All Forum Posts by: Aaron Heiskell

I will make it a point to come down tonight.  I have been MIA for the last few months.

Will try to make it!

@Gabriel Isedeh, Would love to connect and discuss what my market has to offer.  Our firm has a rock solid property manager as well, I refuse to do my own management, so I farm it out to them.  They were extremely picky on tenants, and now couldn't be happier with it. 

Aaron Heiskell - Realtor®
Century 21 Action, Inc. 
Surf City, NC

FYI, I'm a Licensed RE Agent here in North Carolina.  

So through my sphere of influence, I had a buyer come to me and tell me that he is looking to make his first home purchase.  Excited for him, I start getting all of his information, get him hooked up with a local lender, preapproved, and off to the races of house hunting. (Note - in our market here in Eastern NC we are seeing small single family homes, literally fly off the shelf, less than a day on market, multiple offers, etc). 

So we spend a day driving around and looking at houses, while we are viewing some, Mr Buyer finally opens up to me and says "Man, I gotta be honest, I know I am preapproved for a reasonable amount, but I don't want to carry a mortgage by myself, and I am tired of renting and paying someone else's mortgage down". Me being the like-minded individual I am, I bring up the option of having a roommate or 2, and he immediately fires back, "Is that a real thing? Do you think the lender will care" - he's a VA buyer, so owner occupancy is a requirement.

-Listen, I tell him, I have house hacked for years, built a substantial nestegg, paid a boatload down on my principal, and finally switched it to a Long Term Rental and am cashflowing almost $500/month.  ***Jaw hits floor, star stuck, immediately wants more, more, more...

He replies, I have two buddies who told me they will pay "X" per month if I buy a place, as long as they have their own bedroom, and they said they would share a bathroom... Great, this is YOUR first step to building wealth I reply.

Continue house hunting... Perfect opportunity comes up, I show him a house, a little small, needs some improvements, priced to sell, like right now.  Called the lender, ran the numbers and got it under contract.

I just got off the phone with him, he says "Aaron, you realize that with the rent money the other two guys are going to pay me, it's going to cover my entire monthly PITI(he didn't use that term but I am), and ALL of my utilities. This is going to allow me to save more money per month, and continue to fix this place up (I ran some comps for what he is wanting to do, he will gain about 20k by doing so).

Yes, I know that Mr Buyer... Are you still nervous about making your first deal? 

***Mic Drop***

Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's too easy.  You just have to get creative and think outside the traditional way of home buying.  

Aaron Heiskell - REALTOR 

dang, I am going to miss this one.  I just made plans for Thursday evening.  Let me know when the next one will be.  

That loan forebearance program (which has changed like 10 times already) has really put off the chance of seeing a big influx of foreclosures.  At first it was X amount of months, then when you could make a payment, its all due.  However Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac just reassessed that program and decided that if the lender allowed it, the homeowner could extend their mortgage for X amount of months that they missed.  That just came out a few weeks ago. 

@Steven Griffith That's why I also said that if you connect with them, then why not sign one.  Then you (as the buyer) know that you have a dog in the fight for you.  Otherwise you just have a chauffeur that can unlock doors.  

Chad, I have shown homes to buyers in North Carolina (I work from Wilmington to Swansboro) without a Buyers Agency Agreement, and I can tell you first hand that I have been burnt by them deciding to buy later on with a different agent.  

What I can tell you is that if you are serious about buying and connect well with the agent, what is their to lose?  What I can tell you that you will gain is a trusted, versed agent, who has their finger on the pulse of the market, and a fiduciary duty to you as the client.  Without an agreement, anything that you tell them that is confidential, ie your price, terms, motivation, etc., is not considered confidential.  But WITH an agreement, they aren't legally allowed to disclose any of that information without your written permission, and if they violate that, they can be reported to the Real Estate Commission for an ethical violation.
What part of the state are you looking to buy in?

As an Agent, I agree with the first few posters about if it being too early of a listing, could get brushed off, or get into a bidding war.  On top of that something that INVESTORS need to keep in mind, from an agents perspective, the only money we get out of the transaction is the commission, (not the 3% of 25k less is much, thats not the point I am making) HOWEVER, if we are going to spend our time writing an offer on a property, we want it to go under contract FOR YOU.  I can't speak for anyone else, but I know what my time is worth and if it takes me 1-2 hours to get all the docs together, write the offer, get it signed, get proof of funds, track down deeds, liens, signatures and it doesn't get accepted, then I have just wasted valuable time that I could have used helping a first time home buyer, or a seller who's in a pinch, or getting a listing presentation together for an ocean front house.  I'm all for getting the best deal possible for my clients, but investors (which I am one also) need to have a realistic approach to their decision making, and not just wanting to throw crap against the wall to see what sticks.

Hey Developers! Here is your chance to get your hands on this large parcel of unimproved land that has potential to provide 15-17 lots.  Located on Topsail Island, this plot of land sits second row to the Atlantic Ocean, and some lots will be Intercoastal Waterway front!  Turn this into a small community that could resale or be used as a vacation get away.  Topsail Island provides some of the best beaches for vacationers in North Carolina and has a "Small Town Feel"  

Give me a call to discuss the details!

Aaron Heiskell ® Century 21 Action, Inc.

C- 910.685.4670
E- [email protected]