All Forum Posts by: Peter Stewart
Peter Stewart has started 7 posts and replied 155 times.
Post: Tennat leave the door open and I smell weed/marijuana.Marijuana
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
If the temperature control is that important to you, consider getting a wifi smart thermostat (nest, etc) - that way you can set the min/max temps.
As far as the weed smell goes, if they are smoking in the property and your lease expressly prohibits that, then I would bring it up and let them know they are violating the terms and could be kicked out of the property, and they will be responsible for the fees incurred to remove the smoke smell. The substance itself doesn't matter imo - whether it's weed, cigars, cigarettes, etc - smoking is smoking and it will damage your property (stains, burn marks, smells).
Post: CPA for Starters ?
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
The sooner you get a good CPA the better. No need to wait until you have multiple properties. There are tax benefits to owning RE, so once you own 1, you can start taking advantage of them and that is where a good CPA comes in. Plus, they can help you plan and strategize for your next one.
Be sure to find a RE focused CPA. I've been through multiple CPA's in the past, even ones that many RE agents suggested. This last year I hired a new firm that only works with RE investors and it made a MASSIVE difference.
Post: Owner’s title insurance - to get or not?
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
ALWAYS GET AN OWNERS TITLE INSURANCE POLICY!
If a title issue arises, it can be very costly to address. The title policy is not that expensive in the grand scheme of things. And, depending on what state you are in, it's typically standard for the seller to pay this fee anyways, so it's essentially "free" for the buyer.
Post: STR near Orlando
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
One of my STRs is at a "condotel," and it has resort fees (daily seasonal rate). I do not charge the guests separately for them. I factor them into my price. I find that guests get bothered by having even more extra fees piled on to the cost (taxes, airbnb fees, cleaning, etc). And, it can give you a marketing point - "NO RESORT FEE" or "FREE AMENITIES" or something to that effect. If not all the owners in your community are doing this, it will help your listing stand out.
Post: Starting Out in the Real Estate Rental Market
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
Have you considered Indianapolis? It's a thriving city that is still very affordable. Multiple options for cash flow in your price range. I'd consider either a small SFR section 8 rental or a duplex.
Happy to chat more about the market and the options here.
Post: Has any agent used any ChatGPT?
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
I love using ChatGPT! Super helpful for writing listing descriptions and I use it for marketing materials as well - it helps write bio's, mission statements, marketing plans, and so on. For the most part I give it a lot of the raw info (vs asking it to come up with all the points) and ask it to polish the text in a professional manner from the perspective of a real estate agent. It's not always perfect and I do catch errors from time to time (nonsense sentences, grammatical errors, etc) so keep that in mind. But, overall I think it's a huge + and I'm excited to utilize it more, as I get better at it.
Post: Working with a real estate agent for investment property
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
A large portion of my business is investor focused, and on top of the general realtor duties (writing offers, protecting their interests at all times, etc) they expect the following:
1. Hyper local area information. Know all the different areas (A/B/C/D), know the up-and-coming areas, the path(s) of progress, etc. About 98% of my investment clients are not local and probably 95% have never visited Indianapolis or IN, so they rely on me heavily for this kind of information. Our city can vary drastically street to street, block to block, neighborhood to neighborhood, and you need to know all these nuances to get your clients into the right areas and to keep them away from the wrong ones.
2. Help building out a team - need recommendations for good property managers, lenders, contractors, attorney's, etc.
3. Understand all the investment strategies and know what works in your market, examples of what the #'s look like, etc - so you can help guide investors to the right products that fit their needs.
4. Personal investment experience. Investors want an agent that walks the walk, not just talks the talk. Nothing teaches better than doing, so the more personal investing experience you have, the more value you have to add to the conversation.
Post: Looking for Advice getting Home Rented
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
The listing looks great, as does the home. Your presentation is good, so nothing to change there. Zillow is the main website to post on for a self-managed rental, so you're good there too.
Really, that leaves price. We're heading into the slow rental season (at least in my market - Indianapolis - which is seasonal). You may have to adjust to a below market rate to fill the vacancy.
The other option is to hand it off to a professional management company and let them market it via all their various channels (MLS, Zillow, etc).
Post: Under $350k deal with positive cash flow
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
I would look closely at doing a short or medium term rental in Indianapolis. There are neighborhoods that are great for both and that are also in the process of revitalizing/gentrifying, so you can get cash flow as well as a good chance for above-market appreciation.
I'd be happy to chat with you more about the Indianapolis market and opportunities here. Feel free to reach out and we can get a call scheduled.
