All Forum Posts by: Robert Blanchard

@Edward Sklar Thanks for the info.  Sounds like a great program to help out Veterans.

Hi @Jeff L. , Welcome to Bigger Pockets.

I am located in Littleton, just southwest of Denver.  

Colorado Association of Real Estate Investors is one of the larger REIA's in the Denver area. Here is a link to their website: www.carei.com

Here is a list of other REIA's in Colorado:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/rei/colorado-real-est...

The Boulder one did merge with CAREI in July of 2013. 

Have a great day!

Rob

I see many people in your age group getting started in RE. Attend a REIA meeting and there will be several people there that are willing to share some of their experiences with you. This site has tons of information and great podcasts.

RE has made more millionaire's than the Stock Market has.  Slow and steady will get you a long way in RE as you will end up with a nice portfolio of properties if you do not mind being a landlord.  Property Managers will charge you 7-10% to handle your properties so you will never get that 2am phone call about a water heater letting go. 

Welcome to the BP community!

Rob

@Ryan M.  When you mention a Slider, I suspect you mean a sliding glass door or was it a sliding window?

My Dad was a Firefighter and told me back before the latches got better on sliding glass doors, you could pick up the door and the door would then be able to slide open.  Saved them from having to break into a house that had a fire alarm going off.  It is also the reason why many people put broom stick handles  in the tracks of a sliding glass door.  The problem with doing that is if you need out quickly if their is a fire, you might have a hard time locating the broom stick handles in the smoke. 

I was not aware at how many times that keys go missing. If I was an RE Agent that listed REO's for banks, I would be tempted to use one of those rocks with a hide a key compartment as a backup. You could even hide the rock in a flower bed or somewhere else where it could not be easily detected.

I do not understand how some Realtor's even get enough closings to make a living. 

In Colorado, they got rid of the Associate Broker and now all Brokers have to have the same type of license.  This weeded out a lot part time Brokers that did not seem to grasp the need to perform certain tasks, ie the call back in a reasonable amount of time. 

I have been tempted to become a full time RE Broker just to prove to myself that I could do a better job than 75% of the ones out there.   I do believe that 20% of the Realtor's do 80% of the business.  In Niche markets, the numbers are probably a bit different. 

I know this thread is about contacting a RE Broker to purchase a property but here is a thread on why you should use a RE Agent to list a property for sale.

http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/21/topics/1491...

You can tell that this Agent takes his job seriously.  Now if we could find Agents/Brokers that did 70% of the things listed it could make a difference of a property being sold vs being just listing for an Agent that has too many listings to give you a good service for the fee that they are charging you.

I believe Customer Service should be high on anyone lists that deal with the public or clients.  If I call a Business twice and do not hear back from them, I cross them off of my list of whatever type of business that they are in.  Luckily, I am in a larger metro area so I there are lots of businesses in most categories.

Rob

Why is he selling his properties?  If you can get some investors together to buy a few of his other properties you could wholesale them and use the money to make a down payment which might make him more willing to do owner carry on his 8-plex.   If he is really a motivated seller he also might be more willing to carry a note.   How did you locate this property?  Was it listed by a Realtor or is it on Loopnet or some other similar site?

Rob

If you decided to use this guy and something happens to him or his helpers while doing your roof, how much will it cost you in higher insurance rates (and deductible) if you have to file a claim?  Does he have the capability to buy the shingles at a supply house at the same discount that his regular boss gets?  What happens if the quality of work does not pass the inspections by the county/city when they come by to do inspections?  Will he come back and fix the problem items in a timely matter?

Not worth the stress or any problems that might arise IMHO. 

How did you meet this guy?  Did he approach you or is he a mutual acquaintance?

How many estimates have you gotten?   Curious minds want to know.

Rob

In Denver, my father bought lots of appliances for his properties from the Sears Scratch and Dent Warehouse.  This place mainly sells out of box returns and last one items or damaged items.  Sears also opened Sears Outlet stores in various markets. Supposedly 30-60% off of appliances.  I have not shopped there but their website www.searsoutlet.com looks interesting. 

Thanks for the heads up on RAC and the like.  

Rob

Curtis, What did you decide to do?

I agree with most of the posters on this thread, 2 years is too long.  The facts are a bit too vague to really comment on the  no compete contract that he mentioned.  

Is the non compete going to be a certain area, closer to him, or is it going to include all of Philadelphia along with some other large cities within 2 hours of him or you?

If you will be planning on spending most weekends and some evenings with him, I would think that you could learn most of what he has learned in REI in about a year. Throw out that number and see what he says.

It might be worth it to have a contract drawn up by a Real Estate Attorney regarding what is expected and other factors regarding the mentor-ship of you from him.  That way you could put in an out clause in it for both of you.  If your Mentor wants a non compete clause that is too strict, that could mean thousands to you if you can not actively run your Real Estate business without being limited in region or other factors for the 24 months that he stated in your conversation with him.

From what I understand, a true wholesale deal, does not require any money other maybe an earnest money deposit, or even your own credit to do an assignment of contract on a deal that you find. 

I just reread you initial post and realized that it was written in March, a few days after you joined BP.  Have you agreed with him to do a Mentorship with him or did you go another route?  Please post to this thread on what you decided to do.  Thanks,

Rob

@Sean Brooks  Thanks for posting this informative list. 

 Regarding 48. Create and Mail Flyers.  Do you use flyer boxes on all of your listings?  It is one of my pet peeves when a Realtor does not stock one of those boxes but there is a box on the sign in the yard.  Or they have one with very little info on it.  There are still some home buyers that drive neighborhoods to find houses for sale and a decent flyer can really make a difference.   

It would be nice if most Real Estate Agents would do 80% of the things on your list.

Rob