All Forum Posts by: Chris Majors

Get a commission check in the first 3 months?  This would be hard to pull off dealing with owner occupant clients.  Maybe if you can somehow convince a seller to let you list their house your first week of practicing real estate or luck in to picking up a buyer your first month.  It's difficult when starting out to get clients to trust you in such a large transaction.

If you want to immediately start cashing checks I would look at every REO, learn the numbers, and cater to cash investor buyers. These are typically quick closings without the drama of banks, inspections, appraisals, etc.

Other options for immediate business would be to join a team or do new construction and be a site agent (would be very difficult to find this kind of gig starting out).

I would be weary of the $6500 house in Augusta brother..  Just because it's cheap doesn't make it a good deal.  Unless you just strip the seller's equity and get the deal of the century, what you can get for $6500 will be SCARY and NOT worth owning.  We don't have those midwest numbers here.

I suggest getting a 3 or 4 bedroom brick slab built in the 70's or later in the 20k-30k range (it will need some work). These type deals are no longer the low-hanging fruit like they were a few years ago, but still possible to find if you're patient. A good idea is to look for these off-market because the investor competition is fierce off the MLS. "Driving for Dollars" in suitable B-C class neighborhoods is a good way to find deals and get a better knowledge of the streets.

Hey @Keenan Thomas, I'm from Augusta as well.  

What are your goals in purchasing a property?   

What type of financing were you pre-approved for?  Owner occupant or investment?

If you can swing it, buying a duplex would be a good way to get your feet wet.  You can use favorable owner occupant financing (investment financing has higher interest rates and higher down payments), live in one side, and have the other side pay your mortgage.  

The cool thing about this strategy is, when you're ready to buy another property you can rent out the side you're living in and then buy another one with owner occupant financing.

This obviously also serves your living needs while giving you landlord experience.  I wouldn't suggest starting off buying apartments if you have no landlording experience.

@Craig Moore I guess the best answer is "it depends."

It really depends on your agreement with the team leader and the team leader's relationship with the client.

If the client is a frequent repeat buyer/seller investor I would say you are correct in your assumption, but agency agreements are generally transactional with a specific time frame start to end.  If you represented an owner occupant buyer and five years later they contact you directly wanting to sell when you are no longer with the team, it would be ethical in this case to take on the client.

@Craig Moore If you are a new licensee, a Keller Williams franchise would be a good fit.  They have more training content on their intranet than you will want to try and digest.  They also have a decent split for new licensees: 70/30 with the broker and a 6% royalty to KW.  You also have the name recognition. 

A great option would be to sign on a team as a buyer's agent.  You will make less per transaction, but will be able to immediately start working with clients.  After a few months showing houses in your market and working your contracts to close you will have a much better grasp of the profession and your local market.  You can also lean on your team's experience and have back-up when you run into snags or do not know how to proceed with a situation.

@Tiago Martins I have a LOT of experience in these homes in the Augusta, GA market. The trick is to buy the houses for $20-30k that are worth $60-80k after repairs, not the "pigs" that are only $25-45k ARV in HEAVY rental areas.

I've had good luck with C class neighborhoods on the south side that are still ~50% owner occupant that are fairly easy to liquidate to a retail buyer.  I usually rent out at the Section 8 rates: $745 for a 3 bedroom and $850 for a 4 bedroom.  This is a very street/neighborhood specific strategy with a steep learning curve of the market.  I've made the mistake of buying some "pigs" in the crappier areas like Harrisburg and it's always been a poor business decision unless you can immediately wholesale to another investor.

check out Columbia County GA.  It is adjacent to Augusta and Fort Gordon which is now the primary Cyber command for the US Army.  There is significant job growth in other sectors as well, but there is currently a halt on new subdivisions so the county infrastructure can catch up.  The public schools are excellent (in contrast of Richmond county or Augusta public schools) and prices are still reasonable.  If you're looking for long term buy and hold it would be a good bet.  

I'm in the "hire an agent camp."  Even though I'm an agent myself, I have hired other agents to list and sell certain neighborhoods where I did not have the expertise and client base.

I know 6% or whatever seems like an astronomical amount of money for what a Realtor does, but if you go FSBO, a potential buyer is going to want to save that anyway..

Being on the MLS is 99% of your marketing right there. The listing will sync with all the real estate websites/search engines. Most home buyers use an agent to represent them in a purchase because generally it costs them NOTHING and do NOT want to show FSBO's because they are a pain in the you know what. Agents also have a huge incentive to sell their listings because they only get paid at closing. Good agents also generally hire a professional photographer, negotiate better, have tons of relevant contacts, and guide you from contract to close.

At least offer a 3% (or whatever is average for your area) commission to buyer's agents and state in your advertising/yard sign that your are offering that commission to the buyer's agent.  At least then you may get some traction and have a professional that can handle the paperwork.  Just make sure that you understand the terms of the contract.  

Better yet, just hire yourself a list agent and beat them up on their side commission with the promise of "buying up" with them after you sell.  Based on your post I can tell you will net more after commission with a traditional sale via listing with agent versus selling yourself.  It's not just about paperwork, there are tons of angles you are not looking at here.

@Harvet Roberts Are you a wholesaler in Augusta?  I'm looking for anything with enough meat on the bone to make sense for an investor in Richmond and Columbia Counties.  I'll look at pretty much any price range or area within those counties.  Only off market please.  Send me a PM if you would like to do some business.  

I forgot to comment on the timeline..  On a cash deal a bonafide cash buyer should be able to close within a week.  The only delay would be getting the title search completed by the closing attorney.