All Forum Posts by: Corey Smith

I finally got in the car and started Driving For Dollars this weekend. I actually really enjoyed doing it, and the time flew by as I was.

My question is about what others are looking for when they are Driving For Dollars. Obviously everyone is looking for the distressed houses (ie. Vacant). But what else are you looking for? What kinds of houses/properties are you adding to your database? Are you adding any house on the block that is not up to the same level as the other houses on the block? 

I'm just looking for ideas to expand my criteria for what I put on my list as I'm driving. Because around here (Seattle / Tacoma / Bellevue area), I'm not coming across a whole lot of vacant houses, and I'd like to start casting a wider net.

I've been test driving the Property Radar app on the three-day trial (which is awesome, by the way, and I will be continuing the subscription), so it's fairly easy for me to see what kind of equity, etc. is in a house while I'm driving past it. 

Portfolio Lenders seem to be a good way of breaking the four-loan limit that many people talk about, but my question is about the ability to use a bank that offers them as a new (ie. First Time) investor. 

Who out there in the BP community has be able to secure a portfolio loan without having some amount of success as an investor beforehand? I own my own home, have an accidental rental that has been tenant-occupied for over 7 years now, have great credit, good W2 income, and moderate debt (student loans and cars, mainly).

And for my local BP'ers (Seattle, Tacoma, Bellevue, Washington) ... what are the local banks that I should be contacting in the area?

Count me in the group that feels like it's not necessary to fall behind any one methodology. Everyone's situation is different, and as such you should listen to a broad range of ideas and pluck from those the ones that appeal most to you.

That'll give you a place to start, and you can tweak your own method as you go!

29 days after enrolling with Rockwell, I passed the Broker's Exam today!

So happy to have that (and the dry reading that comes along with it) out of the way, so that I can get back to spending all my free time building my business.

I'm not necessarily looking to be an agent, but if anyone has any recommendations for how I can put my (pending) license to work on the side of my W2 job and learn/earn ... I'm all ears! As of right now, I am looking for a no/low "desk fee" brokerage where I can hang my license and only pay in the event that I sell a house.

The exam did go well today! I didn't get a score back, but got a "PASS" and I don't feel like I missed too many questions.  

So I enrolled with Rockwell on May 16th, and passed the test today, June 14th. Which was definitely not what I was expecting the time frame to be. I did plow through the 90 hours pretty quickly, though. Typically working through two lessons a day (3 hours or so).

I'd recommend Rockwell, too. I don't have anything to compare it to, but I think it prepared me to pass the Exam pretty quickly ... and Rockwell is one of the three schools that creates the Exam questions. So something like 1/3 of the questions were ones I saw throughout the coursework quizzes and sample exams. 

That is really interesting @Ryland Taniguchi

Is that something you would suggest doing from the jump? Or something to move towards once you have more than a couple assets?

@Hussein Madkour As of right now, I don't intend to work actively as an agent/broker. I want the access to the MLS, the ability to go into houses without waiting on an Agent to show it to me, and (more longer-term) be able to save on commissions once I'm in the position where I'm selling my own properties. For that, I intend to hang my license with a brokerage that charges minimal fees, which in turn would offer minimal support.

I finished up my 90 hours earlier this week, am working through the Cram Course now, and have scheduled to take the exam on Tuesday. So from beginning to end, assuming I pass the exam on Tuesday, it will have taken me basically one month to obtain my license. Well, I guess more the ability to obtain my license would be more accurate, since you don't actually get your license until you have a brokerage to hang it at. But you have 1 year from the time you pass the exam, so that gives some time.

I was also pondering whether to get my RE Brokers License here in WA. Mainly I wanted it for access to the MLS immediately, but also long-term in order to save on commissions when I get to the point where I am selling my own properties.

Long story short, I went ahead and started working towards it. I enrolled with the Rockwell Institute (online version) mid-May, already finished the 90 clock hours, and will be taking the state exam on Tuesday. I do not plan at this time to actively be an Agent, but rather to hang my license at a brokerage that has minimal fees (and minimal support for me) like @Tim Angevine referred to.

I don't know what brokerage that will be, but I know at least one person that is paying under $40/mo. to hang his license. But I'm looking for all options for once I pass the exam. The good thing is that once you pass the exam, you have 1 year to figure it out.

Hope this helps.

@Kevin McFarlan I was asking about SE King County because that is my neck of the woods, and while I've seen people discuss North of Seattle and the Tacoma/Olympia markets, I hadn't see much in the way of that particular area. I was interested to see if there was a reason for that.

Capital restrictions are somewhat of an issue for me, and with that being the case I'm trying to focus my efforts on an area where I know I'll be able to afford to put down the necessary amount in order to secure non-conventional financing.

You're right, though, a deal is a deal. And I am open to doing deals anywhere that wouldn't require me to spend all day driving to and from. I'm always willing to listen to those that are willing to share, so I'd love to sit down with you and chat about the business.

Got it. I was just thinking that maybe you chosing to go BRRRR in Tacoma, etc. due to it being more profitable than flipping in that area. But I see what you are saying now. I appreciate the break down!