All Forum Posts by: Aaron Lovett

 This is so true.  I can't tell you how many "renovated" properties I've seen that could sell faster and for more money or more profit if the flipper had worked with an agent on the front end to hit the sweet spot of the area.  

On the lower end, I've used the ReStore and Southeastern Salvage. For anything nicer, custom built or Lowe's are good choices.

The Fair Housing Act does not have a training requirement for service or emotional support animals, and just about any sort of animal can qualify.  They also don't state a degree of maturity requirement, so it is conceivable that a puppy would qualify as a service animal under federal guidelines.  A service animal isn't a pet, it's a working animal, so I would be very careful about how you proceed.

This from the Washington State Human Rights Commission:

If you want to get your license, go for it.  Depending on how substantial your purchase is, you might do better than break even, that just depends on the cost of getting your license and maintaining it until you purchase the property.  On the other hand, for one property, it's probably not worth the hassle or the money.

If you are only using Zillow, that's a sure way to lose out.  Zillow is a product to attract real estate agents' marketing dollars, not a replacement for up-to-date real estate market information.  

Why not just use an agent? I e-mail folks hourly automatic MLS updates according to parameters we've worked out. They see properties as soon as they come to market, same as I do, and we can present an offer immediately.

Yours may have been the only offer he's received in 25 years, don't worry about that.  I'm pretty sure I've made 'worse' offers.  The longer it stays on the market, the more attractive your offer may be, so revisit it if you don't find anything else in the meantime.  

If your agent isn't used to working with investors, she may be uncomfortable resubmitting lowball offers - maybe she has an upper-end reputation she wants to maintain or overestimates the properties investment value.  Still, there's no reason to offer more than you are willing to.  

On the other hand, if your agent has numbers to back up her recommended offer - which she should - then you should consider those carefully.  If she knows the market, she may be spot on about what it will sell for.  In either case, there's no harm in making another offer if you want.

 The following is from the MIchigan.gov Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.  It appears very similar to TN law (but I'm not a lawyer):

You can call the seller's agent and ask him to write up the offer for you as an unrepresented buyer.  Now, whether you should do that is another question.  After all, you don't lose anything by having an agent represent you, and you might gain by having an experienced person on your side of the negotiating table.

Remove the ramp and shutters. Shrubbery below the 4 windows.  Add some light/accent color to the porch area.  Beyond that, it depends on whether this is a rental or a flip.  

@Stephen Bayard, sounds like the kind of property an investor might want to pick up as 3 rental units.  Separate meters would make that a more attractive prospect, even if they are all on the same lot.  For the right price, it will sell.

Depending on your lot size and local restrictions, you may be able to divide the lot and sell the properties separately.  I'd start by making a call to the planning department of whichever county your property falls under to find out what it would take to start that process.  

@Justin Jaeger, welcome to BP!

If the neighborhood and the house are nice, and you are in a good rental market, then there will still be demand for that property even with a minimal back yard.  Everyone has a different set of priorities.  I wouldn't let that be the deciding factor.  Instead, start running numbers - calculating whether that would be a profitable rental to own.  

The rental calculator can help with that: https://www.biggerpockets.com/buy-and-hold-calcula...

And there's the whole conversation about whether you want to be across the street from your rental property.  There's a lot to consider.  You'll find some relevant topics here:  https://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/category/...

All the best to you, and keep us posted!