All Forum Posts by: Charlie Cameron

I’m WAYYYYYY less experienced than @Russell Brazil, but I feel like you wouldn’t have to. I own property in Ohio managed by another broker.  

Please chime in if I'm misguided here.  But even if I owned rentals in Florida, my broker doesn’t do property management (as of yet). Even if they did, unless I was professionally managing the property through that broker, what business do they have with my personal property? I could go to an entirely different broker and hire them to manage as a client, not a licensee, couldn't I?  

@Eran S. So as an investor buyer, the seller generally pays for commissions.  Also the buyer's agent doesn't get to determine how much commissions are paid for a listing.  

That being said, as a buyer/investor the only advantages I can think of to being an agent is pocketing more cash, access to MLS, faster access to the listing agent, and access to data/tools.

But what is your ONE Thing?  Is it to be an investor?  To be an agent that happens to also invest?  Start with your top goal and work backwards from there: you certainly don't need to be an agent to be an investor and in fact it may work against your goals (time wise / distraction).  

I got my license to build up more cash to purchase more apartments - by doing so I can move close to financial freedom faster and also provide myself with an employment transition opportunity.  But this is on the side so I had to ensure I had a broker with maximum flexibility.  

One other thought: it is always okay to ask for discounts.  But also think about the situation for the agent you are working with.  The agent isn't going to work for you very long if you want to nickel and dime them and throw out a billion low ball offers on already cheap properties, when they could make more working for an experienced investor who values their time or a homeowner who will close the deal.  Just Charlie's ramblings.

@Trevis Kelley thank you for your service brother.  The 100K of debt you mentioned.  High interest?  What kind of debt?  I'm not a CFA (but I bet there are some awesome ones on here!), but paying down any high interest debt is going to be a worthwhile proposition.  That's what I'd do first before jumping in to real estate.  You also need a savings buffer in case things don't go as expected (spoiler alert: they just won't go as expected!).  

I know this may not be the answer you want to hear, but I feel very strongly about steering new investors away from jumping in to deals if I feel like they are not financially able to handle some real estate mistakes and losses.  

@Jim Goebel - Let me give a differing opinion. After I became an investor but before I became an agent, I sold my home in Ohio as a FSBO and was under contract in 3 days for the price we wanted. I actually had only listed it on Militarybyowner and didn't even get to FSBO it officially as planned.

Wife analyzed about 15 properties as comps in our own neighborhood.  We knew what price we thought was market and listed $5K higher.

Had two showings within 48 hours.  Buyer agent called me, asked if I'd pay her commission, of course I said I would.  She then threw out a soft offer.  Wife and I discussed (it wasn't enough), and we threw out a counter, right at our interpretation of market price.  Buyers accepted.  Boom, done.  Saved about $7K.  

Not only that, but I liked the agent so much that I turned around and bought 16 apartments with a partner through her.  

Don't discount FSBOs.  You can always ask the seller to pay your commission and feel out if they will be reasonable.  Maybe most aren't this way and this was better set up because it was a military family buying from a military family with a military spouse agent in between so everyone already had it figured out.  Not sure.  

Congrats @Anton Ziadeh!  But also bummer on the move.  With eXp Realty, you can hang your license in CA, do referrals anywhere, and keep your license active while you get licensed in AZ.  In fact, if for some reason you wanted to stay licensed in both states, you'd still only have the same $85/month technology/training fee and a single cap, regardless of how many states you are licensed in.  

The only gotcha I can think of is that you'd have to join a local MLS in Cali. That cost would be higher initially for the initiation fees and then monthly MLS fees. So that part would be a bummer to have to pay for a local MLS to join a broker but not really get to use it.

I don't know of any brokers that DON'T make you join an MLS, but maybe someone out in BP world can suggest one?

What @Abel Curiel said: 

Youtube: Ricky Carruth!!!

@Willie Cedillo, like Aaron said, congrats on getting close to the exam!  Both options are good ones.  I joined eXp for the flexibility to do sales part time and potentially transition to it on my own terms.  I needed training and support outside of normal work hours.  

With either option, you might strongly consider joining an agent team where you can basically trade some of your commission split for leads.  That way you can worry less about a funnel until you move to SAT.  

Both cities have a very large eXp presence and it would be easy to find teams in both (I personally know multiple team leads across Texas).  

If you have the daytime hours, it will be hard to beat the training KW can provide.  But if you are self-driven or can't do the daytime hours, another option may serve you better - the CEO was a top KW agent, so many best practices he brought with.  Even if you don't join a team (totally optional), you'll be assigned a local mentor with eXp.  

You also wouldn't have to worry about transitioning from one broker to the next with eXp.  It's all one state broker.  

Good luck on the exam!  Hope you find what you're looking for!  

@Stetson Miller - yeah that's fair. Actually the part that really gets new agents is when they go to join an MLS. Most are totally unaware until after getting licensed. My total cost of doing business, before any paid lead generation, is $193/month. This includes broker fee (which includes all training, website/lead gen CRM, etc.), MLS monthly fees, annual REALTOR local/state/national membership, and supra ekey access. But one decent transaction in my neighborhood covers that cost for more than a year and a half.

@Stetson Miller, be aware that you are going to pay monthly fees for most, if not all, brokers. If $85 a month is an issue for you, you might consider not getting licensed at all. Many brokers will require you to join an MLS as well, which is going to cost hundreds a year, especially if it includes REALTOR association. However, with a single decent transaction you'll cover all those costs.

Another note on costs: most brokerages have both a commission split AND monthly fees (can anyone name one that doesn't?). Some have you pay for insurance (E&O) with an annual or up front fee. I like it as a by-transaction fee instead because then you don't have to worry about how many deals you have to do to make up the cost.

For me, the choice was simple because I needed the flexibility to train and get support outside of normal work hours, since I still have a day job.  I just do sales to build cash to purchase more apartments.  

Please be aware that the knowledge you learn from your licensing course is to pass the exam.  It doesn't contain the street smarts.  That you get from mentorship and the brokerage you choose.  Thinking you'll just do some deals as a brand new agent with a low-support 100% broker isn't going to pan out well.  Keep in mind you'll also have work to do to generate leads - or you'll never have any business.  

And @Patrick J. is incorrect on agents getting fees for you joining.  It is far less simplistic, but also beneficial because we have the opportunity to build passive income over time just by interacting with other agents.  Can't fault us for wanting passive income, isn't that the reason we are ALL here?  

Would you go to a Ford dealer to ask questions about a Tesla? Of course not, you'd go to the source for accurate information.  Be aware of comments on brokerages from folks that have never actually seen the model.  

One size does not fit all.  Go check out multiple brokers and decide for yourself.  Best of luck!  

Welcome @Nicole Harmon!  Definitely check out multiple brokerages and then make your decision.  I went with eXp as a new agent due to the flexibility of getting training and support outside of regular hours (long transition from day job to real estate).  Most agents within that I've talked to come for the overall value.  

I think what matters most as a new agent is the support and training.  I was assigned (well actually sorta picked) an incredible mentor.  Between her, my sponsor, my team, live training, and the online support from the rest of the nation's eXp agents, I'm getting all the help I need.  Mentor matching could use some improvements, but I'll get better.  

Like I tell everyone interested, one model isn't necessarily right for everyone, but it's worth a look!