All Forum Posts by: Kim Knox

If your mentor is also a fix and flipper, your offer to split the profits might be pretty unattractive. Think about it, without you, they get 100% of the profits. =)

Getting your real estate license might enable you to learn the business from a different angle. You could target fix and flippers as your Clients, offering them services for like accurate property valuations(before and after), foreclosure lists, contractor bids. You could be available to them weeknights and weekends, whenever new properties become available, to write offers. You can slowly learn from them, but you have to add value to their business. By value, I mean the ability to increase their income, or the ability to be more effective or efficient.

If getting your license is not of interest, you could also offer to obtain all bids for them and do their grunt work, but this will often not be financially rewarding. You are essentially working for scraps, for the opportunity to learn from someone who has developed a lucrative flipping biz.

There is opportunity out there, but consider what would help you make more money as a flipper, and become that person for your mentor.

My experience is that of the REO (foreclosure) Listing Agent. Generally speaking, if my Seller is willing to reduce the price so substantially, they are smart to reduce it to the public at large to create a bidding war. That is why I asked the price they put it back active on the market for.

It is an odd direction for a bank to counter back offering it to you for $12K less than list, over reducing the list price to the public and creating that much more interest.

I get Buyers calling all day long, wanting to put offers in for less than list price. If I know the listing price is fair, I carefully select the Buyer I represent. If you are writing offers that are lower, you might have difficultly getting the Listing Agent to represent you. Generally speaking office policy only allows an agent to represent one Buyer on the same property at any given time. Meaning, if I write your low offer, and the next day a full price cash Buyer calls me to write an offer, I have to refer them to a different agent until your offer is formally responded too.

What was the price when it went back active on the market?

If I am the listing agent on a short sale and it is revealed that a Buyer is making multiple offers on several short sales to see which one sticks, I recommend my client reject their offer. (in a market with low inventory, such as mine).

I very rarely do not get a short sale accepted, and I feel that the Buyer needs to commit. I also want my Client (Seller) to commit to that Buyer. My Clients are often in route to foreclosure and I am spending months fighting for an approval for that Buyer. If they back out, the approval is not transferable to the next Buyer, the process has to begin all over. It is a painstaking process.

All listings get the most activity when they are first introduced to the active market, so it is a matter of acting quickly with any listing that interests you.

Good luck, and make certain you get a smart agent to guide you through your first purchase, it will shape your opinion about real estate, so it is a big deal. Many people on this site will attest to the fact that purchasing real estate can be very lucrative. =)

Good question Chris, I have never been asked. It is standard practice when meeting an an office to obtain a copy of a drivers license, so I have never thought twice about it.

Very important topic! I think showing a house to a stranger is far more risky then dealing with a disgruntled tenant, so I am just going to address that issue. Further, I showing rentals is FAR more dangerous than showing homes for sale.

ASk the stranger for their photo id when they arrive. Take a photo of their ID when you are still OUTSIDE and text it to someone(husband, wife, office, mom, whoever). Call in their license plate number in front of them, and describe the make and color of the vehicle. Do this in FRONT of the person, while still outside. If they object or tell you they don't have their drivers license, leave.

Example of my office call "Hi, Kim Knox here. I am at (Address), I am with (strangers name), I have texted you his/her drivers license. They are driving a green dodge, license plate number....It is 11:30am, I will be in touch at 11:45. Thanks so much.

If you feel jut a little uncomfortable add. "Oh, I didn't realize you were showing the home too, are you on your way? I will see you in a few!"

In my office, if I use the last statement, their response to me is "Do you want me to get there now?" If I am just talking to a voicemail, the stranger will be alerted that someone is soon to follow. Meaning, they will not have any get-away time.

Above, you are doing what you can to deter an attack. You are telling them, if you hurt me, you will get caught. You might never realize you have stopped an attack by being diligent in this practice.

I pack a tazer with me, and I am really comfortable using it. I have one in my car, and one in my purse. Guns can be easily taken away, because we are all at risk of thinking for a second before shooting someone. However, most of us will not require the same hesitation to taze someone, which makes it a wise decision for those of us that don't have a lot of experience with guns.

You are meeting a stranger and walking through a home together. This is high risk, and precautions must be taken. Men and women both.

Leave if a man tells you his wife/girlfriend will be there, and he ends up showing alone.

Always use a PO Box to have someone pay their rent or an office address. They should have a phone number to contact you for tenant issues, but beyond that, nothing.

Kim

lucky!! We a 6 month right of redemption period in oregon, which is an obstacle. If it is not an issue in Georgia, I would still offer cash for keys just to have them leave it free of personal property, with fixtures in tact, and in broom swept condition.

You mentioned Lis Pendens so that means it is a judicial foreclosure, which means there is a right of redemption period. Because of this, I would absolutely offer CFK's and include a waiver of the right of redemption period. Make sure that all parties that have a right of redemption sign and agree to the waiver, tied to the cash for keys.

No sense doing cash for keys and having the property vacated if they still have the ability to redeem the property for 6 months after. In Oregon, right of redemptions can be sold, so you should be mindful of what is allowed in your state.

@sandy blanton

This might make you laugh, but the Broker I worked for would have charged me money for the time I wasted of his to ask him if i should work for free. He taught me the value of time.

If one of my agents asked me if they could work for free, I would make sure they never asked again. Making money is worth discussing, going broke is not.

You are absolutely right. a Buyer can ask for no fiduciary, but that does not entitle the Seller to a reduced commission.

Buyers often mistake an agent as a largely vested party to the transaction. No one has a bigger interest than a Seller and Buyer to negotiate.

A price reduction is available to the public, where motivation level is not. Price reductions generate activity, and re-generate interest. Who knows, a price reduction can create a bidding war.

Listing price should reflect current market value and the Seller's motivation level in combination. Market value takes neighborhood desirability into consideration.

If this listing remains unsold, then perhaps you will let me write an offer, as a dual agent, asking the Seller to pay your closing costs. If the Seller refuses, perhaps I would consider a reduction in pay to make a deal work. You are trying to negotiate with people (agents) who negotiate for a living.

If I consider working for a reduction, I will be assessing your needs and the liability of working in a non-fiduciary capacity with you. I will also be considering what this deal may ultimately cost. It may cost me other paying buyers. It may cost my Seller a more qualified buyer. It may cost the ability to provide a smooth transaction. You might refer your fiends to me, telling them I will work for free (yikes!).

Agents are independent contractors, so they do have the right to decide how they will work. I will be interested to see what others have to say.