All Forum Posts by: Peter Mckernan

@Michelle Nelson

This really depends on what your goals are for the sale. The FSBO route could be extra profitable for you since you will not have to factor in real estate agent fees for selling the property. This is a good route as well if your margins within the sale does not give you the equity to sell the property, pay off the loan, pay the agents, and pay the fees. The sale of your property may take a lot longer due to the lack of marketing resources. The other asset of FSBO is not having to interview multiple agents over time to pick the right one for your sale.

The advantages of going with an agent would be quicker sale time with access to the MLS and other listing resources. Word of mouth to get the property sold through relationships the agent has built through friends and co-workers. The agents may give some suggests on how to get he property to sell quicker (i.e. staging, small maintenance, small rehab). The agent will know the area and exact price to sell the property at.

@John Lee 

Look into Kinecta Credit Union who are based in Orange County and LA County. They are a smaller bank, they accept business checking accounts, and they use those accounts to help people open the account for their LLC or S-Corp.

I opened my business checking through them for my S-Corp and they are great. They also also provide portfolio loans to their members. Check them out, I have been very happy! 

@Vanessa Perez

It sounds like your mom should look into getting someone within the area that she is familiar with (i.e. community friend, family friend, or other) that will help her pinpoint a person that has real estate contacts within that area that could help her out. This is a sticky situation of course; however, it can be done with a lot of leg work from your mother and you.

It’s finding those people in the community and the community of real estate out there in Dallas that will assist you as much as possible without charging you any fees/commission. Those aspects will help you out the most.

Hello @Donna Adamek

The best plan of action would be to contact a lawyer that could help you pick the best entity for this group (i.e. LLC or S-Corp). Once they give you that advise it will be the operating agreement that will become the biggest assist for this group. This is a document of an LLC or S-Corp that gives a define action plan and map for the group for who to do what, the percentages the person(s) get, and all the way up to what happens if someone whats to walk away from the whole project.

The next challenge would be to find financing. Anything property that is not a commercial property (i.e. 1-4 units) will be traditional financing. Anything above that magic number 4 will be a commercial loan that will be more flexible in the sense that your group can give the bank the pro forma of the property in question and they will fund the deal off that information. Traditional financing will have to qualify each and every person in the deal, which can be more time consuming and you may hit many more walls verses a commercial loan.

Hello @Enrique Ortega

There are many questions that arise with this inquiry. 

How many units do you want? In what area do you want to buy the apartment? Once you know the area then you can look at Loopnet.com to get an idea of the prices within your area; however, to get the best prices and most up to date you will need to speak with a commercial broker for that information. The price will differ from what class the property is (A,B,C,D...) and what other properties within that area have sold for. Also, are there any back taxes on the property you would have to pay for, any backed up bills that are due to the city/utility companies? How much are you and your partners going to finance for the deal and who would you have do the property management? Another big thing is looking at the pro forma looks like for the deal that you would be entering into. 

Many different factors that will effect all the items regarding the deal as you can see. I would first pick an area you want to invest, study it, and then find a commercial broker to develop a relationship with to get more information on properties within that area.

@Enrique Ortega Welcome to the site! 

I would suggest partnering with one of two people. One partner that has a lot of experience and work with them as a birddog until they build up trust in you to get to a place that is a percentage partner. The second option would be to partner up with a friend that has the same aspirations with you and that you know very well! Someone who you trust with finances, business, and other investing aspects.

Hello @Labraysha Brickhouse

I would suggest that you use Zillow or Redfin for comps, see what one works best in your area. Be cautions to when the property was sold and when it was listed since they do not update these platforms as much as the MLS. If these properties are within driving distance I would suggest to pick them out, and they drive the area to see if they truly do have for sale signs out in the yard, and then call the agent to ask the price (the house needs to be a comp in size and all else).

Good luck! 

Welcome @Edward Rangel glad you came to the site! This site can give you so much, just ask all the questions you want and reach out to anyone within your area if you would like to know more about your target market.

@Erica W. Yes, I have felt this before! Real estate, starting a business, getting out of debt, or any other goal worthwhile takes time! The time that it takes to do those things can take many months to many years. It comes down to patience and persistence. Even those things may discourage you, it’s about staying the course and excelling! 

Hello @Sikder Qais welcome to the site! This site and the people on it will teach you a lot!!