All Forum Posts by: Mark Miles

Hey, I just started working with a new buyer's agent who's asking me to sign an exclusivity agreement. I understand it from an agent's perspective - they don't want to waste time showing properties to a buyer, only to have them potentially use another agent (or use no agent at all) when making offers.

But I've been burnt in the past when signing an exclusive agreement with a buyer's agent:

1) Once before I signed this type of agreement and then the agent became very unresponsive (clearly they had other higher value clients). This screwed me over bc I was stuck using an agent who was unresponsive and who wasn't performing

2) Another time, I signed an agreement that committed me to use a particular agent ONLY for properties that they showed to me. The problem is that the agent refused to submit one of my lowball offers which then left me screwed bc I couldn't work with another agent and I couldn't submit an offer on my own (per the agreement I had signed with the buyer's agent).

Thus, bc of these bad past experiences, I'm really not wanting to sign an agreement with an agent. If they perform well, I'd love to use them to make offers, but I don't want to be tied in if they get busy with other clients and become unresponsive (which happens a lot in this industry). I'm curious to get responses from other investors (and also from some agents) on whether you sign an exclusivity agreement with a buyer's agent that you're actively working with?

@Jeffery Wilen i looked into rent to own furnishings - prohibitively expensive for a large house unfortunately. would kill cash flow.

@Luke Carl it's in a market that has a 100+ year history of both STR and LTR. 100% legal. i've spent a lot of time doing the research on this one. there's an opportunity here to buy some houses that have historically been used as LTR (these are large houses in good condition but unfurnished of course) and turn them into STR. really good opportunity here if i can figure out how to finance the cost of furniture!!

I'm looking into Airbnb / STR in some areas where there are large houses in good condition for very reasonable prices. The biggest issue is the houses sell as UNfurnished.

It would require a $30-40k downpymt to buy these houses but then another $30-40k to decorate & furnish them nicely (this includes all furniture up to & including window treatments, hot tub, etc. Even buying many items cheap on wayfair, the cost still seems like $30-40k total to nicely furnish a large house). Also I work a full-time job so I don’t have time to drive all over the place to buy things at antique stores, estate sales, etc.

Is there a way to finance the furnishings over 10 years (at a low reasonable rate) or something so I only have to spend $30-40k in cash for house downpayment up front instead of $60-80k in cash up front for house downpayment AND furnishings? Hoping to find some creative ideas here!

Hi. I'm researching some spots for vacation rentals, and I've come across 5 areas that I'm interested in learning more about. I'm wondering if anyone is having any success with STR, VRBO, Airbnb, etc in any of these 5 areas?

1) Guntersville Lake / Tennessee River area in Alabama (Guntersville, Scottsboro, Stevenson area): looks like it might attract a lot of folks from all over Alabama, Tennessee and Georgia (Birmingham, Huntsville, Decatur, Chattanooga, and maybe also Atlanta and Nashville)

2) The rural areas outside of Asheville, North Carolina: specifically Old Fort, Mill Spring, Marion, Hendersonville, Pisgah area, Nantahala area: looks like it might attract folks from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and possibly Tennessee (Charlotte, Spartanburg, Greenville, Rock Hill, Winston-Salem, and possibly Atlanta and Knoxville)

3) Northwest South Carolina (Savannah River, Lake Hartwell, Lake Keowee, Lake Jocassee area; bordering on Nantahala & Chattahoochee Forests): looks like it might attract folks from South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia (Greenville, Spartanburg, Clemson, Atlanta, Asheville, Charlotte, maybe Chattanooga & Knoxville)

4) Lake Anna northwest of Richmond, Virginia: looks like it might attract folks from all over Virginia (esp Richmond, Petersburg, Charlottesville, Harrisonburg, Culpeper, Fredericksburg, and maybe Washington DC or Virginia Beach / Norfolk / Hampton)

5) Front Royal / Winchester in northwest Virginia: near Shenandoah / Skyline Drive / Blue Ridge Mountains. Looks like it might attract folks from all over Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania Delaware and DC (Morgantown, Hagerstown, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Rockville, Alexandria, Baltimore)

@Adriel Liwag Find a good property mgr. If they don't wanna manage it, stay away.

@Don Jackson "best cities for real estate investors" doesn't necessarily translate into "best cities for BRRRR." BRRRR requires a wide spread btwn pre-rehab & post-rehab property values, which probably wasn't included as a factor in the list you saw.

Also, I could be wrong but I think the huge statewide foreclosure backlog that still exists in FL makes it an excellent state for BRRRR (glut of properties in bad shape that need rehab), but I'd need locals to chime in on that. Your list only includes 1 Florida city, which I find hard to believe.

I am an out-of-state rehab investor looking for an investor-friendly agent who is skilled at making ballpark rehab estimates (either from viewing pics on the MLS or visiting the property). Preferably someone centrally-located on the West side of Cleveland (near Brook Park or so), so you can visit properties quickly when they hit the market.

Hi. I've been reading BP for a while - so helpful! I live in Cali but invest in the Midwest