All Forum Posts by: Sam Lin

@Tia WillisWelcome! Great time and place to invest.

@Matt PowellIf you're advertising you're a licensed agent or realtor, you'll need to disclose brokerage and a number of other required items. Having said that, I've seen business cards that show one side as investor-driven, and the other side as representation driven.

@Delphina JenningsSounds like a great plan you've laid out towards commercial industry. Welcome!

@Jami Carnagey Research seems to indicate a negative impact for the communities when a casino move in. That was the case when I was in St. Louis and Lumiere Place moved in. However I do think nice areas with rentals will benefit from it - new casino employees with extra cash may settle in Alexandria, both for the commute and the community.

As for buy/hold route vs flip, like others have said, it depends on your strategy. There is another option that hasn't been mentioned: buy a house with a large walk-out basement and bedroom, and rent downstairs. That'll give you a little relief for your mortgage payment and perhaps allow you to dabble in other buy/hold or flip. For flipping, there's a lot of work before the construction starts. And during construction, you should also check in on the progress - you'd be amazed on how some contractors take 2 hour long lunch breaks and take their time on your renovation.  It's not impossible since one investor I worked with would check in on the property during her lunch break at her full time job.

@Account Closed If a team is associated with a brokerage, they will have to advertise as such. For example, xyz team - L&F or KW or CB. So Google is your best friend.

There are also other small brokerage like Keri Shull Team that I've heard good things about, but it's best if you solidify a list of questions to ask and compile a good 4-5 brokerage of different sizes to interview. Thankfully it's not quite like a corporate job, because you can always jump to a different brokerage fairly easily.

@Brad Dwin Welcome to BP forums! 

@Jami Carnagey Welcome to BP! PG county properties have been a hot commodity for some time, and there are still deals to be had. One investor I've worked with had a recent example in PG county: purchased at $110k, renovated for $30k and sold it at $215k in less than a week. Your asset amount seems to be in line with the distressed properties. Are you looking to do renovations yourself or contract out? It's a good idea to have a good renovation estimate when you look at properties.

I also wouldn't dismiss other counties nearby like Ann Arundel or even Baltimore. I'm on the fence about whether the casino will add much value to the surrounding communities, but National Harbor isn't going anywhere.

@Andrew Nugent Welcome! Great area to invest.

@Account Closed Welcome Deborah! Piggy-backing on what Russell said, there are also sub teams within KW and L&F that you could consider - they often tackle transactions as a team so you can learn and have a team to lean on as a part-timer. 

There are mid-size brokerage firms that do great training and offer compensation split somewhere between the KW/L&F and the flat-fee brokerage co. I'd definitely recommend checking out the training schedule to see if you can even make the classes during the day, or if they have training on weekends.

@Paolo Nascimbeni Welcome Paolo! Any specific reason why you're moving away from single family homes?