All Forum Posts by: Charlie MacPherson

@Ararat Vardanyan  Might want to make sure you're in compliance with the TCPA.  https://www.compliancepoint.co...

@Sarah Castor  The first step is to run it by your broker, who in all likelihood will tell you that it's illegal.  Even if he/she approves, your next step is to plan your defense when you're charged with taking a net listing.

That's illegal in most states and strongly discouraged in others.

Wholesalers need to buy a property well below market value.  Generally, they do that by finding sellers who are either badly misinformed about the real value of their property or are so desperate to get out of a bad situation that they'll accept a bad deal.  Either way, the wholesaler needs to buy it at a discount that's so big, they can mark it up and assign the contract to an investor who is still getting a good deal.

In other words, wholesalers are generally taking advantage of ignorant or desperate people.  Your final step is deciding whether that's how you want to make a living. 

Many wholesalers try to sell the lie that they're providing a service that Realtors can't.  That's absolute garbage and even if they won't admit it, they know it's true.  There is absolutely nothing that a wholesaler can do that a decent Realtor can't - and that includes selling to a cash buyer with a fast closing.

Of course, the best way to help a seller is to get the property on the MLS with a good description and great photos. They will *always* net more money in the end. That's just the right thing to do.

In my experience, $/sf is very unreliable.  In fact, every time I've looked, it's very non-linear.

Smaller homes routinely show a larger $/sf than larger.  There are so many other factors that impact the final price that the square footage of the property is dwarfed by them - beds, baths, age, style, condition, acreage, garage, basement, HVAC, etc, etc, etc.

@Alexis Ayala We just terminated our VA in the Philippines. They were making 120 - 150 calls per day, looking for business owners who are thinking about selling.

They were given a script that is dead simple - the same one that I used to land a $3.6M sale.  After two different VAs and over 1,000 dials, they could not set a single appointment.

My advice is to watch their reports and metrics like a hawk. If your VA isn't making quick progress and especially if their managers aren't jumping on that lack of production, look elsewhere.

Hire slow, fire fast.

@Francisco Milan  You should educate yourself on the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Do Not Call (DNC) regulations. 

Spamming people with calls and texts is illegal and there is no end to the line of lawyers who are happy to sue you. 

Fines for TCPA violations run between $500 and $1,500 PER CALL.  Fines for violations of the Do Not Call list can run to $43,280.

Everybody hates spammers.  Please don't be one.

https://www.dnc.com/news/what-...

@Abhishek Maloo Your rights will depend on the exact language of the contract. For example, what does the contract say happens in the event of an EMD dispute? What does it say about the parties right to cancel? What does it say about default?

If the buyer truly has no right to cancel and then cancels, they are in default and you SHOULD be within your rights to retain the EMD. That said, the buyer's attorney could file a lis pendens, clouding the title. You'll have to fight that in court.

One alternative to look into is small claims court, which in my experience is simple and inexpensive. I've gone twice and prevailed both times - without a lawyer. The key question is whether the amount of EMD is low enough to be within the small claims limits in your location.

Good luck!

Moving out of real estate and into business brokering was by far the best financial decision I've ever made.  It might be for you too!

What we do:  We help business owners to sell their companies.  Simple as that.

How we do it: We spend thousands upon thousands of dollars on marketing to find business owners ready to sell. 

We have vendors mailing thousands of postcards to generate leads for you.  We hire people to cold-call business owners for you, though you'll need to make calls too. 

We offer a generous referral fee for your deal finders, so you can have a bunch of bird dogs running around for you, generating seller leads.

Once we have a business listed, we continue to spend like crazy on promoting those businesses.

We also provide a robust CRM for you.  All of this is to generate leads for you and we cover all of those costs.

Sounds interesting, but I don't know anything about business brokering.  No worries - almost nobody does.  We will train you and provide all the support you need.

What kinds of businesses do we sell?  Anything except adult-related businesses and those on the shady side.  So no strip clubs, porn-related companies, pawn shops, pot businesses, etc.  

We really like Main St.  Pizza shops, dry cleaners, gas stations, convenience stores, motels, liquor stores, etc.  We also like retail, wholesale and distribution businesses as well as manufacturing.  Personally, I'm specializing in aviation, just because I like it.

What's in it for me?  Money.  Big reward for hard work.  Personal satisfaction. 

Generally speaking, you will earn about 5% of the value of the business, paid at closing (3% on the real estate component of the sale). 

For example, let's say that we sell a auto body business at $500,000.  That's a $25,000 commission.  A $1M lumber supply company with another $1M in real estate would earn $50,000 on the business, plus $30,000 on the real estate, so an $80,000 commission.

My personal best commission on a single deal has been $144,000.

Do I need a real estate license?  No.  As long as real estate transacts incidental to the sale of the business, no license is required anywhere in New England. In fact, we don't want you to be licensed.  I turned my own MA and ME licenses in when I joined the company.

