All Forum Posts by: Eric H.

@William Randolph @Damon Marshall @Kyle Gregg Just participated in my first one tonight too! Guest speaker provided great insight. Heavy hitters in attendance. Great way to network. Best part.......it was free!!

BWI meetup: 2nd Wednesday of month @ BWI Marriott. 

http://www.meetup.com/BwiMeetup/

@Lori Thedorff Thanks for responding. Without looking at the property I'm assuming full rehab for my #. I got a vibe from this seller that he wasn't being truthful about the condition anyway. Yeah before anything is finalized I will look at a property. So armed with info that this guy is hiding something, the house is probably in worse condition than he is describing, his # is just ridiculous regardless and seeing other 'as is' homes that have sold I think I have enough to say it's time to walk away and use my resources elsewhere. I'm willing to wait 3 years for a GREAT DEAL. It's no where close to a DEAL at this moment. 

@Fred T. Thanks for responding. I have to disagree. There is no point in me taking the time to view the property if there is no way, at this moment, to agree on a #. I will definitely keep in touch with him because he is motivated and actually dropped his offer but it was still nothing I could touch. He said he's not relocating for another 3 years. I am willing to wait 3 years for a great deal.

@Crystal Smith Thanks for responding. I have been using Redfin. It's a good tool.

@Andy Gross Thanks for contributing your ideas. I think building a relationship and trust is definitely important when dealing with sellers. Even if I can't buy his house, he has already made the follow up list. Yeah I was thinking he may be just a little crazy as well considering his asking price.

Hey BP Fam,

I have a semi-motivated seller. He plans to relocate soon and wants to liquidate some assets. Also, one long time tenant passed away and he doesn’t feel like the hassle of trying to find another qualified tenant. I want to get some advice from you guys before I spend any more time on this lead. It’s a duplex, 3/1 each unit. One unit rehabbed in 2000 and is occupied, other unit needs 3k rehab and is unoccupied. Seller wants $200k. My offer was $90k. Comps for as is homes are selling for $110k. I informed the seller of my findings. His argument is that those comps are for houses that are in extremely worse condition than his. I haven’t seen the property. I want to provide the seller info regarding comps for his house but I can not find any ‘accurate’ comps for repaired homes. How important is the year built for comparing homes? (1980 vs 1940) Without me actually seeing the property, is there any way to further qualify this lead? I don’t want to waste my time visiting the property if we are extremely far off in terms of price. My exit strategy is wholesaling.

All advice is welcome and greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

E. Harris

@Rachel Gill Great question! In other industries I have witnessed the same phenomenon. Some people just aren’t willing to share. The reasons why are endless. Some people are just selfish while others are afraid of the competition. I think it takes a confident and kind person to share information with others. I share with others because it’s just my nature. I am a firm believer that to whom much is given much is expected. Therefore it is my civic and human duty to serve others in any way possible and sharing knowledge is just one of those ways. Furthermore, I have been the one seeking the information that no one wants to share so I know the feeling.

As for real estate, I have to agree with most people here; it’s a social business. Besides, there are too many moving parts for an individual to handle all aspects of a real estate transaction alone. One has to have relationships with others to successfully operate a real estate business. One great way to build relationships is to bring some knowledge and expertise to the relationship that can benefit the other party involved. I think it is also an industry that is very close, particularly with local investors. You must protect your reputation because it precedes you in industries such as real estate. In close, small communities word travels fast. As a service mechanic in a trade union your work ethic, character, and quality of work precedes you. My union has about 1600 members. During the Great Recession less than half of those members were actually working. Those that keep steady work either know someone (nepotism) or have a great reputation as a dependable, hard worker that produces quality work. Those that produce crappy work sit on the bench a lot, and during economic downturns find themselves laid off often. Moral of the story: protect your reputation. Having a reputation as a helpful investor will serve your business better than a reputation as a jack***.

Thanks for the thought provoking discussion!

E. Harris

@Matthew Hertz @Curt Davis Hey BP, bumping this thread because I am curious to know how does a small business that has been in operation for less than a year prove to a bank its trustworthiness? Will paying myself as a W2 employee suffice? Or do I need to be in business for a longer period of time before considering traditional bank financing? 

@Ned Carey how are those guys chasing overages? Something I was interested in when I first started investing in tax liens but I could not gain any ground for various reasons.

@Account Closed For the list I actually tried something a little different. I hired a VA from ODesk and had her do research on properties via my county's websites. I told her my criteria and made a video to show her exactly where to locate the information. She is still working on compiling the list for me. I paid her $300 to look through over 35,000 citation records. Other qualifying criteria I will be looking for include assessed value, absentee owner, and equity. I will keep you informed about the success (or epic fail) of the list. I will hit this list quarterly for the entire year, following up to warm leads with a letter and calendar. My theory behind the calendar is my business will continually be in front of the client. It's a small tear-off calendar with a magnet and sticker on the back so the client can put it on their refrigerator or their desk. If this list proves to be an epic fail, I have looked into AgentPro 247 and yellowletters.com as alternatives.

Hope this helps!

E. Harris