All Forum Posts by: Ann North

Worked with unethical real estate agent with them and not only that but totally incompetent, didn't communicate with "team" and didn't seem to have an understanding of real estate fundamentals. Everything like title company etc. was outsourced and didn't seem to understand or care at all about real estate process, like the nuts and bolts part, contracts and basic, basic real estate stuff and it showed up in their bad client reviews. If you're new to RE, I'd be leery.

@Holly McDowell Thank you Holly, it's so strange and not what I'm used to either! I will send you a message.

Thank you @Sam Shueh that is helpful and seems obvious but I did not think of it!

How does one find a partner for JV? Is this the same as seller financing? I've tried doing this on my own and when investors have reached out to me regarding our rental property in California it's like the blind leading the blind - they talk numbers and they haven't seemed too sure and much of it doesn't make sense to me since I'm new to investing (and OWC or seller financing) and I have ppl very interested but how to put the deal together?

@Joseph Beilke if you don't have any new construction/custom home experience I'd be VERY careful. I'm going to be blunt, it doesn't sound like you know what you're doing which = money pit. New construction is very complicated, is the lot buildable? What type of house will it support? Certain lots/land *require* certain types of homes (for example, two store full walk-outs vs. a rambler/ranch), soil, easements etc. and that's just the land! A GC is not responsible for making decisions, what kind of *materials* are you going to finish in? What architect are you going to hire? Blueprints are copyrighted, you know. Builders don't just wake up and say "hey, I think I'll get a better ROI so I'm gonna build me a custom home! and keep commission!" Then you have to stage it and design it and did I mention the materials that everyone wants (granite, tile, etc.) are expensive? What price point are you at? Can you pay the holding costs on the land and the home? Your GC has to *know code* and get approved at every stage from the city of the construction process. Do you have a support team in place? This is very difficult to do, especially if you have another job and you're not moving into the house. Financing for land development and construction loans is different than a flip. I'd tread very carefully. This isn't just as simple as get a GC and you're ready to go. Subs cost money a lot of money and there's timelines and timetables and like I said - each milestone has to get city approval/code.

Also, imagine you get to the stage where it's done, do you know interior design? Did you pick the right colors? Buyers have very specific expectations with new homes vs. existing homes. You are now competing with national builders with a reputation. They will be like "who's this guy who built one house? is it safe?" that's what they're going to think. Builders have designers on staff. Depending on a price point you really really have to select the right materials -- it's super important. Even lighting has trends.

That said, if it's really what you want to do - and you're smart and have knowledge, go for it!! Good luck!!!

here's an example, here's the upgraded travertine tile floor in foyer. Now these are oversize not 12" but actually larger I forget but I think they're 16" and we also did them in the master bath. Here's the fully upgraded kitchen. These should all be understood and taken into account not just comp me the townhouse that is smaller and crappier and on a super busy road -- when ours isn't. They also can't seem to understand we have 5 full bedrooms and 4 full baths.

I can't get the orientation right but

@Charlie MacPherson THANK YOU! See, that makes sense to me! This is what I am thinking, was thinking, and how I (mistakenly) thought most agents thought. The good ones, anyway, like yourself. So now I just need to find a decent one in the area!

@Brandon L. as I stated there are good agents but there are also bad agents. You don't need to take it personally. My experience in that part of Los Angeles, remotely managing it, has not been good. In fact, one of them got in trouble with licensing. So - is that something you want to defend? If so, I'm all ears.

Otherwise if it doesn't apply to you -- maybe don't chime in and act so offended. It's really important for investors to work with agents who get what investors are going through and understand the deal.

Not an agent who can't even get a sign in a yard after 2.5 weeks! That is not normal.

PS - I was a licensed RE Estate agent for my family's home builder business, a custom home builder, so I think I'm allowed to share and ask for helpful advice.

Zillow isn't accurate which is true - but consumers also use it -- which is true.

Last but not least, if the agents had just done their job I wouldn't have to complain.

@Patricia Steiner Thank you! Spoken like a true pro. That makes sense.

Thank you all for your feedback!

I need help drafting up a lease with an option to buy. I do not want to pay the attorney I know the $300 an hour fee because they quoted me that it would take up to 4 hours. Also, because if this acquaintance decides not to move forward, I'm out that fee.

Is this something I can do myself?

Anything to be leery of?

I'm thinking of doing it month-to-month since they will buy pretty quickly.

Advice welcome!

We did! We escaped Southern California back home to the western suburbs of Minnesota! It's been great! There are things I miss but I love it. MN has so much to offer. The Twin Cities is beautiful. It is so kid friendly and the public schools where we are are better than the private schools in Cali. The education system in California is, for the most part, broken.

That said, housing is expensive in MN especially if you want the good schools. In general, the top school districts are Edina, Minnetonka, and Wayzata. (Also Mahtomedi but that's really small). However, if you hunt and hunt you can still find FHA level properties. Also, if you don't care about school districts and/or are comfortable with not the top ranked but say next level -- which are also GREAT schools - there are many, many wonderful places to live. The parks and lakes and restaurants and everything is awesome here.

I was so worried about making the leap and it's been great! The only hard part is we still have a house in California that we built at the end of 2015 and want to get out of!