Post: The bad neighborhood I invested in may kill my investment
- Real Estate Broker
- Indianapolis, IN
- Posts 160
- Votes 167
Quote from @Dan H.:
Quote from @Peter Stewart:
Quote from @Dan H.:
Quote from @Peter Stewart:
I agree with many responses that the 1st step should be to switch PM's. That could make all the difference.
If you do decide to sell, going off market does not guarantee you will get more money. In fact, typically it's the opposite. According to the 2022 NAR stats, FSBO homes sold for an average of 35% less than agent-assisted sales (https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics/research-rep...). And, 40% of agent assisted sales resulted in a sale price greater than 100% of the list price, compared to only 13% of homes sold FSBO.
Also, 71% of real estate lawsuits come as a result of 1 party not being represented in the transaction.
Bottom line is this - if you want to net the most money out of the sale to reduce your losses, hire an agent. I realize I am an agent and I'm biased, but the data supports this claim 100%.
Surprise, the National Association of Realtors found FSBO homes sold for less than agent represented homes. I would have been shocked if this was not their finding.
I am curious exactly how they did this as the variables in price is near infinite. Is could be FSBO homes generally are not the most luxurious fixed up properties. I have purchased multiple times FSBO and can state with certainty that the FSBO were not on par of the value of the MLS listings in that market.
>40% of agent assisted sales resulted in a sale price greater than 100% of the list price, compared to only 13% of homes sold FSBO.
Is this any different than buyers feeling market is hot because homes are selling over list price? Selling over list implies the list was below market whether intentional or accidental. It implies nothing about getting more for a particular property.
It may sound like I advocate OP to FSBO but I do not unless he has good understanding of marketing and pays to place on MLS (there are RE brokers that will place on MLS for a fixed cost).
Who do you think will get better results selling a home? Someone with my experience level, or a "civilian" that might have never sold any real estate. Even if they've sold a handful of homes, their experience level does not match mine. Why do you think the majority of FSBO's fail and they end up hiring an agent?
So while I understand there may be bias in the NAR stats, the bottom line is that statistically and logically, you should expect better results when using a professional. That applies to most trades. You could watch some Youtube videos and represent yourself in court too - do you think someone doing that will get better results than a killer attorney that has a 15yr successful track record? Sure, they may get lucky once in a while, but 9/10 the attorney will get better results.
Using this same logic, professional STR PMs should outperform owner STR PMs. However looking at the top revenue in many markets and the top are largely owner PMs. Why?
My belief is because they dedicate more time and effort to the task.
however, I question if more of the bottom revenue also are owner managed and i suspect they are. Why? Because some do not have the skills or time to properly manage. It takes time and effort to have the knowledge to run efficiently. Brute force can get you so far (but requires a lot of time), but the professional STR have processes, divide tool costs across many unit, have employees and multiple contractors.
I think the same may be the case for selling. Because you have all these listings and cannot concentrate on one, it may be possible for someone who is good at sales and marketing to do better than the RE agent. It is also possible that they do not know what they are doing and do worse or make a big mistake. However, in a sellers markets (and most markets are still in a sellers market) I believe regardless of who sells the RE that it will sell near the optimal market value when placed on the MLS. I believe in a buyers market selling skills is more important.
I definitely expect NAR data to always show using an agent results in higher sales but there is no way it is resulting in a 35% difference on similar properties. That does not pass the sniff test. The only way the data can be that is by not accounting that most off market properties either require work (fixer uppers, hoarders houses, etc) or have risk (unpermitted work, foundation issues, access issues, etc). It has been many years since I purchased an on market property, but I am not under any impression that the off market properties I purchased comp to MLS properties at the time of purchase. They do not and the price reflects this.
best wishes.
The STR PM comparison is not correct. You're comparing apples to oranges. And it's also not always true. I have STR's and I handed one off to a PM this year that I had previously self managed and they did a way better job than I did. But that is besides the point. Back to the commission/agent stuff....
Even if the difference is only 10%, not 35%, after you factor in commissions, that's a ~4-5% net gain by using an agent. When you're (potentially) talking about a lot of money (usually hundreds of thousands of dollars) that can be a substantial amount gained. That also does not take into account the time saved by letting the agent do all the work vs the seller doing it all themselves. For a busy professional and/or parent, that time saved has a lot of worth.
Heck, even if it's break-even and FSBO's sold for the same as agent sold homes, you still benefit by saving time by using an agent.
You also didn't address the statistics about real estate lawsuits. Statistically most arise when a party is unrepresented. That stat is not skewed by NAR. So, by using an agent your risk is reduced as well.
But hey, I'm not here to try and change an internet strangers mind. You obviously don't value real estate agents, and that is completely fine - you have that right. Some people don't value police either, but when someone is breaking into their house, guess who they are calling 1st.....