All Forum Posts by: Chris Ayars

@Griffin Malcolm I had solar panels installed on my home a year ago. The loan you get for the solar project is a large loan with the ROI not being evident for many years. It is also a separate loan from your mortgage.

Some things to consider:

1. Yes, your property value MAY increase (there are differing opinions about this) but, when you sell, the loan must be paid off either through the increase in price for the home or a separate agreement where the buyer assumes the loan for the solar.

2. Your property insurance will increase to cover the value of the solar panels.

3. The salesperson is not a tax expert and the government refund is not exactly the way they describe. Not sure what the NY refund situation is, but the federal refund is amortized with carry over credit until used up so that you never receive a refund from the IRS greater than what you paid in for the year. (This frustrated me immensely because I was going to pay off a higher interest debt and take the higher payment after the 18 months.) They told me that VA had incentive tax breaks/refund as well, but my tax guy said "Nope!"

4. Unless you are storing your energy and are completely off the grid, you will always have the fees for being on the grid each month. (Another thing that irritated me about the lack of transparency by the solar company. To be fair, they did say that I would always see a bill from the electric company, but it was not explained.)

5. If you have to replace your roof, you will need to have the panels removed and reinstalled by an authorized solar installer - quite probably the same company who installed them in the first place. If they deem your roof needs work when they evaluate it, you will have to re-roof first.

If I had it to do over again with all the proper facts in front of me, I would probably have made a different decision. I do track the progress of savings/expenditure and hope to someday see a savings someday.

Milena, in some areas, the market is slowing down. If you do not have helpful feedback from the ones who viewed the property...

1. Try reaching out to the agent that brought them (if they have one) and see if they have anything to say about the showings.

2. Recheck the comps that you used to determine your price. Evaluate from pictures the differences between the comps and what you are offering. Adjust accordingly.

3. Evaluate the forums you are using to sell the property. If you are doing a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), the platform(s) you are using may not be effective.

4. Also, statistics show that most FSBO's do not net as much as using a REALTOR® despite the commission payout. If your comps were sold by a real estate agent and you are using them to justify your price, that is like trying to sell your car at a car salesman's price instead of an owner's price.

In any case, if you need to lower the price, make sure that the price drop is a decent amount versus a "drop in the bucket."

Thank you for your insight @Don Konipol and the follow up reinforcement Marcus.

I agree with @Jonathan Greene. He said it well!

In car sales people come to you looking for a new auto. You sell to them, or not, but they come to you. 

In real estate you have to invest a lot of time and money trying to find the right person that "clicks" with you in order to get a client to work with you. It is hard work and takes a long time to get the ball rolling. 

If you are talking about investing, you need to learn what to look for in your area of interest. Either way (agent or investor) you are spending a great deal of time and money up front in most cases just to make a buck. You have to get the ball rolling before you can expect the snowball effect financially.

A few people have quick success and get the ball rolling fast, while others have a harder time. Many fizzle out within a few years. Others dog it until they see success. It's not a one size fits all career.

Check your state laws regarding real estate. Virginia just passed a law requiring wholesalers to have a real estate license. Oklahoma may already have one in place or may be working to put one in place.

Hi Tremon. I am a RE agent in southern VA if you ever need help down this way, look me up.

Not sure about wood, but white vinegar gets the urine smell out of a lot of things. Wood flooring may just have to be replaced if the urine has saturated deeper than floor refinishing will handle.

If your contract states that you can do an inspection, then the seller needs to abide by the contract. If it doesn't, you will need to have it inspected after closing - but by that time, you might as well have the contractor assess everything that needs to be done and re-allocate the budget if necessary.

As I write this, I am printing out a farm area mailing that I try to do every six weeks. Why six weeks? Because on an alternate six week cycle, I mail out a different set of letters. It is pretty expensive time/cost wise to do that many letters. Yes, it is a numbers game.

They say... 1) Postcards are easier to get glanced at and tossed. 2) Letters have a greater chance of getting opened and read. 3) Hand written notes and envelopes get opened even more.

You could spend about a dollar per letter mailed doing it yourself, or you could spend $2.50 or more each for a company to do it for you and maybe have "mechanized handwriting." I don't have the budget for the latter, so I do it all myself. I have a letter, tweak it a little each mailing, print letters and envelopes, hand sign every one of them, fold, stuff, and stamp all myself.

It's a numbers game and takes a while to play before you get results... unless you hit an owner at just the right time, that is.

Some people alternate between postcards and letters. Ultimately, if you have to pay for the card production, do you save any money?

What it comes down to is personal preference and budget. Choose a method. Decide whether you want total control and do everything yourself, or if you want to pay for someone else to do it for you. You can always experiment with what you may be comfortable with to see what works best.

Like @Shawn Parsh said, if you have other people looking for the type of property you want to invest in, reward them for their effort. A REALTOR® can do a lot for you. If you find one that thinks "investor," Team up with them.