All Forum Posts by: Marlon Thomas

I’m just curious but how do developers do so financially well in LA? 

With the high taxes I don’t see California is very investor friendly for developers. I was told to stay away from investing in Los Angeles.

Although with all of the articles I’ve read, LA is apparently one of the top choices for real estate investors especially internationally.

I know that Los Angeles has constant demand, but I’m not in Los Angeles or know nothing about the market. Hopefully those in LA can fill me in. Thanks.

 As far as starting as a small fish in a large pond, I will be starting where I currently live, Williamsburg Virginia. I live in a “boutique market.” It’ll be at least a good 3-5 years until I finally move down to Miami or Fort Lauderdale. I’ll more than likely transfer to a Keller Williams office and try to find a mentor to work with so I can learn how to be a good agent in that market. Plus, as far as the heavy competition with larger-expensive markets, that also means there are a lot of bad agents too. Not sure what the bad to good ratio would be in Miami or Fort Lauderdale but I feel if I work very hard and follow the right steps to become successful customer oriented agent, I’ll be a success. The key for us as new agents is separating ourselves from the bad ones which is a difficult task.

 What company are you working for?

Hello everyone, I’ve posted a question similar to this before in regards to Miami but I’m curious about Fort Lauderdale too. 

Is Fort Lauderdale gernally a good place to be an agent or broker? I’ll more than likely be transferring to a Keller Williams office.

I want to eventually get into the high end market once/if the timing is right. 

 Hi Malgorzata, how is the residential market doing in Miami right now? I’ve read that the luxury market is quite slow. What prices ranges in the market are selling pretty well?

Hello everyone, I am currently in the process of becoming an agent, and then continue my education to become a broker. I eventually want to improve/add value and develop real estate as I gain more experience and connections in the industry. I will start out doing some residential fix and flips to get my feet wet with putting deals together and then move onto commercial renovations, then hopefully ground up developments. Since real estate and construction intertwine with each other, I figured why not pick up some skills in the construction trades? In order to save money and have more control over my projects I was thinking about taking a carpentry course so I can learn how to do some of the work on my own renovations when the time comes. Once I gain a good amount of connections in construction, I could possibly and eventually become my own licensed general contractor. Having experience in both real estate and construction I feel would be a good combination of skill set, education and experience in both fields with what I eventually want to do in the future. 

This would allow me to renovate my own projects under my supervision and management as a carpenter turned general contractor (hopefully) and sell my own properties as an agent/broker, which means I have saved a lot of money in the project.

What are your thoughts?

 Thank you Elizabeth. Peep what I responded to Gi’Angelo with. I feel very excited for myself. I’ll be starting out as out as an agent, and college isn’t for me. Trust me. I’m not a school person. I learn a helluva better by doing. Meaning that finding a mentor or working for someone would defiantly be the best way for me to learn that side of the industry, it’s like I’ll be apprenticed under that specific person so to speak. I was on the phone with a successful RE developer named Victor Menace, and he eleborated on how I could get into that side of the business as I wasn’t asking him multiple questions.  

 Thank you. I was on the phone with a RE developer named Victor Menace this past Wednesday and he told me that earning a MBA will only teach you how to become a good employee. Plus I don’t have 50-100k to spare. I am currently about to become an agent, and Victor told me that as far as my background is concerned, the best thing I could do is work in the sales of commercial RE, relationships for developers to sell their newly built homes, and then try to break into the invesment side of things. (Start with fix and flips as amateur & and the next move into commercial renovations and so forth.) Either way relationships are key in this business and they take a long time to build. After speaking with Victor I felt more confident about my future plans.

Hi, I know I posted the same question in regards to Miami but, I am considering Fort Lauderdale too. I am about to get my RE license very soon, and I am planning on moving in the next two to three years. I wanted to hear from agents/brokers in Fort Lauderdale. I’ll more than likely transfer to Keller Williams because that’s where I’m starting out, or maybe another highly rated company if given the opportunity.