All Forum Posts by: Sandra K Shirah

I'd show you houses without a POF letter, no problem... unless you have me showing 50+ properties with no offers or real interest :)

On one hand, I've worked with listing brokers who would call me for POF letter before they presented the offer to the Seller. Technically a no-no in LA since you're required to present all offers; however, I usually try to acommodate.

On the other hand, I've worked with some brokers who do not require the POF letter and rely on the Buyer to obtain/attempt to obtain the necessary financing per terms of the buy/sell agreement.

I need....

Before I go...

Finding the...

Of a lifetime!!!

Welcome from Alexandria, LA! 21 isn't too young and in Louisiana I'm sure you'll find the perfect starter property. When my daughter was 23 she purchased her first property in Mamou through ********** for $11K. It appraised at $36K and after a few thousand in improvements it sold for $32K. She hasn't looked back since.

I absolutely love having access to MLS as a RE Broker. However, there are a lot of fees involved... For instance to gain access, you must join the Board of Realtors. It's roughly $600 in membership annually, $200 initiation, plus $50 a month for MLS, electronic key rental $16 month... I'm not sure of the laws of Agency in your investment state, but new licensees are usually required to be sponsored by a broker the first few years. The broker may or may not charge their own set of monthly fees...commission is paid to the broker, who keeps a %, before passing on to you. To avoid that hoopla and focus on investing, It may be best to team up with a broker whose already a member of the board as an earlier poster suggested. I have an investor that offered to pay a portion of my board fees-I run CMAs for him on listed and FSBOs, set up auto email notifications of properties meeting his specifications, etc. Works out great for us.

Welcome from Louisiana!

Originally posted by Mike B.:

Should I look for an agent to line up viewings at this point (and potentially give me more property options) or just start calling the listing agents for each property?

Say I want to look at a property today or asap, before I decide on my own agent, anything wrong with calling the listing agent to view the place with the knowledge taht later I will have my own agent repping me?

If you're in a hurry to view a property, I'd say there's nothing wrong with contacting one listing agent directly. Perhaps you'll form a report with him/her (or another agent in their office) that will lead to showings of the other properties on your list. As you know, fiduciary duty is to the seller and an honest/ethical agent won't divulge any 'inside' info to get you ahead in the game. I definitely wouldn't ask for showings from multiple agents - if your town is small like mine, word will get around and you may find agents less thrilled to show without first securing a Buyers agent agreement.

Welcome @Zachary Harris. There are soooo many helpful folks here - I'm sure you'll quickly find your team of experts. I'm a RE broker in Louisiana, but an absolute newbie at investing!

I recently sold a HUD home to a young couple. The asking price was $60K, their bid was $41K and the deal was closed. I don't think there's any certain formula that could be used to determine the minimum amount that would be accepted. If I had to venture a guess, I would think whether a low offer is accepted depends on the number of properties they're trying to move in the area and the location.

Was wondering if anyone has acted as a proxy for an investment group at a tax sale? If so, please share your experience. I'm considering offering my services to a company, but unsure of fair terms. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Update - I did a quick Google search and found TN's database:

http://www.publicnoticeads.com/tn/