All Forum Posts by: Darlene Dodson

@Dennis M. Wow! How unprofessional and misogynistic of you! Everyone deserves the right to feel safe in their home. Sounds like this woman’s fear (and womens’ fear in general) is funny and entertaining for you? How creepy and disturbing is that! Nobody knows what the neighbor’s intentions are, or what the woman’s life experience has been. What if it were your sister or daughter or mother or wife? It might not be so entertaining then, would it?

@Erin Auman IMO you are being stopped by fear. Fear of the approach, fear of rejection. Look up Youtube for sample speeches and write out your own networking speech and practice it? Practice it in front of a mirror and then practice it in front of someone you trust. Once you practice a few times and get honest feedback, you will feel much more comfortable in your approach. And practicing is what all professionals do. Be bold! But practice and routine will become easier so you can overcome your fear.

@Cameron Riley Of course you should rent to families but you could tighten up your screening questions for everyone. My husband has spilled food and drink just as bad as my son, and I affectionately call him my biggest kid, whereas our daughter never made a mess. Just go with your gut. But be fair and make sure your screening process treats everyone equally

@Greg Scott Thank you. I will take a look!

How did you find your Real Estate mentor?

I am looking for a mentor and plan to attend some meet-ups in my area. What is a good approach without making it awkward? Thanks!

@Michael Le. I would like to attend! Thank you for posting.

Darlene

@Marisa R.

In my opinion, you might want to re-examine your PM Agreement. If they are not holding up their end of the bargain, your agreement is what you both are going to refer to for resolving the issues, and if you get an attorney involved.

If something is not specifically in the agreement, they don't have to do it.

Also, keep the lines of communication open with the PM as they should be a valued and trusted resource.

Your requests should be reasonable but explicitly clear so you both know the level of expectations, and they cannot come back later and say they didn't understand.

@Rachel Luoto

They are probably just mad and are more than likely making empty threats.

Stick with your policy. You are within your rights to deny them and they are obviously going to be nightmare tenants anyway. They will probably make threats to sue you for every little thing and leave you with back rent.

Stay strong!

@Precious Thompson There are several things you could do before you visit the property. 1. Look up the property online at the county appraisal district’s website for tax information, history of tax bills, and there might even be a diagram of the property.

2. Check the flood plain for that area- I am in Houston (Hurricane Harvey). 3. Ask the RE agent for any seller disclosures.

@Jordan Lucas IMO it depends on what your future life goals are and if you feel motivated to get a degree. If you want to venture into commercial RE and work for a firm, a degree is usually required.

In my professional life, I had a real estate license but no degree. I was not eligible for further promotions without one. I was in commercial property management at that time and moved on to residential real estate because a degree wasn’t required.

I was successful without a degree, but that piece of paper (up to 3 now), is more meaningful to me than any pile of money I could have ever earned. Anyone who tells you that a degree “doesn’t mean what it used to” is only looking at a perceived financial benefit, not the intrinsic value you will gain from the experience. No one I know has ever regretted a higher education. Maybe the financial cost of it, but not the experience.

~Darlene Dodson, MBA