All Forum Posts by: Chris Ayars

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.

@David Macias Fathom is one of the fastest growing brokerages in the country. It is in multiple states. It is not an online brokerage, but IS cloud based. Each state that Fathom is in has at least one broker. My brokerage has a Henrico address, but agents are rarely there. We work from home as virtual offices. For example, I live an hour away from the office. I can contact the broker any time and either get in touch right away or get a quick response. There are other brokerages in VA as well. Fathom's Home office is in Cary, NC - probably only a couple of hours from you.

@David Macias Congratulations on your upcoming licensure and military retirement. I am a veteran myself living in Virginia. I am not particularly familiar with skillbridge, but I am a Fathom Realty agent. Fathom does have a mentor program for beginners coming to Fathom, is based on servant leadership, offers 100% commission less a transaction and an annual fee and more. They also have a veteran's division.

@Max Tulberg Where in VA are you located?

@Lisa Rechsteiner As @Joe Funari said, real estate agents do not have limitless funds to invest in everything that becomes available. As a REALTOR® myself, it is to my benefit to find other investors that are capable of purchasing properties that I do not have the ability to / interest in adding to my investment portfolio. In fact, if I have enough investors that I am working with for both buying and selling their investment properties, then it is a Win-Win situation. 

The buyer's agreement you make with the real estate agent is a legal and binding document that requires the agent to work for your best interests (fiduciary responsibility). Just make sure the agent gets paid as laid out in the contract, and if you like the relationship you have built with the agent, use them again and again. That should keep both of you happy and eliminate the feel of competition between you both.

@Ryan Mortimer You should create an LLC partnership for the two of you for the renovation project. Keep the buying/selling totally separate. When you sell, whatever capital was invested by each party is reimbursed. The profit should be split based upon whatever agreement the two of you come up with.

It would be unfair for you to put in the majority of sweat equity as well as the training involved to have a 50% profit split. The agent that you partner with should understand that. 

Keep the buying and selling totally separate from the refurbishment. The commission on the selling side should be paid out by the LLC before any profit sharing. So, the agent may earn a profit getting a selling commission, but the agent is also responsible for marketing and other fees. It is the agent's responsibility to make sure all parts of the selling process are taken care of properly. Same goes when acting as the buyer's agent.

This is three separate and distinct business transactions. not one. The agent's buying/selling activities have nothing to do with the property renovation project, and must be treated that way except to inform the public of the agent's personal interest in the property.

@Dean Valadez I once owned a home that had a similar problem. Each time it rained hard, water would rush down the hill and go into my basement via a too low window well. I erected a brick barrier wall around the window well. Problem solved. Sometimes you have to think outside the box to resolve a problem.