All Forum Posts by: Robert Leonard

To the contrary Ms Templor (@Dorothy York ) as an investor/agent I think strategically about matters of real estate.  It is a poor strategy to go beyond the fact that your client is a motivated seller and reveal all of their motivations unnecessarily.  If the client okays revealing the fact that they are a motivated seller, put "motivated seller" in the listing and with an exceptional property as described in this post, the desired outcome of effecting a quick sale gets accomplished.  Revealing every detail of the client's motivation is unnecessary and I see it as a measure of competence in the REA.  That's my opinion.  No matter what's in the contract, that's what's in the client's best interest for the agent to do as a professional.

@Account Closed how incredibly incompetent.  Unfortunately, I knew before I got my license that there were a lot of people making a living as REAs who are totally unprofessional.  It is totally unethical on top of that to reveal what should be kept confidential that creates such a disadvantage for the client.  Just like any other profession, people like this REA are the ones that give their profession a bad name.

@Arnie Guida First of all, congratulations on your deal!  I hope it exceeds all of your projected returns! ;-)  I haven't done what you're about to do, but I'll share my thoughts for what it's worth.

I would start by showing them that you respect them and care about taking care of the property, by addressing any repairs or deferred maintenance found during your due  diligence and asking if there's anything they've had a problem with that needs your attention.  If they weren't screened thoroughly, I would go through an interview with them like a new applicant, just to get to know them.

Then I would implement my systems and orient them to my way of doing business.  Here's how the rent is handled, the process for addressing repairs and what constitutes an emergency among other things.  Provide any policies or procedures in writing as well as telling them what to expect.

Handle all matters as business and be professional about it.  Be friendly, but not a friend.  I would probably leave them on month to month leases and start any new tenants with 1 year leases, unless you find it advantageous to stay on a month to month arrangement. 

@Jerry Johnson 

I'm not a fan of stumbling forward when it comes to business.  I think you need to know what you are doing and why you are doing it when making any business decision.  You've taken some initiative and found a lead, but you need help with the next step.  Word of mouth travels faster now than at any time in history - this is business and your reputation matters.

I recommend that you share the lead with a local wholesaler or other investor who knows how to handle a warm lead if they agree to let you see how it's done.  You'll do much better to learn from an experienced investor and take a finder's fee or split the deal if it turns out to be one, than to have an encounter with a potential seller that you aren't ready to deal with on your own.

Where will you find that investor? Search by zip code here on BP. At your local REIA. If there's no meeting in the near future, call the organizer of the group and ask for their advice.

Where there's a will there's a way, but you don't have to go it alone!

@Kenneth Huddleston 

I recommend you pick up "The Millionaire Real Estate Agent" and "The Millionaire Real Estate Investor" both by Gary Keller to help yourself understand how these professions work.  As an REA, you are in business for yourself, with your broker.  You aren't an employee and your expectations of annual income has a direct correlation to your own ability and willingness to work.  Unless you take a desk job or have the rare arrangement of being an employee agent, you are not an employee, you are an independent contractor as a licensed agent.

Some of your questions are market specific and some are a matter of self-determination.  If you read those books, you'll understand what I mean by that.

@Bobby Hoyt I was 22 when I bought my first property, and 23 when I bought my first pure investment property. 

I wouldn't let a year pass without buying at least one more property if I was your age again. 

I also wouldn't let being a part time REI stop me from being a Boy Scout dad with my oldest son or stop him from being a Boy Scout.

@Kyle Kelley some locations have limited public access to the MLS. Like only Active listings as opposed to Active, Sold, Pending, Withdrawn, and Expired that are the whole set of property status available with full access to the MLS. It's different from area to area. Most all will give access to Active listings through local broker websites if not a publicly accessible MLS site.

If you are talking about accessing the MLS in a different state, a license is required in each state you want to act as an agent. There is a National Association of Realtors portion of the test everyone takes, and a separate state portion of the test required for each state.

@Mark Campo you should look up "The RING" on meetup.com It's a REIA that meets on the second Tuesday of each month in Baton Rouge and it's a very active group that's pretty well coordinated. There are guest speakers that cover different topics and investors of all experience levels looking to network there. The membership is flexible on cost, you pay $5 to cover the cost of renting the meeting room only for the meetings you attend.

I highly recommend the group!

I'm right down the road too.  I'm just about to make my first purchase in the Baton Rouge market when I close next week!  I would like to do more in that area.  See you around the site here on BP or around town!

@John Van Uytven   I did it once as an act of mercy.  The relative was living with my dear grandmother and I had a vacancy.  It went about as bad as I expected and I non-renewed at the end of a year.  I NEVER would have done it other than in those circumstances.  That was me "taking one for grandmaw." 

The good part of that story was that is was a huge relief to my grandmother!

@Mark S. there is a list of lenders who participate in the Homepath loan programs and those are the only ones you can use, lenders from their list (the list is on their website).  Those lenders, from my experience calling them, won't take away from the Homepath rules, but they will add to them.  Something like, investors can finance with 10% DP, they might require 15% for example. 

It's like most other lending related questions, you have to take some time and do some legwork to figure out which lender will give you the best terms.  The last time I checked, there was only one of the lenders on the list that had an office anywhere near my home market.  That makes it difficult to do what I prefer and that is to make an appointment and sit and speak with someone face to face.