Real Estate Broker who is a general contractor. Helpful or not?

[Jeff Johnson]

Hello Everybody, I'm new to the forum so please excuse any accidental breaches of posting etiquette. I am an aspiring investor in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and a professional and business owner in the residential construction industry.

I am currently working on my real estate broker license and it has occurred to me that it may lend itself well to my current profession.

My question to all of you is: would a real estate broker acting mainly as a buyer's agent who is also a general contractor be useful to you? There are several advantages that I can see such as: only being shown properties that are good candidates for rehab, being given an estimate for rehab costs on the first walk through instead of endless visits with multiple contractors, receiving before and after rehab comps on the first walk through, and having a contractor who understands what the market is looking for. At least in theory I would be able to take your entire budget (including purchasing costs and rehab costs) and based on that budget find the property and prescribe and perform the rehab work that will get the highest ROI.

In short, would a one stop shop realtor and contractor be useful? let me know your thoughts/advice/criticisms.

Thanks,

Jeff

[Mack McPhatter]

I am a Contractor/Investor/Realtor and I think it is beneficial for me and my clients. Sometimes I do jobs for them, and some I just give them my subs numbers and let them deal with it. They seem to like that I can give them estimates on repairs before we get too far along in the process.

I do probably kill some deals before they start by being honest with my clients about the cost of repairs, where as some Realtors are just interested in the commission. As a contractor you will notice more issues than a majority of other agents, which can be a downfall I guess.

Just be sure to protect yourself and make your buyers get a home inspection and not just rely on your opinion.