All Forum Posts by: Aaron Lovett

Hi @Mary Stead, 

Most agents, including Realtors, want to work. So, I wonder if there is something in your conversation with the Realtors you've talked to that has given them a wrong or bad impression. For example, if they think you just want them for access to the MLS, but that you will be doing the deals themselves, then they have no incentive to do that. In fact, it's possible that their MLS rules (or broker's instructions) might prohibit them from feeding you information without being under contract with you as a buyer's agent.

Another possibility is that is an issue with "wholesaling". Some wholesalers do so legally, others don't. Usually "legally" means that either they are licensed, or they take actual ownership of the property. If you tell a Realtor basically "I am an investor. I want to buy properties that are listed on the MLS, make some repairs, and sell them for a profit, and I am willing to pay you a commission for your help in this endeavor." I doubt you will get so many negative responses.

I do recommend that you work with a Realtor, at least for your first few deals. Pay close attention to everything they do, and the people that they use, and you'll make connections along the way. Alternatively, you could just get your license and have your own MLS access. =)

For my own, I wait until they're 100% before listing.  As most of the replies here indicate, buyers have little imagination for what will be, and the first impression means a lot.

That having been said, I wouldn't necessarily turn down a listing that was in the process of being fixed up.  It would depend on features of the specific property, how far along things were, the seller's understanding and expectations, etc.  If I know I can sell it, I'll list it!

Thanks @Rene G. - I think selling sounds reasonable, especially if your house is better suited to be a homeowner's personal residence than as a rental property.  That's a factor that I don't think has been mentioned but really should be considered carefully.  The tax savings is another factor in your favor, but that shouldn't be the only deciding factor.  In some situations the rental income, future appreciation, equity available, or interest rates might outweigh the tax savings of selling now.  Have someone qualified look over the numbers with you if you are at all in doubt.

The reason I suggested looking at your situation in that manner was to take the emotional and inertial aspects out of the equation and narrow in on the pros/cons of keeping/selling your personal residence.  I know you asked if there were other options, but I think you summarized the options pretty well.  

If overall you'd have more money to work with and a better place to live by selling and using that money to upgrade your own home and start your rental property business, then you've found your answer.  

Keep us posted on how it goes!

Hi @Samantha Solomon, I just sent you a message with my cell# and website.  Looks like my profile didn't update, thanks for letting me know!  It should be there now.  Reach out any time.  =)

Another way to look at the situation: If you had no home, but a pile of cash equal to the value of your current home, would you use some of that money to buy the home you live in now and turn it into a rental? If you would, then keep it and borrow against it by refi or HELOC. If not, sell it and find yourself a new personal residence and more appropriate rental properties.

Yes, you can assume that somewhere in the layers of paint, there's a layer of lead pain.  Even if the place has been gutted and renovated, it would still require a lead paint disclosure because it was constructed prior to 1978, and that's a disclosure you'll be passing along to your tenants.

By the way, lots of good replies here!

Hi @Joshua 

@Joshua D. "in general" is way too broad a term for the question you asked.  Timeframe is one big factor that wasn't included in your question - if you are looking months down the road to access your money, tying up assets in real estate could be a disaster.  If you are looking years down the road - well, now there's the beginning of a conversation about real estate.  Then we ask what you mean by "real estate".  Buy and hold your personal residence?  Flipping?  Buying rentals and multi-unit properties?  Wholesaling?  There are lots of ways to do real estate.  Some of these ways are on par with stock market/mutual fund investing, others can exceed if managed properly.  Any of them can fail, don't be fooled - there's always a risk.  

Oi, get an experienced inspector.  Lead paint is a given.  If electrical hasn't been updated, yeah...  Roof, exterior walls and windows, and foundation - these are the major points for any inspection.  '37 isn't really that old in the big picture, but for residential real estate in general, most inspectors haven't set foot on one of those properties.  Get someone with some expertise in "Florida historic home inspections" - google it or something like that.  A proper inspection can save you way more money (or keep you from losing it!) on the front end than their inspection fee.

In my experience, Zillow is hopelessly out of date. In a sellers market, where offers are submitted within hours (or even minutes) of properties being listed on the MLS, only sites that directly access the local MLS data on at least an hourly basis are worth using. For the consumer without an MLS/IDX agreement, the realtor.com home search is probably better; it should be more up to date than Zillow/Trulia/etc 3rd party providers. (Ignore the Zestimate or whatever these sites try to say something is worth.)

Honestly, I would connect with a local investor-friendly Realtor who can set you up with daily e-mail alerts from your local MLS and let you in on any deals that he runs across. An agent who feeds you money making leads is worth the commission, in my (and my calculator's) experience.