All Forum Posts by: Brandon Vukelich

It's nearly impossible to ramp up local market knowledge super quick.  You need to invest a lot of time in the market touring properties, analyzing deals, tracking inventory, writing offers, closing deals, etc. Then you become a valuable asset (agent) for your clients.  I believe many don't make it because the perception is that you put a sign in the front yard and 30 days later get a check for $10k.  We wish it was that easy.  The market in particular can be extremely draining working with buyers.  You rarely tour a couple properties and win after submitting your first offer.  Keeping the sale funnel full is the biggest challenge.  You need to commit to having conversations about real estate on a daily basis.  Also like Scott mentioned, real estate is not a MON-FRI 9-5.  People find the balance difficult.  It loves to disrupt your personal life/plans.

@William L Morgan how are you building a relationship with the agents?  Are you sending them proof of funds to close or a pre-approval lender from a lender?  I typically don't invest a lot of time with new clients (leads) until they can prove in their ability to close.  Sounds like there is a disconnect happening somewhere.  I realize there are a lot of crappy agents out there but you'd think 1 out of the 5 should be hustling enough to respond if they know you're serious and can close a deal.  Use the agent finder tool here on BP to find an agent (like me) in the area you're wanting to invest.  Most agents here on BP should be working with investors and investing themselves.  Let me know your top 3 or 4 markets you'd like to invest, I may already know a solid agent in those areas.  Best wishes on your goals!

Agree with Kevin, unlikely there are specific "laws" touching on it but most likely follows all other real estate laws, codes, etc.  In WA we have RCW (revised code of WA) that outlines laws of every sort.  To be safe, always check with a real estate attorney, a Designated/Lead/Managing Real Estate Broker and/or the department of licensing within the state.  I'm not an attorney and can't give legal advice but I'm curious, is there is a specific issue you're trying to investigate or understand?

Nice to hear similar stories.  Not ashamed of any of my personal losses or incorrect investment decisions.  I received massive education from taking action.  I'd add or reconfirm same comments...

1. Working with an agent that doesn't invest themselves.  Advised me to get into new construction speculation in Las Vegas right before the recession.

2. Selling too soon due to being undercapitalized to stabilize a 6-unit property in Seattle (around 2012), panic caused me to lose out on $1M+ in equity growth.

3. Getting greedy, wanting to scale too quickly and not sticking to fundamentals.

Have you been wondering why deals may be harder to find?  Curious what the competition is like right now?  This is just a sample of what I've received on my properties.  This is related to the Seattle-Tacoma market.  The mailers don't even include the weekly text messages as well from various "all cash" buyers. :)

Good luck out there!

Use caution when buying other contracts, especially outside your state.  Best to hire a local RE attorney to help you draft the contracts you need applicable to your local state laws, many probably already have ones available.  Shouldn't cost you more than a few hundred dollars or so.  Keep in mind you're transacting in real estate which comes with a lot of liability.  You're not selling candy bars or an Xbox off Craigslist.  You need to invest in a good purchase & sale agreement and your assignment agreement.  Best wishes on your RE journey!

I've personally used First Exchange (First American) on a deal and have had a few clients use them without issue.  https://www.firstexchange.com.  I also like sending clients to their 1031 FAQ page, answers a lot of basic questions.

I can give you some perspective (from the agent side) as this has become very relevant lately for me and my business which deals with local and out of state clients.  I've resisted building a "team" model and still don't really have interest but my active client base has been spreading me thin the last year or so.  I have a licensed assistant/transaction coordinator that does occasionally help with showings but she really doesn't want to do the day-to-day, higher level agent activities. This was especially tested (again) when I was on vacation for 10 days and had to write 3 offers for 3 different clients.  So I've recently decided to partner with another agent in the area and will be introducing him from the onset of meeting new clients.  I plan to be very transparent and let clients know that I will be "involved" (mainly for oversight) on all transactions, whether I'm taking lead or not on showing properties, attending inspections, analyzing deals, etc.  All clients will always be able to reach out to me directly but some may be having more one-on-one attention from my partner agent.  I will also reassure them that I would not partner with anyone I felt was not competent and professional.  

At the end of the day, I always try and make each client feel like they are my only client but they also need to realize busy agents are generally busy because they are good at what they do. :)  Best wishes on your investing journey!

Yes. three reasons, IMO.  1) Property owners are SLAMMED with marketing by real estate agents and wholesalers. I receive postcards, letters and text messages on my personal residence and other rental properties. 2) I have no doubt that more and more owners read/hear the news about the hot market, high prices, etc.  Why sell off-market if you can typically net more by publicly listing?  3) As Scott said, I have many conversations with sellers about their property values and they say the same thing, "Great, but then where do I go? What do I buy?"

I follow a bunch of other local wholesalers and they send me their deals.  I've noticed less and less deals in the hot Seattle-Tacoma markets and a lot more in obscure, smaller towns in our area.  Probably sellers that are less "in the know" about their options. 

Hard money works. I have used it to finance the purchase of a SF BRRRR deal at 8% for six months, then we re-fi'd into 3.75%. Also used HM at 6.875% for a 3-unit Airbnb property. That one had a 2-year pre-payment penalty so we are in the process of doing a re-fi on that now around 5.25%. Both cases we had to pay about a point in fees and they penciled and worked fine. The benefit is the easy and quick funding process. In most cases, it's definitely not a long-term solution. Just another tool to help get deals done.