All Forum Posts by: Lucas Thomas

I own a single family rental in SC, just south of Charlotte, NC. Our property management company is based in central Charlotte, about 30 minutes north. My tenants recently submitted two separate maintenance requests to replace the doorbell and replace the kitchen faucet sprayer head (just the head). Anyone who’s performed these tasks knows each one takes about 5 minutes. And our property is 5 minutes from Lowe’s, so parts aren’t an issue.

The PM’s maintenance team charged 3 hours for each separate job, stating that they include drive time from their office.  When I asked about the job times, they agreed to reduce the doorbell charge but held firm on 3 hours for the faucet because they claimed it took time to troubleshoot. 

So I have three questions: 1) is it standard to charge owners for drive time from the prior job site or office; 2) am I crazy to think these are egregious overcharges; and 3) what actions can I take beyond requesting that they review and lower the charges?

Good afternoon,

What are the pros and cons of being an individual that invest in real estate properties and also a licensed realtor?

I know I don't have to be a realtor to invest in real estate but I just wanted to get some insight from other people in that space. I'm considering getting my realtor license so this question came to mind. Thank you for any insight. 

yep

Hi Steve, thank you for your response. For starters, I would like to clarify that I do not claim to be the most knowledgeable or experienced in this business, let alone in this niche. I do, however, make my clients and their goals my utmost priority. I have just recently begun to familiarize myself with the investment world, and I have already connected with several wonderful individuals who are willing to share their knowledge and expertise with me. For this reason, coupled with my own due diligence and research, I am better able to assist my clientele in reaching their investment goals.

Also, what's a standard commission rate that I should charge if I help my client negotiate a 3 years lease agreement with a prospective property? 

 I'm not sure this deal even works at 6%.  If I put a large amount of cash down, like 50%, the seller might finance at 4%.  I'm waiting for seller to confirm.  I think the area is appreciating approx 5% annual.  Regarding demand, I don't know if there is more demand to move there.  Probably won't rent by the room.  The house doesn't need any renovations.  The positive is the area which doesn't have much in the way of hotels and no future plans for them.  STRs seem to be quite acceptable to the local gov.  It's in the Englewood area....

Hey guys

I bought my first property in the area, made it a Short term rental and so far everything is good - the property is cash flowing and booked - thank God.

I'd like to repeat the process and purchase another one. I found a lovely 3 bedroom 2 bath in a good location and a good condition for 600k, I see a vision just like my other property and I can see it cash flowing as well after a few renovations.
The one thought that holding me back? I looked at the same market a few months ago and saw a property for the same price , however it was 5 bedrooms! didn't purchase that one because I wanted to make sure everything would be ok with my first investment.

Is this still a good deal? Should I wait? maybe interest rates will go down even more? maybe Ill find a better property that can appreciate better - a 4 or 5 bedroom in Fort Lauderdale area?

 Hi Lucas. I just have experience with buy and hold landlords and flippers. I started out as a wholesaler so I know the game. There is just so much competition that I think you and @Brett Deas are right. I need to get in with a wholesaler. And yes @Beth Rook I know the owner of Simple Wholesaling Brett Snodgrass. That guy is a total rock star investor. We both basically started out together. He just went down the wholesaler path while I focused on being an agent. So, I am on their list. We just cannot get the numbers to work. Which has led me to believe exactly what Lucas is saying and I have to go back to being a wholesaler in order to source my own deals for my buyers. Indy is a pretty popular market and I already have investors who have totally pulled out because they believe this market it toast. I guess I am biased or I simply am too stubborn to believe that. So, I am just trying to look outside of the box to source new deals that wholesalers have not already marked up in price. So Lucas you are on it man! That is exactly what I was thinking too. 

Thank you everyone for your advice here! It has been absolutely amazing. So thank you!

Not at all. 

Real estate agents don't have to be a part of NAR.

Buyers and sellers don't have to use real estate agents. 

Everything is negotiable. 

If those brokerages want to leave NAR. They can, but they don't get access to MLS because its exclusively NARs property.

If they want, they can create their own association with its own rules and own listing service. Its a free country. 

NAR, realtors, and the MLS are one of the best systems to buy and sell real estate anywhere in the world.

As someone who has bought and sold property overseas, I can assure you. I wish NAR, realtors, and the MLS existed over there. They don't.

Which means there is no MLS, No Zillow, no listing aggregate websites. Nothing.

Its just listings you have to find manually by going to individual websites, real estate companies, etc.. You have to call or visit each one to get their listings. Then you have to coordinate with different people with little to no professional background or even background checks. Which can make the process more dangerous.  

The issue I have with the premise is that Zillow and all the aggregate sites would not exist without MLS. The ease of buying and selling real estate wouldn't exist without NAR and MLS.

Either way, this is like someone suing attorneys for charging a base of $250 an hour as "That's what they charge" and then a jury finding the attorneys liable for price-fixing. The whole thing is silly. 

Because NAR doesn't price-fix the 3rd question is moot.