All Forum Posts by: Joey Hamaoui

I think it really depends on your goals. @Account Closed has a great sheet on getting your "freedom number" that makes it very easy to determine what is a "Deal" for you.

Basically you need to clarify your goal and reverse engineer it.

Hey @Chris Lay are you still looking for an agent?

@Tryggvi Karl Larusson definitely join some of the local meetups. @Justin Fraser is right that is a great networking opportunity.

Hi Luke, is your intent to build homes on the lots and then sell them or just to get plans and sell the lots with the plans?

Hi @Ashleigh Evans

As an agent who works primarily with investors I have encountered similar situations many times. There are two possibilities that I can see:

1. The seller is afraid because he is tight on his side. He is falling behind on the property or has other debt and thinks that by cutting out agents he will get a higher net because he won't have to pay 3-6% on commissions. This happens a lot with FSBOs and they are very frustrated with realtors because at this point in time he's had several agents calling him every day asking him if he wants to list and driving him insane. If he's a bit impatient just work with it. Don't waste his time and cut straight to the point. Schedule a showing with him and bring your agent with you (if you want to use him). Discuss with your agent and make an offer with the commission written in as a buyer's closing cost. If he takes it, great. If not, there are other houses to buy.

2. The property is being marketed by a wholesaler and he's not being forthcoming. Many wholesalers (especially beginners) don't feel confident that what they're doing will be acceptable (or legal) if they're honest about it. They get very uneasy about working with real estate agents (who basically perform the same function but with a license) and will avoid working with them if they can. This will be a little harder to fish out. You can check the county appraiser site for the owner name and see if it is different than his name. Many agents work with wholesalers and it's not an issue.

Honestly, in my humble opinion it would seem that this is just 1 out of 20 offers you will have to make in order to secure the next good deal. Don't get hung up on it. See where the numbers need to be and make an offer. Then go make 19 other offers on different properties that meet your numbers.

Good luck! Please let us know what happens.

Welcome @John Beasley

Congratulations on taking the first step and deciding that investing in real estate is your goal.

What did you do before real estate?

I'm in the same boat. First quarter of 2018 we can start buying again once the tax return is filed.

Awesome!

@Devin Alvarado totally agree with @Tyler Rusomaroff

When I first started in real estate my goal was to eventually invest and get into that space but I took advice from typical "realtors" and found I wasted about 6 months doing activities that don't help in the investment space. I strongly recommend you find someone who is doing what you want to do and follow them.

Thanks @David Dawkins I just reached out to them to set an initial meeting.