All Forum Posts by: Jesse Smith

I'd like to believe that I'm relatively top of mind, since they all have reached out to me for advice during the process... they just don't choose to use me as their agent, so I can earn some money for my service.  That's a great suggestion about doing some videos or posting more about my projects.  I have a friend in the business who does a great job of this, and he seems to be killing it as an investor and doing relatively well as an agent.  

@Russell Brazil - Are you saying that I should give the impression (through branding) that I'm a full time agent, or that I should actually put investing on the back burner and devote all my time to agent business?

@Russell Brazil - I'm an investor and an agent.  The bulk of my time is spent managing and acquiring investment properties, but when I get a client, they become my focus until the deal is closed.  

I've often thought about taking this approach.  I would just feel like a bad friend, if I didn't at least try to help.  Maybe I need to just get over that.  I definitely don't undermine their agent of choice, even if I would have done things differently. 

I still struggle with why people would select a stranger over a close friend, who has demonstrated competency in the industry.  In the past, people usually seem to pick friends or acquaintances as agents, even when the agent isn't necessarily good at what they do. 

Good morning all.  The last few months have been rather frustrating, and I'm hoping to get some advice from others who may have had similar experiences.  

I got my RE Agent License almost a year ago.  Very quickly, I assisted two buyers (one friend and one former co-worker) to buy homes.  Both purchases went smoothly, and feedback was great.  

I continued to talk with my friends and acquaintances about real estate (I'm also an investor).  I told them that I had gotten my license and that I would be happy to help if they decided to buy or sell (keeping in mind not to be pushy).  I also shared this a couple times on social media.  Many of my friends are at the point in life where they are planning to buy their first home or upgrade their current home. 

Over the past 6-8 months, at least 6 of my friends have bought and/or sold their homes.  NONE of them have asked me to be their agent, despite having a number of discussions about the process.  They've been happy to ask my advice on negotiation, inspections, appraisals, pricing, staging, etc.  I always end up helping them out, of course with no compensation.  This has become incredibly frustrating.  

I'm good at what I do, and I've personally purchased 8 properties myself.  For some reason, this hasn't translated into my friends trusting me to handle their transactions.  Two have even told me (unprompted) that they wanted to "keep the friendship separate from such a big decision."  They both ended up using someone they didn't even know at all and asking me questions when things got confusing.

Have any of you had similar experiences?  If I can't even get my friends to trust me as an agent, how can I expect to have others do it?  Any advice would be appreciated.  

Hey @Matt Moylan - Who do you use in KC.  I'm looking to make a change with my insurance.

I own a 3-unit property.  It was originally an old house, and it was divided into three units.  Only problem is that Unit 1 and Unit 2 are on the same electric meter and breaker panel.  The circuits are clearly divided between the units within the breaker panel.  

I had my electrician come out to discuss the situation.  He estimated $4-$5k in expense to properly install a third electric meter and a new breaker panel, and then to separate the circuits into the new panel.  

I'm curious if there is a simpler solution.  Is there a device that can read the electricity used by each circuit, so I can bill back the electricity, based on consumption?  What I'm picturing is a device that would have clips to attach on each circuit in the breaker panel for Unit 1.  It would tell me how much electricity was consumed by Unit 1 during the month.  Then I could bill Tenant 1 for that amount and Tenant 2 for the rest.  Does anything like this exist? 

Thanks for the response.  I'm not certain on the interior conditions, but units in this area go very quickly.  I have 6 spots within a mile, and they hardly ever sit empty for more than a week, once they're ready.  I always prefer to buy a place vacant, so I get to screen my own tenants and charge market rents.  

I am considering offering on a duplex on the same block as one I currently own. The two properties are nearly identical... 2/1 on one side and 1/1 on the other.

My units rent for $1,100 and $900, respectively.  The rents at the one I'm considering are currently $700 and $550, respectively.  The owners are long-time, absentee landlords, who inherited the property.

I learned this, because I met the tenants recently.  They stopped by while I was rehabbing my duplex last month.  Both are very sweet ladies who have lived there for 8+ years each.  They were shocked at the rent I planned to charge and volunteered what they paid.  They proudly stated that their rent had never been raised.  They even gave me the owner's cell phone number when I asked who they had used to install the siding.

So, now I am considering calling the owner to make an offer.  If I do, I know what market rent is, and I would want to get to that amount.  This would represent a substantial increase in rent for these ladies, and I feel a bit bad about it.  

What would you do in this scenario?  How would you approach raising the rent to market rates?

@Greg Dickerson - Thanks for the range.  I would imagine my area should be at the low end of the range, because the pipes are relatively shallow, ground is flat.  However, from my understanding, they wouldn't need to open the ground at all.  It would simply be a process of drying, coating, hardening the coating product.  Is there a reason that topography would impact the pricing?