All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

This all seems terribly inefficient to me! That's actually what prompted me to look into real estate vs. the potential $. I figured, if I solved the efficiency problem for myself, $ would work its way out.

@Rori Stumpf I'll have to track it down again. It was on a gov site somewhere. After I found it, my challenge was working with it. That's where I've stalled and time has passed. I'll look when I can and send you a message on it. I am away for the rest of the week so it may not be till after this weekend.

@Tim Lindstrom

I've been looking into doing something similar with a SQL DB. Is tech your profession or hobby? I am not a tech by profession but have self-taught myself a number of tech things.

I have found a file that has data on properties in Mass that's about 700mb. Too big for the app I used to open it so I thought of creating a DB for it.

Have you had much success going this route vs. paying for it?

@Anthony Thompson, thank you so much for that response. Looks like you saved me some time from going down that path if its not likely I can get for free what I was able to get in Mass for the entire state.

I'll take a small look around to see what I can find and I'll let you know if that turns into anything worthwhile. Doubtful but my goal has been to get Mass and at least Providence area. Feels like its going to be incomplete. :(

Thanks again!

Eric

After much research, I've been able to source statewide tax parcel data for Massachusetts. My next project with that is going to be figuring out how to setup my own database to query the data.

I'd like to be able to get the same data from Rhode Island but dont see site similar to retrieve it from. Is it somewhere I am missing or they just dont provide the same amount of public data online as Mass does? Just wondering if anyone has experience in this area outside of retrieving one address at a time.

Thanks,

Eric

I didn't want to be the only dissenting opinion but I agree with the above on the knob & keys. My eyes are drawn to that over your pic and contact info. As a branding piece, you can use that area for whatever that might be for you/your company.

I don't agree that the BP pick is better. My first instinct is that it is too glam. I am not sure I'd have a pic on the card at all. Just my thoughts but both don't seem to be popular ones here.

@Pablo Bilbaolavieja

Just adding comments on locations mentioned. 

Quincy has lots of new apt building development going on. Just saw a story about approval of a new 171 unit location in Quincy Center. I also watched them build a 180 unit by Quincy Adams. Both are taking advantage of commuter locations since other Boston areas are priced extremely high. That's where Quincy is going. There may be a chance to do some rehab of multi families as there are larger old places available.  The condo I'm in has appreciated ~11%/yr for the past 4 years. I'm amazed at what things are going for in certain areas area. 

I have 3 friends which started buying multi's in Dedham and Chelsea areas years ago that now exclusively buy in Rhode Island (mostly providence area). For that reason, I need to figure out getting my license in RI too!

That's the extent of my $0.02.

License reciprocity is what I had to familiarize myself with to get my license in RI while I currently hold it and live in MA. Just paperwork and $.

For the sake of discussion, I am going to say not to go full time first. 

I'd spend time immersing myself into areas which will help my career before taking on 4-6 months of expenses.  I don't think it will be too difficult to learn through others via mentors, networking, meetups, training, reading, conferences calls, social networks, etc. I can take advantage of all of that and not worry about needing months worth of living expenses on the chance that I can make a living at some point in the future. Find a part time job or volunteer in areas which put you in front of people you can leverage in the future.

Analogies. If you want to be a day trader, you either demo trade till you prove yourself or you open an account with a small amount you expect to lose as "tuition" cost. You don't quit your job and learn while losing all your money. The same can be said about playing poker as a pro. 

Now my frame of mind might be because I have a family to worry about and I am limiting my risks. I could be thinking of jumping in when I have no other responsibilities. However, I think making calculated decisions and running things like a business is the best way and stage of life having little to do with it.

Just my two cents.

Eric

Sebastian had stated that the brokerage, and I'll add how you want to manage your real estate career, should fit your business plan.  I think any new or potential agent should have some sort of business plan defining requirements for success. Everyone's requirements will be different.

• Your real estate career will be a success if...? You can retire early, you can do it as a full time job, you have freedom to manage your own schedule, you can pay some additional expenses via a part time job, etc.
• Define how you'll overcome the learning curve in a new industry/career and how long do you plan on that taking.  Learn through training, mentors, trial & error, etc.
• Since you need clients to make money, how do you plan to acquire them? You require someone to give you leads or you do it all on your own or both? If on your own, how do you plan to do that?

After the details of your plan are spelled out, how will the broker help you in achieving them? If you require a lot from your broker to achieve your goals, then you should be ok with paying higher fees/splits to get it. If you feel you can find a broker that will give you what you need and not pay the higher costs (there are some out there), then keep looking until you do.  Bare in mind that brokers have their own objectives and you need to fit their plan too. 

One thing that has surprised me is the range of splits and fees from one broker to another. Online it says that the avg split for new agents is roughly 50:50 with varying fee costs. In my own experience looking for a broker a few weeks ago, I saw 60:40 through 80:20 splits and fees ranging from $0-$150/month. Given what Sean wrote about United Real Estate's no split + fee structure, I'll be taking a look at them as well in my broker search.  

Apologies for the long post.

Eric

Newbie here but interested as well if you are willing to open the doors up for me. :)