All Forum Posts by: Vana G.

Thanks @Raymond B. !

@Bryan L. Brian, thanks for your input. You make all very valid points and I am learning through all this so I appreciate you being so honest. I understand what you mean about how it may look not committing to an agent and clearly I am going to have to change my approach when I am ready to try this again. Yes as I mentioned earlier that may very we'll be a possibility, but at this point I will have to see and wait. Your feedback has been point on and I really appreciate it. If you don't mind, I would like to pick your brain about it from time to time as we go along.

@Joel Owens Thanks, I can appreciate that. That sounds like a really advanced technique, but I think we are too far into the process to try to implement anything like that. We have reformed our lifestyle, cars paid off, no more credit cards, coupon cutting etc., down to basics with the help of another blog I was reading (mrmoneymustache.com). We are living on a positive cash flow and are implementing some strategies from Rich Dad Poor Dad n Trying to shift into a Cashflow Quadrant. Regardless we are just trying to get through the process with whatever repercussions result of it so that we can move forward. My plan though is as follows: 1. Buy cheap, where I am not afraid to go there alone, 2. Put my money down and go through a non traditional lender for the rest or 3. Just wait and keep saving. Either way all this gives me time to get more educated and get my ducks in a row. I really appreciate all the feedback all of you have given me.

@Rolanda Eldridge yes that would be ideal for me and are keeping my eyes open. @Account Closed yes I continue to save. @J Scott Thanks, that does sound a lot better. I M working on getting my license now, but not opposed to getting an agent before that happens.

@Bryan L. I'm not sure why my credit situation would be a factor in having an agent call back an initial point of contact. "Maybe that's why non of the listing agents want to work with you" - I seriously doubt that no matter how experienced an agent is, he 's not gonna know all this by listening to my message ("Hi this is Vana, my number is 7543330385 and I'm interested in X property on X street. Thanks.) Also, I'm only assuming my score will jump up higher than the bottom it is at now as my $350k dollar mortgage will no longer be in the debt to income part of my credit calculation. It's all a work in progress and I am learning too, and will be posting an update to my profile once it does in case it might help others. I'm not sure why you are so perplexed by my situation, as I am trying to be as transparent as possible, but if you want to know he exact intricacies of where my money is sitting, call me and I will go over it with you as I rather not have to fax you my bank statement(s) until I get to know u better. As for my bank, there is a possibility they will want us to pay back a portion and that is why I am waiting for it to go through before I put all my money to use. I think that all of your concerns are valid though and you have inspired me enough to consider writing a blog about all this.

I also want to mention that as a result of this I am now working on my Real estate license. It was just the little push I needed. :-)

Thanks to all for your replies. @Bryan L. Yes, I do. I am just shy of 60 that I am interested in leveraging if possible or just putting it as down on a property that I can pull equity from later. The properties I've been looking at are around the 100 to 140 range for a duplex or triplex in a not so nice block surrounded by nicer neighborhoods in a desirable part of town. Therein may lie the real problem based on @Walt Payne post. Luckily my credit before the short sale was excellent, and I had very few credit accounts with balances before this that are settled n resolved now, so I suspect once the short sale goes through my score will jump much higher than it is now. Crossing my fingers anyway! Either way it's not going to hold me back from buying because I'm an expert budgeter who is highly motivated to make this happen and I am going to start where my budget and education allows; even if I have to save more to do it. I'm very open about my current short sale experience as I've learned a whole lot about money, saving, investing, living on positive cash flow, legalities, and real estate to name a few. The one agent that did call me back was commercial (on a 5 unit) was very nice, I was open about my cash, credit, and newbie investing skills. He sent me a proforma to work out the numbers but it was still way over my price range ($300k) and he recommended I search residential. I am not big on window shopping so I've called only on properties I actually thought might work, but I like your suggestion to get pre-approved for a loan and will start working on that.

Thanks to all for your advice! @Joel Owens I appreciate you being so honest with the back end of what may potentially be going on here. @Dale Plant is right, it's the initial phone call after seeing a sign on a property for an under 4 unit property. I must admit I'm a bit disappointed that I will need to leave a message stating my name, number, & bank balance to have an agent call me back. I understand a broker/agent's perspective, but I figured getting to know the agent before I showed him/her the goods would tell me a lot about their manners, patience, and whether or not they were serious enough about my business to have them on my team.

While I agree with @Josh Compton and @Jerry W. that I should probably try to get my own agent, it might be hard to do if I'm not getting calls back. I know sales in this business matter but entertaining calls from unqualified buyers, buyers window shopping, or newbie investors who might potentially remember how nice you were and refer you to a few 1000 friends they have across social media is very important these days for any business. My hubby for example has so many friends on FB, everyone emails him to post vacancies on rentals, sales, or jobs because they know it works.

On a bit of a tangent, focusing on performers and not bothering with the ones believed to be pretenders, gives the industry a bad image and opens up a window for any tech startup to come up with real life solutions. As an example, toll workers were replaced by automation, postal workers may soon follow with drones, and both medical n legal services are now being offered online.

Thoughts?

Is it a SFH or condo?

Our tenant's lease was originally signed by two individuals, then one moved out. We amended the lease at renewal to reflect the name changes, but did not change or lower the price as it was already a competitive rate for the area and we wanted to maintain a good relationship with our timely paying tenant. We advised him we would need to amend the lease again should he take on another roommate, in order to be HOA compliant and have that person recognized as a resident by the HOA. The condo is a 2/2, so the extra person wasn't an issue. Only thing is you may want to run a credit check on the second person in case the original tenant moves out and leaves the second one behind to pay you rent.

In the last few days I've called five different agents on five different MF's (numbers taken from signs on properties) and only one has called me back.

Is there any particular wording I should be using in these messages to get them to call me back or are we in a seller's market?

Vana