Multi family investment in Sacramento?

[Joseph King]

Hi all- So I have been extensively looking at multifamily properties in Sacramento. Does anyone know the best A/B neighbors to focus on? Also, the HOA's seem like they can be hefty?

[Wes Blackwell]

Hey @Kelli D., not nasty at all! I appreciate the feedback!

Thing is, the National Association of Realtors published a "Danger Report" in May of 2015 that said the #1 threat to Real Estate Agents is "Masses of Marginal Agents Destroy Reputation: The real estate industry is saddled with a large number of part-time, untrained, unethical, and/or incompetent agents. This knowledge gap threatens the credibility of the industry." You can read the report for yourself right here.

5 of the Top 10 most expensive cities in the US are here in California, so this state is flooded with people looking to make a quick buck as a real estate agent. We have TV shows like Million Dollar Listing San Francisco and Los Angeles or Flip or Flop that show people just how much money can be made in real estate here. And when you consider you can become a real estate agent from home for less than $100 and you only have to get a 70% score on the exam to pass as an agent and only 75% to pass as a broker, unfortunately it means there are a lot of C students in this industry.

Plus, when you throw all the scams and shenanigans into the mix, it gets a million times worse. I just had one of my neighbors, and 82 year old woman, tell me that her agent (a team-member of one of the most well-known agents in the Sacramento area) told her that if he didn't sell her home in 10 days, he'd buy it himself... the old Craig Proctor bait and switch. 

Well guess what, it's been over a month now and she still doesn't have an offer from him, or from anyone else for her property! And he's only shown the property once! Inexcusable in this kind of market loaded with buyers. AND, this is after she listed with another agent before who listed it for $30,000 more than it was worth (roughly 10%) and that hurt the price of her home too since we all know days on market is like acid to the price of a home. Unbelievable. 

Sorry I got all worked up, but poor, unprofessional tactics like these make me mad because it affects my business by affecting the reputation of our industry, which is why we're on the list of the most distrusted professions, right behind contractors, politicians, and psychics! It SHOULD NOT be like that.

But the truth is, there are a lot of bad real estate agents out there, new and experienced. And they should be called out for their lack of professionalism and sellers should be warned of their existence. There's nothing wrong with being a new agent, the problem is that most new agents (or even agents in general) treat this industry more like a hobby or a side hustle than a profession, and that is why our reputation as a whole suffers. 

I might've been new once too, but I acted as a professional since day 1 and always sought to educate myself on my profession, be honest to all I work with, and perform for my clients above all else. Some people who have been agents for a decade still don't do any of those things.

I simply wanted to warn Joseph that just because someone is licensed by the state of California to sell real estate, doesn't necessarily they're a qualified candidate for the job, and that he should do some basic due diligence in selecting an agent to work with, which is good advice for anybody. But those agents who are true professionals, I have nothing but the most sincere and deepest respect, because I too am a professional and know what it takes to become one. 

Your concern my previous comments shows me that you're a professional too, and certainly care about your clients and their relationship with you just as much. And for that I thank you! :-) We need more agents like that in this industry!