All Forum Posts by: Kellie McRae

Hi Elizabeth,

There are an abundance of short sales, pre-foreclosures & foreclosures here. It seems in some neighborhoods, theres a combination lock on every other door. I would to my due diligence if one seller is trying to get rid of a ton of properties. I definitely tell people that if you want to buy and hold, this is a great place & time to do it. The values are insane if you have the patience to deal with the processes (if you're looking at short sales). There are many investors here that start negotiating with the banks before all of the paperwork is signed which shortens the process. I don't know if this information helps but I can say that there are quite a few opportunities for investors in Tampa. If I can help in any way, please let me know.

@Joel, I'm not sure what you read but my issue was not that I wanted the listing agent or broker to show the home. My issue was, as I stated, that they say call for the combo so that I could access the key to access the home. If they are so special that they can't be bothered to return a call so that I have the ability to show the homes they have listed, then who is being lazy? All they have to do is dial my number & tell me the combination. I appreciate your response & I find it funny that you were the only one to misunderstand me and imply that I was lazy. I can guarantee you that I don't expect anyone to do my job & if I could access the home without them, it would be done but clearly they are independently wealthy and don't have a desire to earn their commission.

@Andrew, there are so many properties here that will give you a great return on your investment if you are looking to hold. Many of the homes that you'd want to try to flip are in pretty bad shape & would require a certain amount of rehab. The ones that are generally in good shape are being snatched up quickly. I'd be more than happy to help you find something that works for you if you let me know what specifics you are interested in.

I was inspired by a non-family member. She was my workout partner & an appraiser. I'd purchased a home and was so naive I didn't even realize I'd paid for an appraisal, heck I didn't even know what an appraiser was for that matter. LOL After appraising for 7 yrs I tripped on being a property manager & 3 years later I'm learning how to invest and hopefully have many of my own properties. So I'm not new to RE but def new to the investing side of things.

Confirm that this is in fact what happened, don't take the other tenants word for it and then laugh because you get to remove 2 subprime tenants.

No, this particular home is a short sale. I think the issue is many agents in my area have gone part time. They can't show houses because they are working a day job. This agent never even offered to show it at a date/time more convenient for her although I offered that as an option. Since I will be in the neighborhood tomorrow, I plan on leaving a business card on the door & I will be letting the owners know that we would like to see it (as suggested by Financexaminer). This agent may have thrown in the towel on earning her commission but I haven't.

Jimmy, that's too bad. When an agent says they are too busy, to me that translates to I really don't want to make money or do what the owner has asked me to do which is sell the home. Second agent just responded to me with something similar. My response was a nicer version of this: I appreciate you for getting back to me, I will let my pre-approved buyer who is approved for more than the purchase price know that this home is not available for viewing & if after seeing all the others we have on our list, he should decide he wants to see it, we will then contact you again to see if you or someone in your office can find time to show it. Turns out it does not have a combo lockbox on it as listed.

I love being busy but my standard is, if I can't open it on the day you're requesting, will this day at these 2 times work for you instead? I love feeding my family, I'm going to find time to sell your home.

In case #2 where the office is the contact of the Realtor, they are one & the same. I'm figuring the other person must be a member of BP because just after I posted my question & it hit Facebook, I got a return call. You guys are awesome,thanks for the advice. I've spent 10 yrs as an appraiser, new as an agent & I can't believe they will return calls to get value but not to get a buyer.

What do you all recommend I do in this situation. I have a buyer that wants to look at several properties, I've left 2 to 3 voicemails for the listing agents and even sent emails. They specify in the listings that these homes are on combination lockboxes and to phone them for the combos. However, they are not responding to any contacts made. My buyer has taken long enough to decide on these homes & now I can't get him in to see them. Any suggestions? I've phoned their offices & one has a recording that says contact the Realtor directly & the others office appears to be a 1 man show run by the Realtor who isn't returning my calls. :roll:

That is by far one of the most insane things I think I've ever seen done by a tenant. What the heck are people thinking. This person has now rendered all the others in the building basically homeless. If something even remotely similar to this ever happened in a property I was managing, I'm going to be sure to contact Tim. Sounds like he may have the argument before the judge/insurance company figured out. Wow, what a mess....literally & figuratively.

Dion, although my business is more on the property management side of things, I say put a stamp on the letter and send it. If they have added a forwarding address and they still have control of the home, you may get lucky. I've done something similar in locating vacant homes in my area & like you, I found that the public records still has the address as the vacant home. Worst case scenario, the letter comes back. I got at least one client this way, they had to move out of town & were making their payments but never thought about hiring a property manager. Score for sending the letter!