All Forum Posts by: Sarah Ziehr

Best way is to check the counties website. Keep in mind that the county just wants to be paid and will allow tax lien investors to pay delinquent taxes and then charge you interest. 

@Jonathan Johnson Say you had a qualified buyer that was ready to start looking at property the day you get your license. Most buyers spend 2-3 months searching for property, plus the time to negotiate a contract, and on average another 45 days to close. That right there puts you at 4-5 months minimum before you get your first commission check. 

As for expenses, it costs around $2k-$3k just to get up and going with licenses, exams and insurance. Expect to pay for everything. Then you will spend money on coffees, taking people to lunch, parking, gas, car washes, once you do make a sale you will spend some cash on a nice closing gift. 

Being a broker is an extremely rewarding career, I truly love it! At the heart of it, you are helping people achieve a very personal goal and you can add great value as you gain experience and knowledge. There is also a lot of education involved, so you must be patient. On the flip side, no one likes inconsistent income and when things don't go well, your clients will probably blame you. Enjoy the ride! :) 

Start your application with your lender sooner rather than later. Pay for the appraisal, get the inspection completed. 

Not sure how you think you will close in 30 days... that seems unrealistic. 

Make sure you have enough savings to get you through your first year. You likely won't make a PENNY for a good 6-8 months. During this time you will have plenty of expenses and it all adds up on top of your living expenses. 

Thats high, in Chicago they are more like $500. I would check with a different bank. 

As low as 7% in my market depending on services rendered. 

How long has it been since you sent your last email? Have you tried calling?

There is something in agency relating to abandonment so if you have tried contacting this broker with no response, you can move on and go directly to the listing agent. If this broker that showed you the property doesn't follow up with you, no problem. 

On the flip side, if you move on too quickly and then end up purchasing the property that first broker COULD sue you for procuring cause depending on the laws in your market. 

Bottom line, is give this broker a reasonable amount of time to get back to you and if you feel they aren't looking after your interests then send them an email terminating the relationship. 

I'm surprised this didn't come up when you purchased the property. Usually when things are built illegally, it only hurts you when you try to sell. So for future appreciation, things need to be up to code and meet all local regulations. 

In them meantime you could be paid a visit by a building inspector and get hit with a fine. 

Usually when companies pay for housing, they give the money to the employees and then the employees find a suitable place to live, so this strikes me as very odd. 

Is she messaging you from the companies website and have you contacted her by phone at the business? Look up the companies address on Google earth.  Is the business legit? 

If you do proceed, I would get a hefty security deposit and also make sure all monies are paid via cashiers checks. Also, you will need to charge them extra for the utilities because I don't see they would be a position to put the utilities in one of the employees names.  

Lastly, while you do your due diligence, make sure you are accepting other applications in case a better applicant comes around. 

Hi Jordan, The short answer is no, an appraiser will not value the property that way. 

In order to figure out true ARV I would partner with a good broker in your area who is well versed in buying trends and the type of people buying in that particular area.

Lastly, are you positive the REO property has 2500 sqft and the others were much smaller?