All Forum Posts by: Katherine Wiltse

I am a realtor and haven't been paid by a buyer, only commission through the seller. In our area it is standard for the seller to pay 6% which is shared between all brokers and agents. David Greene has talked before about giving a bonus to a realtor when they have REALLY put in the work for you. I could see doing that if a realtor put in a dozen or more low ball offers, trying to help you find an incredible deal. If they saved you 20,000 or more, and put their neck out their for a bit...otherwise, don't worry about it. :)

Hi Jared, I can completely understand your apprehension of which direction to go. If you are considering selling your home, then you must have equity, right? If you do, I think taking out a HELOC and investing in a small multi-family makes a lot of sense. If you are willing to sacrifice comfort, then I recommend that you rent out your current home and move into a unit in a newly purchased multi-family. With this strategy, you can be onsite to remodel and manage your new enterprise (while forcing equity) and keep your existing property and potentially create some cashflow with it. There is the question of how you will quickly pay back the HELOC, which can have fairly high interest rates. It is possible you could Brrrr your multi-family, by buying low and putting in flip-grade finishes (check out BP for info on the Brrrr strategy). It is also possible you could get a 5 year HELOC and simply focus on paying it off within that time. Usually HELOC rates are better than hard money, but you should look at this from every angle and crunch all the numbers. Of course, you need to make the best decision for you and your family. I state this strategy because I hear most investors lament that they wish they would have kept more properties and sold less. If your current house is a gem then look at it as your first successful stint in real estate investing!

I have crunched the numbers on condos and haven't found a way to cash flow, unless you use the condo for a STR or do a co-housing (rent by the room) strategy. A lot of condos are advertised on Airbnb in Branson, but I wonder if there are any restrictions in Kansas City? Something to look into. Keep the forum updated, I would be curious if you found a successful and lucrative model for condos.

Hi Kim, my name is Katherine and I have recently moved from California to Missouri. The crazy condition of homes is definitely a MO trademark. It can work in your favor, if you are getting a really low price and think you could Brrrr it. Then you are looking at an infinite return vecause you can get all your money out with the refinance. My husband and I just pulled the plug on a home we were going to buy that had foundation problems. It was too much, we are too inexperienced and the closest foundation repair team was an hour and a half away. I think you should start crunching numbers and estimate your rehab and see if it could work as a brrrr. I hope it goes well, or you find the right home soon.

Quote from @Account Closed:

In my opinion, the psychological effect of rising interest rates is disproportionately high compared to the actual impact they have on cash flows and ROIs.

Based on what I read in BP, a lot of people are considering holding off until interest rates drop to 3%. That could happen someday, I guess. I agree with @Bill F. that demand will decrease as more and more potential investors hold off, but I don’t think this will be very significant, either. I’m not particularly delighted that that interest rates are increasing, but what ev’ errrr. 

Blaise, I totally agree with your opinion regarding the psychological effects of rising interest rates. Considering where we are in this inflated bubble, I also don't think anyone should wait for interest rates to drop back to 3% and lower. That could entail a painfully long waiting period. I am not trying to be negative, but realistic and aware of currency cycles. 

If the mom and son work as a team and were representing you contractually, then it is a breach of contract to have the son become a buyers agent, unless every party has signed and agreed to this change. If you do not have a contractual relationship with both the mom and son, but an "unspoken" contract, I would say that this is still bad business, or at least bad customer service/relations. I believe that my broker would have assigned a new agent to the buyer, or all parties would have been asked if there was interest in transactional representation, which usually includes a reduced commission fee. If all parties agreed to a transactional relationship, then in essence no one would have individualized representation and the mom/son duo would have been neutral agents, assisting both buyer and seller. The only thing I can say in their favor is that a 5% commission rate is fairly low. Also, I am not in CA, and although I lived most of my life there, I have only been trained in MO. My broker believes in the power of sticking by your word and a strong handshake. It is probably a different universe than LA. Regardless, I hope things smooth out and, if nothing else, you find a new realtor for the future.

Hi Quinn, my name is Katherine and am an investor/agent in Southern MO. I think Kansas City seems like a good market, although parts seem pretty rough. I would walk any neighborhood day, night, weekday and weekend, before investing. If you don't feel safe, or see criminal activity, I personally wouldn't invest there. There is a model I am interested in that is often referred to as "co-housing" or "co-living" and I think it would do great in Kansas City. The idea is you would find a SFR with a big square footage and a lot of bathrooms (or the potential to add 1-2 bathrooms), and rent by the room. Check out the Bigger Pockets show with Sam Wegert (I think #560?). If you are looking for passive investment, then this is NOT the model. However, if you are looking for a way to 3x or 4x your rental income, it is worth looking into. I want to try it, even though my broker and husband think I am crazy.

I kinda want to give you a swift kick in the rear because you need some tough love. First off, don't be racist. If Ed Mylett was black would you be ok with his success? Get over that. That bull has been drilled into you and, honestly, the whole white privelege concept brings down more black people than actual racism (which exists, but I find exists with all people...like my husband's Japanese friends don't trust his Chinese friends). I live surrounded by EXTREME poverty in Southern Missouri and there is a correlation between poverty and addiction. My family and I are living in a real sh** hole, working our butts off to fix it up. No matter what color you are, if you choose to work full time and then come home and keep working, then you will succeed. Ed Mylett is so rad. I cried when I first listened to him. I came from drug and alcohol addicted parents and lived in extreme poverty. We are white. Where is my white privilege? I have known hunger. Where was my white privilege? My parents smoked and drank it all I guess. My feeling is that you have maybe had a cush life. Regardless of your color, perhaps you dont know about the struggle. The struggle is colorblind my friend. If you are a bit of a spoiled brat then you don't see what Ed Mylett did for his son was bare fricking bones. Ed is on his way to being a billionaire and he invested with his son on $160,000 property. That is the equivalent of your folks helping you invest in a gumball machine. And you cry "white privilege"?! Man, you don't even have eyes to see. I am trying to figure out where you are coming from. Either your parents spoiled you and didn't make you work hard enough (and then poisoned you with some race narrative), or you are feeling like a victim because of what you came from. Either mindset is FRUITLESS. Why are you here? If you think this is just some rich white boy hangout then why are you here? This is for people who want to rise out of the struggle, regardless of their color and background. Maybe you are in the wrong saloon. Sorry for my brashness, but you pissed me off. I didn't think I would have to read low level thinking like this here. I hope I got through to you.

Quote from @Shawn J.:

@Matt Schreiber That is awesome!! I'm with @Lynn Berg and curious as well about what market these deals are in.

 I am looking at investing in STRs in Missouri and a $1000 cash flow is possible and, from what I am hearing, conservative. Those numbers aren't unique and I really recommend watching some Rob Built videos. If you have a unique, beautiful, well-marketed property then you will crush it. A lot of successful STRs have fluctuating prices, which are meticulously guaged by the surrounding events and markets. I have dubbed the term "too rad to fail". No matter what you do, shoot for the moon. Last thought: it does help to live where the overwhelming majority of people see COVID as synonymous with a flu, refuse to live in fear and maintained normalcy in the last few years. 

This era may demand more creativity and a more finely tuned mindset to succeed, but many will do just that. Millionaires were made during the depression era and they certainly didn't look around and throw their hands up. They rolled up their sleeves.