All Forum Posts by: Steve Morris

Your biggest issue now will be financing.  Check with your lender/broker on rates/terms.  Banks are getting hinky on new loans until the economy sorts itself out.

Just like a car sale, have them meet you at a branch of the bank the cashier's check was drawn on.  Have the bank verify it first BEFORE any paperwork changes hands.

If they're doing it for E/M, you may be able to let it go and if Escrow finds it's bad, call off the deal.

"how do you determine or scope out an agent with a lot of experience, the right connections based on the references from the local broker?"

1) Well, I guess you can ask for referrals.  However, odds are you only hear the happy ones.

2) Does he listen to you?  Tell him what you want and he puts something not even close to it with a poor return that's not moving in front of you and sells it to you.

3) What does he do to keep you informed?  Can he explain the process, create timelines, organize info like books on cloud storage, etc.

4) Gut feel, does he treat you like you're worth his time.  If you're serious does he return calls basically?

"Also, about 1031 exchange, you're saying that an agent would prevent me from changing (retrading) one of the 3 replacement properties or try to delay until I'm forced to consider that one property out of the other 2? Still don't quite follow."

Once you close on your sold property, you have 45 days to NOMINATE THREE replacements.  You can tie up as many as you want (believe me, I've seen guys use notes on offers which means they can do that since they only have so much cash for earnest money).

So in the listing brokers eyes, your offer BEFORE 45 days, could be one of 20 (being ridiculous) a buyer could choose from.

AFTER the 45 days, if you do NOMINATE their property, you are ONE of THREE (there's exceptions on 1031, but usually just 3).  If you want that tax-defferal, you have 135 more days to close on it.

Being extreme, if you told the listing I only have NOMINATED ONE property and it's yours and I need to close if I want the tax deferral, he knows you have fewer options.

If you select 3 properties, you have more, but still only 3 vs, an unlimited number BEFORE the NOMINATION.

If I'm a buyer, unless info like that is required, it's need-to-know.  I wish I could say playing these games wasn't needed, but it does change how you're treated as a buyer.

"You can always write the offer with an escalation clause to verify the other offers."

Define what you mean by "escalation", I'm curious.

Problem is, while a seller's agent is supposed to present ANY and ALL offers, a seller has NO obligation to respond to ANY offer.

I read 80% of license pulling infractions involved "Dual Agency". What prevents the chance of getting your license pulled by 80%?

Don't have access to the NY stats, however, in OR, most of the stuff people go to the mat over involve money (commingling funds, inaccurate reports, etc.)  I don't think I've seen a REA case where Broker A tells the REA that Broker B s***-canned my offer and didn't present it.

Believe me, I'm not endorsing dual agency at all.  Its kinda like the Bible saying you cannot serve two masters.

Then again, there's the reality.  Look at any big (>$10M) listing by a big house, very rarely will you see a buyer's co-op fee.   Even if you want to, they'll throw up all sorts of stuff to keep you from getting info on the property to write an offer.

That I think is a major fail in this business and what'll doom it.  Broker's biggest edge on a deal is his ability to control info about it.  To quote some tech guy "Information wants to be free."

You tell me what your end audience is/will be.  Big diff between buying to live vs buying to make income.

Am an apt broker - Think the best thing to do would go thru the process and show some examples.  So each module could be:

1) Distill operating numbers and decide which property of multiple would be best to offer on.

2) Getting money together to figure how much I can buy.  How do I work with banks and mort brokers.  How do I choose.

3) What can you tell from a drive-by

4) Writing a purchase and sale agreement and what it means

5) Dealing with brokers

6) What does title do

7) What am I supposed to do on each due diligence item (books, physical, title and financing

I could think of other modules, but it'd be a good start.

What does Blue Lake Capital do?   Am an apt broker.

Am curious, what do you mean by 10 year tax abatement?  If it's prop tax, that's a PHI or county thing isn't it?