All Forum Posts by: Alton Williams

I just want to say that agents listing homes half heartedly with a "put in as little work as possible as long as I get paid" mentality is surely not the reason Detroit is in the current position it is. Seeing that this is a real estate conversation I won't dive in to the politics that have Detroit facing catastrophic failure. Keep in mind though there is a lot of money being invested in this city and it is not because the investors are idiots. I've had listings in Detroit, and I don't mind taking all the pictures of the interior and exterior I can because at the end of the day we owe a fiduciary responsibility to our clients and I take pride in my work so I want my listing to look better than the one down the block. With that being said, I do not want anymore listings or investments in the "slums" of Detroit, its just not worth it. Detroit is a very tricky area and it literally is a case by case situation or block by block I should say, I don't even get gas in certain areas of Detroit, that's just the nature of the beast. Other areas I would love to own property or work there, you just have to do your homework and know where you go. Also, there is a knock on agents country wide for not answering their phones or following up with clients, its not just a regional thing; nevertheless, it is unacceptable and it definitely sheds a negative light on agents. In the day and age of Zillow, Trulia, Gmaps etc, the average person may feel an agent is an unnecessary expense. I know I did before I became one. Now I know much better. Lol

Greetings to all, I'm curious as to your thoughts on mixing real estate investing with family. I'm currently working on some things with my father and at times it seems like the best idea and other times not so much. How are you guys doing out there with your personal relationships mixing in with business? I'm also working on bringing my fiancé along for the ride so in the future she doesn't have to rely on W2 income, any thoughts on this from my BP family would be awesome.

Is the process for pulling comps on multi-families the same as comps for single families? I am running into the issue of finding it hard to evelauate the deals properly because there are little to no comps in the area for a four family unit that has sold in the last 6 months for example. Thoughts?

@Chris Winterhalter I am currently an AGM and I just went down to Boca Raton, Fl to help us implement the proper systems at a Fairfield Inn and Suites that we just purchased. They did offer me the GM position but I was not able to take the job because my son lives in MI and I couldn't leave. We are a relatively small company (approx 35 properties) and I have expressed interest in the transition. The only issue I have is that the corporate office is in CT and once again, I live in MI so I'm slightly limited there. I love the idea of networking and attending more conferences. Thanks

My ultimate goal within the hotel industry (outside of real estate investment) is to work on the acquisitions and development side of things. does anyone have any suggestions on how to transition from the operational level (where I am at now) to acquisitions and development? Although I like my job I get a bit tired of the day to day "babysitting" of staff, vendors, owners, brand standards etc, I love the art of making the deals happen and I want to start making my way there.

I was just thinking about the first deal I did a couple of years ago and how it came together.

It was an investor that had bought about 40 homes back in like 2010 and never paid taxes on any of them so it was a fire sale. He had one in particular in Roseville, MI that I liked and I went back and forth with the agent until finally I had him agree to a land contract for $7,000 with a $1,500 down payment and I would catch up the taxes (approx. $4,300). Payments were $500/mo and they did not start for 3 months. Me being a novice went and had to bring people in (my father included) because I did not have all the money for the taxes. That was the beginning of the ending. I ended up having to get rid of the house and took a loss. This was my initiation. I still love it though, it's like that girlfriend you never forget about even though she broke your heart (not that this happened to me before lol). Any other BP members want to share the first time they popped their cherry and if it was all it was cracked up to be.

What about a clause that states if someone moves in the rent will increase to "X" amount of dollars due at the beginning of the following month or prorated from the time they moved in if you want to go through all of that. Just a thought.

Is there anyone out there that is actively investing or interested in investing in hotels? I am a hotel operator and I absolutely love the business model tenants/guests pay you rent every night. Obviously there is much more involved, but at the core this is what the business is to me. In my eyes it is a great time to buy established properties because the cost is still below that of building new hotels and there are plenty of solid deals around especially in Europe (compliments of Barry Sternlicht's interview on Squawk Box this morning). As I get older though it seems like there are always good deals around if you know where to look or better yet if people know where to look for you. I heard someone say the deal of a lifetime comes around about once every week, just be ready when it does.

I greatly appreciate the ideas everyone.

I'm a fairly new agent and I'm wondering if anyone out there has good tips/scripts for contacting prospective clients. Right now I'm calling people out of the phone book, I would just like a concrete road map when I speak to them. I have no fear of cold calling, I am just looking for some direction.