All Forum Posts by: Joe Norman

Originally posted by @Steve Babiak:

It's off-market, so MLS and Bright aren't going to have a say.

Whether we call it an "office listing" or "pocket listing", we don't know whether the seller has specifically stated to not put it in the MLS. The seller could have some privacy concerns, for example.

If its not on the MLS and the agent is marketing it outside of his brokerage (which it sounds like he is) then it is 100% a violation of Bright MLS's Clear Cooperation policy which requires all subscribers (i.e., listing agents) to post their listings on the MLS. The only exception is for "pocket listings", (i.e., office exclusive listings) which are not allowed to be marketed to the public. It is also likely a violation of the Realtor Code of Ethics which only allows for pocket listings in very rare instances, although I am not as familiar with those new rules to know what the exceptions are.

Whether Realtors like it or not, pocket listings are basically against the rules now. This is ostensibly due to Fair Housing concerns, but at least in Bright's case its more likely about control.

Not saying you should narc on the guy, but if you wanted to push the issue and get some sort of response then thats an angle to take.

If the agent isn't responding to your agent then he's likely breaking the Realtor code of Ethics, and Bright MLS rules, requiring clear cooperation. Have your broker (not your agent) call his broker.

I suggest finding someone in your office who is investor focused to learn from. If you aren't an investor yourself then that is the next best thing.

The role of the Investor Friendly agent, at least where it differs from a Retail agent, is that the commissions are generally smaller and there is more competition for the few deals that are out there - sounds great right!? You also get to run a ton of comps for clients on houses they'll never buy.

It can be very rewarding, as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial. Remind your investor clients that you're not making a lot of money off of their individual transactions, so you would like them to send you their referrals for Retail buyers. You can only ask this if you're providing a high level of service so don't put the cart before the horse.

Good luck.

Nothing beats spending a few days driving around the market. I suggest finding some listings that pique your interest and then doing some drive bys, and getting out to walk the neighborhood. You'll get a feel pretty quickly for if its a neighborhood/area/block you want to be investing in. You'll also need to firm your budget and financing, as that will control the neighborhood you're investing in more than anything. Good luck!

Unfortunately  everyone's opinion of what is "considered safe" will vary as that is too subjective. My advice is to find some listings that pique your interest and then do some drive bys. You'll get a feel pretty quickly for whether or not its a neighborhood you want to invest/live in. Baltimore is a great market if you're smart, good luck!

"less than two miles radius from the M&T Stadium" covers some high end neighborhoods and others that consist heavily of abandoned and boarded up homes. Do you have more specific criteria for your preferred location (neighborhood?) and/or price? 

Did your PM put the property on the local MLS? If not that is where I would start. Most PM's don't like to do that because it costs them some (or most) of their tenant placement fee, but its the right thing to do if they can't get it rented through their own marketing channels.

I don't have anything to add, just want to applaud @Nathan Gesner for the great post!

My advice is to define your search a little better. Middle River has some pockets with $1M water front homes, and other pockets with <$30k mobile home parks. The sweet spot in terms of cashflow will probably be townhouses in the low-200s like MDBC2000955 or MDBC2012476. You can also try the Hawthorne neighborhood which is pretty popular with BRRRRers, MDBC2011914 and MDBC2014428 are good examples of whats currently listed.