All Forum Posts by: Joe Norman

Does your Realtor have an NMLS number? If not tell him to stay in his own lane - he shouldn't be giving advice on your financing options (especially advice that appears to boil down to "commit mortgage fraud").

Giving this guy the benefit of the doubt, maybe he's just being overzealous in his effort to serve you and needs to have a convo with his broker about where he can, and can not, offer professional advice. If that isn't the case then it may be time to look for a new Realtor.

I'm a little concerned that you are considering representing a Commercial client when you have no professional background or experience in that space. Realtors should NEVER work outside of their comfort zone or "learn on the fly" when representing a client.

Your first, and only, step should be to find a Commercial pro and refer them the business. Ideally it will be someone who will allow you to work along side them so you can learn that side of the business.

Bottom line: put the consumer's interests ahead of yours.

You do have income, just not W2 income. There are plenty of traditional lenders out there who will use Schedule C and Schedule E income, although most will want to see 2-3 years history. I've had great experiences with my local rep from Primary Residential Mortgage - they lend in many states PM me if you'd like a referral to a local rep in your area.

Short answer is "yes" - work with a Buyer's Agent for MLS listed property. Experienced investors can get away with being unrepresented, but I wouldn't suggest it for someone new.

What do you see as the "down side" to working with a Buyer's Agent? If we better understand your concern then the community may be able to give more useful insight.

Its hard to give specific advice without more information about the property, the market, and your goals. That said, in general what I would be looking to do is to sell this house and use my $150k-ish in tax free gains (assuming the inheritance is not taxable, most are not) as down payments on another 3-4 houses. The cashflow (even with mortgages) will likely be greater then the cashflow on the one house w/o a mortgage, plus when something goes wrong on one of them you should at least have others that are performing.

Good luck!

I’m trying to standardize my smoke detectors across all units. I’m looking for for a unicorn smoke detector that meets the following requirements:

1) combination Smoke and CO

2) can be installed hardwired or with a 10 year battery

3) is wirelessly interconnected

Do you all know of any detectors that meet all of these criteria, or is this a unicorn?

Two showings in 34 days seems low to me, but I don't know your local market. What does your agent have to say? Are they communicating with you about the listing, marketing, pricing, and showings on a weekly basis?

If this is your first time doing an eviction (which it sounds like it is) then the process is pretty simple:

1) get referrals for eviction lawyers

2) call those lawyers

3) hire one of them to handle it

Don't try to do this yourself the first time through, get a professional to assist. Good luck!

Second what @Bruce Lynn said. Each state is different, and many brokerages also have their own guide lines, so consult with your broker before you spend a dime and before you spend any more mental energy brainstorming the perfect name. Note that most states will also require you to include your brokerage's name on any advertising (e.g., "The Norman Home Team of Keller Williams Gateway", vs. simply "The Norman Home Team")

Also, to @Eliott Elias's point, your branding is much less important early on. Focus on getting experience and building your reputation first.

Do you "need to sell" or simply "want to sell"? If its the former then the answer is easy - call Seth Dailey (my go to agent in Austin, he's top notch PM me for contact info) and get it done, even if its at a loss (assuming you can afford the loss).

If you simply "want to sell" then consider waiting another year. You made an emotional decision to purchase, don't repeat the mistake and make an emotional decision to sell.