All Forum Posts by: Nate Monson

Hey Eric,

My top 3 would include...

1. Learn as much as you can

2. Decide how you want to run your business, develop a plan and stick to it for more than a year

3. Don't be afraid to ask for help

In my first year I tried everything under the sun and just had shiny object syndrome. It wasn't fun feeling like I didn't know how to get business. But what I learned was that any system will work if you stick to it. The other big piece of it is you have to truly feel like you are helping people out by what you are doing. If your thinking of yourself first, the business will not come. But if you lead with value and think of people first you will do just fine. Two big pilars of my business is 7 Levels of Communication by Michael Maher and The Go-Giver by Bob Berg. Good luck!

Cash Flow? Arbor Hill..basically the hood. There are good deals that pop up in good neighborhoods or Pine Hills, Melrose, Helderberg. But you have to jump on them quickly. Good luck!

@Kevin Urena Just to reiterate what @George Smith said, Albany is a stable market. You can do well in it, but the odds of it becoming the "next big market" is slim. Like a lot of markets things are selling pretty fast so moving quickly on good deals on the MLS is crucial.

@Chris Ferreira hi Chris I sent you a colleague request and a message 

@Mohit Rehan to reiterate what Michael said. There is certainly some higher prices we are seeing. But Albany is always a stable rental market because of the heavy presence of schools, state buildings, and hospitals. If you find something that cash flows here you're likely to do well on the property. Let me know if you need any assistance in this market I'm happy to be of help. 

Hey @Jason Mergl, congrats on getting started. I am a realtor in the Albany area, our office located right on Western Ave. If you have any questions feel free to send me a message and I'd be more than happy to help you get connected with some of these other essential people as well. 

@John Elias There are two people who work in my office who are part timers and having success doing it. Both leverage their relationships in their jobs to generate leads as their main source of business. They do well because they set expectations with their clients before hand. (ie. if a client wants to see a property at 3pm on an afternoon, generally that doesn't work). They both know they cannot take on two many clients, and if they have more than they can handle they would refer it to one of us. They are also organized enough to be able to separate their time between both jobs and serve both well. 

Going back to your point, I think you hit the nail on the head. Even as a full-time agent, focusing in on a small sphere or subset of people and doing right by them and taking consistent action to stay in touch or provide value to those people is a great way to go about business starting out.  Part time people are no different, they just won't be able to take on as much of workload. Feel free to send me a direct message too if you want to chat more!

I think part time agents get a bad rap because many who go and get their license expect to just have deals handed to them without putting in any work. Those who are successful part time know they won’t be closing a ton of deals a year but focus on their 1 or 2 clients they have at a time and put a lead generation system in place that works with their work schedule. There is definitely room for part time realtors in the industry but having realistic expectations and being willing to put in extra work above and beyond your normal work hours is critical to success in my opinion. 

@William Weaver pros of the Albany market are stability because of major industries. Two major universities, Albany medical center, and several state buildings. If your looking at a map, generally the "better" areas in town are south of Western Ave. Between Western and Washington you can still find profitable rentals, but the tenant quality decreases the farther north you go. 

Cons, you probably won't capture much appreciation here, not too much not worthy goes on around here. Most major news is only local stories. 

If your looking to build a steady income driven portfolio I believe Albany is a great option

@Darren Campbell I think this is an excellent example of something I preach to my clients everyday. The most optimal thing to do return wise, may be to go invest elsewhere rather than pay off your loans. But your lifestyle goals may actually say paying off the debt is the best thing for you to do. If $2800 a month puts you in a place where you can get to early retirement or get really close, I would say go for it and figure out the rest later. Good luck!