If you decide to venture outside of New England, there are a number of states that require a real estate license in order to sell a business with or without real estate.  I'll guide you.  If a seller comes back 6 months after selling his business and now wants to sell the real estate, we can't touch it.

What's my territory?  Primarily eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island, as that's where we'll focus our marketing for you.  There are no hard boundaries though.

What are my expenses?  You'll cover your own travel and other expenses.  We provide business cards, but all of your marketing costs are company-paid.

Where is my office?  You'll work from your home and car.  You will report to me in the Augusta, Maine office but will rarely have to be there.

What do I need to be successful? First and foremost, the ability to survive 9+ months before your first deal.  This position is 100% commission based, so financial reserves or a spouse's salary will be key.  I did manage to get a nice home care agency sold in 85 days from listing to close, but that's unusually fast.  Most deals will take over 6 months to close and my top deal took 13 months.

Next, you need sales skills.  You need to be able to handle an incoming lead, qualify it and set a face-to-face appointment to get the listing.  You need to be personable such that you can build a quick rapport with someone you've never met before. 

But if you hate making cold calls, hate driving to see prospects or hate talking to strangers, this is not the opportunity for you. 

This is where the vast majority of salespeople in any given industry fail, so be brutally honest with yourself.

If you have those skills and abilities and are willing to work hard, this might be a position worth exploring.

What's next?  Contact me and we'll talk.  If this is the right fit for both of us, we'll get you started right away!

Charlie MacPherson, Business Broker
Inbar Group, Inc.
12 Shuman Ave., #10
Augusta, ME 04330
[email protected]
www.InbarGroup.com

@Mike Eichler  I also focused on investors when I got licensed and I'll warn you that the investors who are ready, willing and able to transact are few and far between.  If you can find them, treat them like gold.

I concentrated on rehabbers because it looked like 2 commissions.  A tiny crappy commission on the crappy house that was in crappy shape.  But then, a much nicer commission when I sold the rehabbed house.  That sounds good if you say it fast, but I can't tell you how many showings I did in abandoned, frozen, mold-infested foreclosures, only for the "investor" to decide that it needed too much rehab.

You will run into many, many more "investors" who will tell you that they're investors, but in reality, are dreamers.  They've seen a YouTube video, gone to a guru course or even stumbled upon Bigger Pockets and know how to talk a good game - but that's all.  They are neither ready nor able to buy.

You'll want to filter out these time wasters as quickly as you can, because time is all you have and these people will suck your calendar dry. 

Start by asking how many deals they have completed and get a proof of funds.  Be aware that many hard money lenders let you print your own proof of funds documents.  Those aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

I got out of real estate almost 2 years ago for much greener pastures.  Looking back on my years in real estate, I think I would have done far better just concentrating on retail buyers and sellers.

Good luck!

@Account Closed A quitclaim deed is one where the seller transfers whatever rights he has in the property to you.  Those rights may be encumbered by liens, encroachments or even by previous title defects.

The first thing to do is to run a title search to see if there are any liens on the property.  Only then should you proceed.

The second thing to do is to buy owner's title insurance.  That protects you in the event of a future challenge to the title.

I was licensed in Massachusetts and Maine.  In Massachusetts, I saw quitclaim deeds on almost every property I sold.  That's the custom there.  In Maine I saw warranty deeds and only rarely a quitclaim deed.

The seller's comment "cash sale with immediate closing" raises a red flag for me.  It might be nothing, but it might be that he's rushing you for nefarious reasons.  Is he allowing a property inspection?  If not, I'd be very suspicious of defects that he doesn't want uncovered.

Far better to miss out on a good deal than to get rushed into a disaster.

Good luck!

@Samuel McCart You might want to check in with @John Thedford to talk about the legality of unlicensed wholesaling in Florida.  (Hint: it's illegal).

As others have said, you might consider getting licensed as a Realtor.  The barriers to entry (at least in MA and ME where I was licensed) are VERY low, but you have to invest a lot of money in marketing yourself and probably 3-4 months to your first paycheck.

One other piece of unsolicited advice, gained from painful personal experience.  Reading your posts, it sounds like you have a severe case of the "hardly waits", as in "I can hardly wait to quit my 9-5 and become financially independent."  The hardly waits is a disease the will cost you money.

I've been there.  I could hardly wait to date that girl, take that job, make that investment, etc, etc, etc.  I have come to learn that when my brain is in that mode, I don't make good decisions.  I overlook pitfalls and minimize others, because all I can see is that greener grass.

It might be worth taking a step back and taking a deep breath.  Maybe put together a solid game plan with a couple of trusted friends or advisors.  In fact, you might want to have a meeting with www.SCORE.org.  (Service Corps of Retired Executives).  That's a free service that, depending on who you get as a mentor, can be an enormous help.

Good luck in whatever you decide.