All Forum Posts by: Billy Knox

@Tony Link Thank you so much for the offer! I would be more than interested. I am currently deployed on an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean so linking up will probably have to wait until this Summer. I will reach out again when I am in town if that is okay with you? Thanks again! 

All great comments and discussion yall! Thanks for posting and keep it going. I can see both sides of the argument and don't disagree with the potential value add of a good agent! I guess the follow up question that a lot of people have hinted at is what should the appropriate pay structure be? Does any one have experience with alternate pay structures? How has that worked? 

Thank you for your time! 

@Kevin Pickrell Thank you for sharing! I get that side of things, but to me that seems like it should be almost criminal. The real estate agent is suppose to be representing the interests of their buyer so to say that they won't show them a property because the seller isn't using an agent seems like a violation of that fiduciary obligation. If they are worried about not getting paid that is a conversation they should have with their client - not the seller of the property. It just seems so backwards. Basically people are being bullied into using agents for fear that their property will get black listed. It definitely is not in the best interest of either the seller or the buyer. Is that not a flagrant violation of the duty of loyalty that agents are bound to? 

@Account Closed Thank you so much for the feedback. I do have a question for you. As someone who is not an agent and has never used an agent you seem to be very adamant about using an agent. Why is that? Why do you choose not to use one and what do you do instead? 

I think we all have the capacity to drill down and to find the answers to every one of the questions you asked and to educate ourselves about the process. Especially for something as monuments as buying or selling a home. All of that information is at our fingertips it just takes a little time and dedication!  And for those that can't or do not have the time I think there is a better way to go about it than to give up an equity stake. A seasoned Real Estate Attorney would know the answers to all of those questions and more and there is no conflict of interest when it comes to advising you. They have no stake in the transaction going through so their fundamental interests are to give you the best advice possible, not close the deal no matter what. 

And for the record, have you ever flown a 747? 

You are welcome for my families service and sacrifice. Try and tone down the condescension next time. Thank you for your time and the thoughtful response. I'd love to hear why you don't use agents but seem to think I am naive for asking the question.

Lubbock STR All-Stars!

Just reaching out to ask a couple of questions. I am an instructor pilot in the US Navy and will be ending my time in service soon. My wife is from Lubbock and we will be moving back there as our home base once we get out. I wanted to reach out and see if there are any dedicated STR investors in the Lubbock area to connect with. I would love to take you to lunch and pick your brain about the local market/your experience and success and see if there is any advice you may have to offer someone looking to make a start. My wife and I have a couple of properties already in Jacksonville, FL and love the STR model and are looking to grow and expand. Thank you so much for your time!

Billy Knox 

Hello BP! 

I have a question for the group and was hoping to generate a discussion around this topic. 

Disclaimer – I am an instructor pilot in the Navy and not a real estate professional – so take everything with a grain of salt.

I recently completed a real estate transaction (sold our home) and I couldn’t help but think to myself – Why am I paying our Real Estate Agent so much money? Why do they get an equity stake in this transaction? And what do they actually do to earn that stake?

**If you are a real estate agent or know a real estate agent and are offended then my sincere apologies. I am not trying to denigrate anyone’s profession. I am sure there are plenty of agents out there that work really hard and are great people. Just asking the question.**

This got me thinking. I took a serious look at the whole real estate transactional process and it left me scratching my head as to what the actual value add of the real estate agent is these days. Understandable during the days of yore when all the data was exclusively held on the MLS and you needed agents to get access to reliable information. But we don't live in that universe anymore. The majority of data is open source and we can get it by simply looking at Zillow, county websites or heaven forbid taking a trip down to the county clerk's office and actually pulling the documents. So I now have all the information I need to make informed valuation decisions at my fingertips. Why am I giving up an equity stake for someone to run the same comparative market analysis I can run to come up with roughly the same number I would?

Well maybe they are useful when it comes to contracts and negotiations. I can see the argument there. The problem with that is that I spoke with a bunch of Real Estate Attorneys that assured me they can and do perform the same services (contract negotiations, advising, etc…) and they do it for a fixed hourly rate as opposed to an equity stake. Bonus – they have a doctorate in jurisprudence.

To me it seems like the future is moving towards a more streamline process. But I am interested to hear what the far more experienced professional investors and members of the BP community think... What, if any, is your experience navigating the waters of the real estate transaction process without agents and what are your lessons learned/thoughts on the subject? And on the flip side - what are the arguments for hiring and agent and giving them an equity stake in the transaction? 

Thank you for your time! And again, just asking the question. Seeking information/guidance/opinions on the subject. Not trying to upset anyone in the slightest! 

@Ryan Millsap Hey Ryan. Wondering if you have heard anything more concerning your property in Avondale. We are looking to put our house up as an AirBnB while we deploy and all of my research hasn't yielded much fruit. There are a ton of STRs in the area so I am assuming that everyone is just doing it, but it sounds like @Nancy Stark ran into some trouble with that model. @Nancy Stark thanks for the play by play on yalls situation and I hope it gets resolved in a copacetic manner.