All Forum Posts by: Sandy Thomas

Congratulations, Jimmy!  I am a full-time Realtor/Broker in Indianapolis, concentrating on Hamilton County. 

My recommendation would be that you find a brokerage that offers excellent and ongoing training and allows you to start with as little $ out of pocket as possible.  Choose an office that is active and dynamic, where the agents actually go to work everyday. Ask what (if any) lead programs the company has for you to be involved with (Internet leads, relocation, referrals, etc).

It's an exciting business but its hard to get started, so choosing a brokerage that gives you the most tools possible is important.

Best of luck to you!

Sandy Thomas

317.693.4382 call or text

[email protected] 

In Indiana, none of those three situations would be allowed.  As a Realtor, I am not acting independently, but as a representative of my broker in all transactions. The 'contract' is not with me but with my brokerage.

The one exception would be if I were the principal  broker of my own firm, which did business under my actual name.  For example, if i had named my brokerage:  Sandy Thomas, Realtor

I will be interested to hear others opinions on this and how it is handled elsewhere.

The national Real Estate Heat Index (put out by insightistics) looks at 62 major markets around the U.S. and gives each a 'score' based upon input from surveyed RE agents around the country.  Take a look below and share your thoughts.  As an investor, are you likely to target 'lowest heat' markets, hoping to score deals at the bottom of a price trend, or 'highest heat' markets, to take advantage of consumer/buyer demand?

Hi Karin,

I'm new to BP and this is my first post. :-) But I am a full time Realtor and have had many clients buy / sell with USDA loans.  You should go to USDA.gov to verify that your property is in a USDA eligible area. The maps were re-drawn recently and changes took effect in January.

Each 'region' has their own underwriting office.  Here in central Indiana,  our USDA loans can take up to 90 days to close because our regional office is always so back logged. The loan must clear local lender underwriting fully before being sent to USDA.

My guess is that your buyer has asked for such a large sum for closing costs because it can be used to offset the USDA funding fee, which, as previously mentioned, would otherwise be tacked on to his mortgage balance.

Call a local lender that you trust and ask your questions about USDA financing and how long approvals are taking in your area.  Or perhaps your buyers Realtor could clear some things up for you. The USDA loan product is probably the best product out there for a no money down owner - occupy loan and, as long as the property meets USDA requirements and buyer falls within their income guidelines, you shouldn't reject just because of this loan type.

Hope this helps!  Best of luck for a speedy sale!