All Forum Posts by: Clark Andrew Freeman

Thanks, Jacob.  That's very helpful.  I have some familiarity with the area as I have extended family there an have visited frequently, but will visit again soon to look at the real estate.  The house I am looking at now is on Lake Erie.  It is hard to find comparables due to the lack of recent sales and how different each house is.  The house has a detached two-car garage that could be turned into a separate living space for short-term rentals or simply a guest house.  But I am still working on figuring out whether such a conversion is permitted.  Given how popular the area is over the summer, the short-term rental could provide a significant offset to mortgage payments.  The main house itself is 3 beds / 3 baths and appears to need only some light cosmetic updates.  

Thank you.  That was helpful.

I have two questions.

First, I am interested in hearing from people who have invested in real estate in towns in northern Ohio, those bordering Lake Erie.  I live in NYC, which seems far too expensive for my first fix and flip.  I am a little familiar with northern Ohio, as I have extended family there.  Certain towns appear to present interesting investment opportunities because the homes are much more affordable.  I am worried, though, that there may not be enough buyers out there.  While there is wide variation in wealth between towns (Sandusky is generally poorer than Vermilion), I still worry that even in the "wealthier" towns, there just is not a lot of demand for a nicely rehabbed house.  If the numbers online are accurate, homes often sit on the market for a long time before being sold.  

Second, I found a cheap house in the area that looks trashed and will need significant repair. If you zoom in on the map on Zillow, there are estimated values assigned to every property, not just those on the market. How accurate are those numbers and how much should I figure those "Zestimates" for similar neighboring properties into my market analysis? For example, they suggest that I could acquire the trashed property for $50,000, put, say, $40,000 into it, and achieve an ARV of maybe $120,000. I would never rely on these numbers alone, but should I rely on them at all and, if so, how much?

Thanks, all.

Clark

Thanks so much for the clarification.  Yes, you do not need anything additional and can go straight to broker status.  I suppose an associate broker license would be the closest thing to a licensed salesperson.  

Thanks!

Hi all,

I am a NY lawyer obtaining my real estate agent license.  (I also am interested in conducting my own deals - flipping, house hacking, landlording, etc.).  

I am sure the following issue has been discussed in one or more of the various forums here, but there are so many results when you search for "lawyer" or "attorney" that I am having a hard time finding what I am looking for.  I am wondering if there are any lawyers (preferably NY lawyers) turned agents who can offer some guidance on working as an agent and how that might implicate ethical obligations as an attorney.  For example, under what circumstances can an agent/lawyer offer some basic legal services during the course of a representation, such as preparing simple but tailored contingencies.  It would seem to me a huge benefit to a buyer or seller not to have to hire and pay a separate attorney for every little thing that could be considered the practice of law in a purchase/sale.  But there are obvious issues that might arise from serving in a dual role: the need for a retainer agreement, the need to fully disclose to the client which hat you are wearing and when, conflicts of interest, restrictions on attorney advertising, etc.

I myself am not asking for legal advice, just for someone with relevant experience to point me in the right direction, either through a post or over the phone.

Thanks,

Clark

Did this get figured out?

Can you sell limited partnership interests to raise money for a property purchase and then distribute pro rata a percentage of the profits?

And then do you trigger the securities laws by selling the LP interests?  I would think you would.  I am a lawyer, but am a litigator and this is not my area of expertise.

Thought maybe you had figured these issues out/run into them, in your venture...