All Forum Posts by: Brian Cornick

Thank you all for the feedback and great ideas. I went ahead and ordered a new fridge, as basic as it comes. No water, no ice machine, and a 3 year warranty! I plan to take the old fridge and resell it on Craigslist or Facebook market place. This is a great learning experience, that luckily didn’t cost too much money for myself being a new landlord!

John Underwood those are both great tips. The replacement fridge is definitely not going to be top of the line, and I plan to keep the old fridge in my garage until I find another use.

I’ve had new tenants in an SFR on a 2 year lease for about 5 months now. When they moved in, I agreed to replace the oven, because it needed some serious cleaning and was about 25 years old. Two months later the dishwasher broke, so I had that replaced. All of the sudden they say the fridge broke. I asked the typical questions (is it staying cold, shutting off, leaking, etc.). They say it’s tripping the fuse, so I had an electrician take a look, and he said it’s completely fine. So I called an appliance repair man in town to ask if he’s ever seen this problem, to which he responded absolutely not, they just want a new fridge. I told them I’d have the repair man come take a look to ensure them it works, yet they call non stop telling me it’s broken and want a new one. My gut tells me they just want brand new appliances in the kitchen, but how can I determine that when I don’t live there, and when I go to take a look myself, it is ironically working fine that day. I’ve argued with them over this for almost a month now, and finally am deciding to replace it with a cheap fridge to make them happy since it’s still the beginning of a two year lease. Has anyone dealt with this type of situation and have any suggestions?

Thank you all for the replies and opinions, it was definitely very helpful. After doing a little more research, I’ve decided against this.

I was recently contacted by a potential renter about a listing that I have on whether or not I would accept section 8 payments? Has anyone had any experience with this type of subsidized housing? I’m pretty unfamiliar with it, other than the basics of the government pays a portion of the rent, etc. Can anyone provide any insights on this?

Thank you all very much for the insight and advice.  As I have gotten farther along in my class, they have clarified, that in Colorado, all brokers need to hang their license in an Employing Broker's office for two years.  This is to ensure that you have proper supervision and experience before becoming an Independent Broker.  

@John Warren I've not heard of Mark Ferguson before, but will definitely do some research and definitely find his blog/podcast.

@Wesley Jeanette How are you enjoying being a licensed broker so far?  I'd love to hear some of your experiences and learning curves as you've been getting your feet under you!

@Kevin Grinstead The thinking of getting my license spawned from the idea that I want to open my own property management company.  I understand that there is also a good possibility to do transactions on the side of my full-time job, but this was not my initial intent.  Ironically, I was at a wedding this weekend and met a fellow who is licensed in Illinois and completed just a handful of transactions a year to supplement his income.  In a market as hot as Denver, I feel that I could reasonably handle a couple transactions a year in order to pay for the costs of the license upkeep.  I'd love to hear more from you on the costs of upkeep that go into the license.

@Bill S. How was your experience "working" under another big name brokerage?  Do you have any advice on picking a brokerage firm to hang a license, or is this pretty limited anyway?

@Mike Stephens I only posted this question two weeks ago, so still going through the process.  It's funny because the online course has actually covered this question in classes since I originally posted, so I was just thinking ahead I guess.  So far I have enjoyed learning during the brokerage class and will update you along the way.  Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions!

I am currently studying for my brokers license in Colorado and am about a quarter of the way through the material. I have come across a reading that says "No such broker shall engage in an independent brokerage practice without first having served actively as a real estate broker for at least two years." First of all, I want to preface my question with the fact that I am currently an accountant and have no intentions of quitting my job to become a real estate agent. My plan is to utilize the license when buying and selling my own investment/personal properties, to help save money and one day, open up a property management company. My understanding, was that I could "hang my license" on another brokers wall for potentially a fee without actually working for them. Can somebody please help me understand further how this works? Will I not be able to get my license unless I become employed by an RE company?

@Jennifer Slaughter I'm glad you have enjoyed the thread.  I have really enjoyed it as well, and the advice I've received is phenomenal.  First of all, I hope you're enjoying Fort Collins.  We just moved to Littleton from Fort Collins about a year ago, it was definitely one of my favorite cities!

I'd be interested to hear more about your career as a signing agent and your likes/dislikes. 

My Grandfather worked as a SVP of a property assessment company for many years before he retired. He now consults for the company to keep him busy, and he just gave me the advice to try and get my foot in the door with an RE company as an accountant as the first step. This will help me to learn the business and skills that I would need to succeed before moving out of an accounting role. This is great advice, the only problem is, other than knowing I want to keep personally growing my buy and hold SFR inventory, I'm not sure what route I would like to take in the W2 role, so hearing about all sorts of different positions would definitely be beneficial.

Matt M. Thank you for the advice and I totally agree. I have nothing against working hard and long hours, and I expect to work more hours than I currently do if I went with the investment company route. With that being said, when you are doing something you're passionate about, those 12 hour days feel like 8 hour days rather than the other way around. If you have a potential head hunter in mind that deals in the RE industry, I'd love to be introduced. Feel free to message me the details.

Craig Curelop congrats On the new position with BP. I'd love to meet up and talk anytime!