All Forum Posts by: Oren K.

@Maxwell Silva - In marketing / advertising, products and services are not expected to be sold the first time a potential customer is exposed to them. With few exceptions people do not see something for the first time, decide "I NEED THAT" and make an instant purchase.

Ideally, each time the customer is exposed to you, they are left with an impression / touch. You hope that when they reach a point that they need what you offer, that you are the ONE that they think of and reach out. More likely is that they have been 'touched' by a many people providing the same service and narrow their selection to the few where they formed an favorable impression. You want to be on the short list and then out work everyone else to land the listing.

The 'top agent' question was more for the more experienced agents on this thread to voice their opinions on what influences that decision making process.

Not an expert but there is a reason that brokers invest so much in making up good sounding names (e.g. Triple Diamond, Double Diamond, Diamond; nothing sounds bad) of sales levels, putting it on cards and advertising them.

Oren

As @James Wise and others point out; Do the basics. There is a reason that even if you are Curry or Lebron, Coby or Jordan, as great as are / were, they are still in the gym, day-in and day-out, working on the basics to their last day. Same in all professions, the basics are your foundation. 

Are you persistent enough, dedicated enough and sometimes just stubborn enough to be the first one in and last one out of the 'gym'?

Virtually all agents today list on MLS, do email blasts, list on their own and / or brokers web site and list on commercial web sites (e.g. Loopnet, Zillow, etc); easy to do and static. Working social media / personal networks is much more dynamic. Finding, developing and maintaining a 'brand' is hard and time consuming work.

Let me turn the question around; As a seller, why should someone pick one agent over another. How can you distinguish yourself from the other agents who are doing the same things?

To all the other agents on this thread; what do sellers value most;

- Relationship

- 'Top' agent status

- 'Touches'

Oren

Great - Keep us posted for those that can't be there.

Mario,

Here is a nice summary of Ohio law with links to more information. 

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/ohio-hoa-f...

My reading is that yes, if an association (homeowner or condo) forecloses, it's lien is wiped out as well as every other lien below it. 

In all cases, consult a lawyer for something like this as it never as simple as an public internet article.

Oren

Gabriel,

With your 200K and assuming 25% down-payment, that means that the all in cost (purchase, closing and any CAPEX needs) is ~800K. A 800K deal will be challenging to finance and depending on the market, the number of units will not be very high. At 40K-50K per unit, that property will be 16-20 units which makes finding a PM a bit more challenging. If the per unit price goes up, the unit count goes down.

Also from the agents perspective, looking nationally, you are asking for a lot of work. They may know neighboring markets to some degree but nothing like their own back yard. Filtering to your deal range is simple enough but understanding the other criteria you mention requires a lot of work when it is not local (just as it is for you!). In addition they do not have 'first access' to new deals in remote markets.

As @Brian Burke says, decide on a market, get to know it as well as you can including who transacts in your budget range and if this market can meet your expectations without it being a unicorn; for example, and being extreme, you are not going to find this kind of deal in downtown Manhattan.

An alternative may be to buy smaller (e.g. 2 -4 unit) so you learn as you go, buy via a syndication or JV with someone who has the local contacts and deal but needs the equity partner. Each approach has its pros and cons.

Oren

Jenelle,

Not trying to be harsh but vast majority agents are 'friendly'. If you don't like dealing with people, being an agent is not the profession you should choose.

It sounds like you want a Turnkey provider more then then just an agent. There are a few that hang around BP. Without endorsing anyone, contact:

SmartLand (@Tom Ott)

Cleveland Turnkey

Howmanydoors

Cleturnkey

A quick google search will lead you to them and there are others I'm sure.

Some wholesalers may also provide additional services beyond finding the house itself.

Remember to do your DD on the property AND the people you are dealing with.

Oren

The one I nearly upchucked on (in the Cleveland Market) was a bill payment fee. That's right.. If they pay the property taxes on your behalf... Ding. If an occupancy permit is required... Ding. If they unit is vacant and they pay Water, Electrical and Gas.. Ding, Ding, Ding. On top of this, if they actually have to go and pay in person... Trip charge + per hour charge.... DING DING DING.

The agreement was not clear what happens if they do some work and then pay themselves... Do I hear another Ding?

They also charge a ridiculous amount for dealing with an Eviction. I know what other services providers charge (excluding filing fees) and they literally are 2x higher.

And if you decide to sell but NOT through them, add $100/M in fees for which I'm not sure what they do. They explicitly exclude co-ordination of showings... DING DONG?

One more from the same agreement... They charge 10% of scheduled rents (note: not collected) and then 10% of any Collections. So if a tenant does not pay their rent and it takes a month or three to get them out they still get paid and charge the eviction fee. In addition, if the money does eventually get collected, they get 10% of that. That works out to 20% of the funds collected in the case of an eviction.

I highly respect what PM's do (I wouldn't put up with it!!) and they have every right to charge what the market will bear. Having said that, to me the above is just silly.

Oren

Peter,

As suggested by Antoine, you don't have to max out the refi and depending on your lender, they may consider having the balance (max refi less actual refi amount) as a line of credit (LOC).

If they do, that gives you some additional flexibility should a major expense come up unexpectedly.

Oren

Jay,

RE investment 101 says that higher CAP rates translate in to lower sale prices.

Unless there is a value add play or anticipated strong appreciation going on, at 3 - 4% a buyer is not making much if anything unless they are all CASH. Don't forget that CAP rates are before financing, CAPEX reserves and even basic inflation.

On your second point, there is no future negotiation of a sale price. Rather I believe what Brian is referring to is the assumed exit conditions. While ultimately unknowable until sold, an estimate sale price (aggressive or conservative) is part of the overall investment analysis.

Oren

Jennifer,

This issue is common in just about every sales team for companies large and small. Some people like to think they are dealing with an 'executive' or decision maker and if it helps close the sale / deal, so be it. You want a title, make one up. It has nothing to do with your scope of authority / decision making / compensation / etc.

When you are 16, the title is silly but fun and pretty much everyone sees through it. Giving yourself the title of  CEO / President when you are older but only a 1 man operation is also common and pretty much ignored.

One person I know that is a in their 40's and is a one man shop gave himself the title of 'Director of Acquisitions' . Sounds important enough that they have decision making authority while not unreasonable for a person that age.

Oren