure if they are going to grow weed it is only for personal use. Here in Colorado that limits them to 6 plants.

As long as they keep it legal at a state level, I try to leave them alone. If it looks like they are going to burn my place down I will not be so accommodating.

I only have high end rentals so I'm not dealing with Cheech and Chong, but here in Denver everyone is doing it.

Many churches in the Denver area have been converted into residences. A friend lives in one in a transitional neighborhood that did it very modern/loft style. Pretty cool.

Here is a link to a conversion they did across the alley from my house.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42uHa4JF59A
and pictures
http://www.diannsilldesign.com/index.php#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=3&p=2&a=0&at=0

I think just the church residence was $3.5m

They used the parking lot and developed another 8 or so units at $1.5m to $3m

People who say churches cant be converted haven't seen the successful conversions. I love them, and would love to get into one if I could.

It's tough to tell from 1 picture, but it looks like it needs way more than 96k in rehab. Can't do much for the $17psf you have budgeted, especially if you know you already need electrical and hvac.

We are looking at a house in a hot part of town that burned pretty bad. It has been signed off on by a structural engineer and the sewer pipe is still intact.

Walked through it with the GC, and this is a great part of town, so finishes are going to be high end, and we came to about $80 psf. This will be a 500k house however not a $95k house.

Karen M. I am overseeing the project, however the GC will have an onsite superintendent and I have a friend who will be helping me out Part time as an owners rep.

There is no way I would be able to juggle both effectively. We are looking at starting a duplex development in a hot part of town as well, if this happens we may need to consider making the owners rep a full time position.

I am breaking into the development world as we speak. It is overwhelming to say the least.

I worked for a large commercial developers early in my career, however tackling the project yourself becomes far more difficult.

My project is 8 units and is literally consuming me. I work a 50 hour week in addition to the new project, which does not help, but I can tell you get ready to get your *** kicked.

This is what I have been wanting to do for some ti.me, and I partnered with one of the best Architects in the country, who was willing to work with me because we happened to be related.

Financing is a challenge, buying dirt can be a challenge, construction can be a challenge if not experienced

Many additional liability issues come up with new build as well.

It's exciting stuff, and can be extremely rewarding, however my first developer mentor told me something that I will never forget. He said "If your not willing to file for bankruptcy and lose everything, your not ready to be a developer." He has gone belly up twice in his career, and currently has a net worth of close to 9 figures

Don't forget that with the amount of time a development takes, there is some luck involved as well.

The agent owns the contract

There are those clauses in a buyer agency contract. As a broker myself, I would 99.9% never try to collect this however.

I always tell my clients that I will rip up our buyer agency agreement, or listing agreement for that matter if they are unhappy at all. I actually put this in writing in a guarantee.

That's how I operate, but I know that's not the case with everyone.

Why would I continue to try and work with someone that doesn't want to work with me? How is this going to help my reputation or business? There are so many bad brokers that are misinformed, or just uninformed.

I suggest having a long conversation with your broker especially if you are savvy in real estate. Many brokers are nice people, and good salesman, but many spend their entire careers just perfecting their sales skills.