All Forum Posts by: Lumi Ispas

@Rogers Williams , I am curious, what "investor friendly" means to you? All contractors should like investors, right? Lot's of business for them!

I know a lot of contractors and could send you some of their info if I get exactly what you are looking for! Thanks,

@Latrise Horton , I have a referral for you. She's not on BP, and I will message you privately with the info!

@Brie Schmidt , I agree with everything you said. When I mention listings, is that

@Brie Schmidt , a lot of the brokers that move to my company coming from small firms are coming for the training, leads and the brand name believe it or not. 

I asked several brokers that joined my office earlier this year why they moved companies and they left  great companies, one owned by a huge investor that works mostly with investors himself because they felt that when listing properties the brand name would help them market the listings better ( Century 21, is one of only a few companies listing properties internationally).  These brokers felt the brand will give them marketing materials, online presence, and more training and leads that otherwise, they could not get elsewhere.

At the same time, I want to believe that my clients do business with me for my knowledge and how I represent them. If I ask them that's what they say, exactly like your own clients. And still, getting calls from new international clients that find me on the Century 21 site is great, and every time I list a property having that black and yellow sign that is the most recognized brand in the world also helps to sell the listing faster.

Truth is, you are going to run your business differently than everyone else, and if you decide or not to go with a brand name is all up to you. 

If your business is formed mostly of buyers than you don't need a brand. If you are going to start listing properties, unless you start amassing hundred of agents and have hundreds of For Sale signs in the street at all time, it will be hard to get new brand recognition.

@Krisy Kim , welcome to Bigger Pockets! After spending countless winters in Chicago I can understand why you moved to San Francisco. :)

If you don't own any property, have you considered buying your first property as owner occupant? You could buy a 3-4 unit building with either 3.5% down or conventional 5% down. I know in your market the prices are sky high, and you could buy maybe an hour our of San Francisco as you have to live in the property only 1 year, after that you could fully rented it out 

You can learn how to choose tenant, manage a property, do renovation, etc by living in the property. You'll get the best interest rate possible and you'll feel more confident about other deals after owning the property for 6 months. 

Let me know if you have any questions and good luck to you!

@Luke Shaw , It all depends on where are you looking to buy. I have a lot of clients from out of state and out of the country that buy in Downtown or close to Downtown, by transportation and the values keeps climbing at a very high rate. The rental market is very strong in Downtown and you get very good tenants!

Let me know if you want to talk more about your options!

@Gage Westhouse, @Account Closed is right on the money!

Access to the MLS is huge, and networking and meeting brokers could be of a lot of help long term if you will go to broker network meetings. Keep in mind that taking the license will not teach you anything about Real Estate beside following the law!

Learning the skills will be on you, and if you join the right office, they will teach you a lot about pricing properties, learning to finance, selling skills, and of course, a lot of emphasizes will be on finding clients, writing contracts and negotiation skills.

If you intend to sell real estate full or part-time, it will be worth it. If you don't, and all you need if for you for 1-2 transactions a year, the fees and time involved might not be worth it.

While overall my license helps me, it doesn't if I want to wholesale, and when I negotiate deals, I am seen as an expert, and off the market, deals are sometimes harder to get done, as the sellers always are under the impression that I know something they don't know about the area and are hesitant about selling. Out of a sudden, they want to raise the prices on me. Most of my properties I bought from MSL I had to pay full price or close to it!

This year I lost two deals where I wanted to assume the mortgages, as the sellers thought that they will lose something if they sell, and decided to hold on their properties! It can be frustrating. 

If you are licensed you have to disclose in writing on every deal you do and if you sell your own property you can't sell it to someone that's not represented as the Error and Emission insurance won't cover you. 

Make sure you get a clear goal of why you want the license and understand all the costs involved to holding the license yearly and all the training required to have. In other words, weigh the time and money you want to invest in being licensed!

Good luck to you!

@Jonathan Davis , 30%APR, means about 30% interest per year... Also 50K prepayment penalty? This guy knows a lot more than you about real estate!

I congratulate you for taking action, and before you start making offers on selling financing, you have to understand very well how financing works. Contact one of the best lenders you can find in your area, that is an investor himself, and then ask him to sit down with you and teach you about financing. Also, read anything you can about financing first, before you go to meeting with him. 

When you buy with owner financing, the terms is what will make the deal, so unless you can offer different scenarios, and make sure they all work for you, there will be no deal for you.

Also, make sure you know sales pricing and rental pricing in your area and you want a few exit strategies.

What is your intention with the property? Buy with seller terms and rent it outright, do a lease with option to buy with the new tenant, sell it for more to someone else, etc? 

Good luck to you!

@Lee Self , Can you ask your Realtor how many properties he owns? The issue most investors have is that they hire Realtors that are not investors themselves or are inexperienced selling investment properties. They treat you as if would be buying as owner occupant, and not looking at how the number works.

When buying investment property in any state, ask your Realtors how long they've been in the business, are they working full time or part time, do they invest themselves in real estate on a continuous base, etc?

Good luck!

@Michaela G. , Congratulation on running your business on your terms and reaching your goals, your dreams. I believe each of us should go for what we really want, not just a number of units. 

I personally buy based on cash flow and terms versus a number of units, so everyone's goals are different.