All Forum Posts by: Dillon Loomis

Would someone be able copy/paste some rough wording for sending off-market letters? Also, what if it's a duplex where the residents are actually tenants and not owners. Is the best option to look up the owner in the County Gov. database and send the letter there (I'm only able to do this because I have my RE license). 

Any input on these letters would be great. Thanks!

@Gabriel Hershberger cash flow is king! I was a financial advisor with Edward Jones for three years, and long story short for the bulk of my retirement I want something I can control! Appreciation (outside of forced) is something we don't have much control over, but with cash flow investing you DO have control - setting rents, screening/finding tenants, improving units to improve rent rates etc. - of course everyone is different and appreciation is great but if this is where you are growing your roots for now I definitely wouldn't let the lack of appreciation potential stop you from investing. Having tenants pay down your mortgage and building your equity is a beautiful thing! 

And who knows, if enough younger Erie folk change their minds and choose to stay and rebuild the area as opposed to fleeing elsewhere, Erie/Millcreek/Summit etc. have a lot to offer! 

@James McFadden Hey! Glad you chimed in on here. And thanks for asking about the test - went well, 93%. Proctor ladies said "highest scores we've seen" lol - 814 not setting the bar too high thus far I suppose! Been interviewing brokers this week - narrowed it down to Marsh and Agresti...not sure who I'm going to go with just yet.

And that's one of my primary goals is to build my network of plumbers/electricians/contractors etc. - I know a ton of people from my past/current careers, just not sure who does good, affordable work and am feeling like figuring that out will be trial and error. A lot of established RE folks here in Erie are rather discreet when it comes to sharing their contacts for that work.

 I'd love to get together at some point, and of course the more the merrier! This little Erie thread has me pumped up lol

@Karl B. how do you handle it if something "urgent" happens and you're in LA. Leak, hot water tank, roof, whatever. 

I'm just thinking ahead to when I have a few units and I go on vacation, prior to having a PM. If a tenant called me with something urgent while I was in the Bahamas, what would I do? 

@Valerie King you'll want to check with your local lending institutions. All of them will have different standards, timeframes for when they "count" rental income. There are numerous factors that go into it, and I think the more you ask around the more you'll find it's just like shopping for anything else. Some lenders that are more investor friendly may be more willing/able to count rental income towards your ability to go for another loan. The more prepared/professional you are, I believe the more likely the lenders will be to work with you. Printing out the PDF's from the BP calculators would be a good place to start as something to take with you. 

But please keep me posted! I'd be curious as to your findings in your area, as I'm in the midst of doing something very similar. Good luck girl!

@Ryan Parnow you need to determine what type of investor you want to be. Cash flow or appreciation? Pretty evident from reading the thread cash flow is your only option (and the best option imho). Knowing that, I think you should get away from the sfh's and shift your focus to mfh's man. If your goal is to quit your job, cash flow is king right now for you. I don't know your market but I can almost guarantee you you'll have a far easier time generating more cash flow with multi-unit properties. You have plenty of equity to look into 1031 exchanges and could be looking at 4 unit properties. Good luck man, don't be too hard on yourself, you're doing way better than most!

@Samantha Ferber you should definitely be able to find a brokerage that's willing to work with you and let you be an investor. In my experience, it's the smaller brokerages that are more flexible as they do not have as much overhead. They should be willing to let you hang your license with them with zero desk fees, and all you'd be responsible for is paying an MLS fee annually. Just be up front, and if they say no or you don't like their answer, keep shopping around!

@Edmund Ricker I just took the RE test last week and passed. Definitely some good material in the course even if you do not plan to be an agent, but like @Ryan Murdock said, there is also some stuff that's pretty dry and you most likely won't run into it working as an agent. 

But yes, definitely get the license. Any fees you may incur could motivate you to broker a few deals each year to cover the fees and if you have a big enough network, once people know that you're an agent you shouldn't have too hard of a time doing a few deals a year. 

Lastly, shop around for brokerages in your area. I have been doing that myself here, and the smaller brokerages here have offered ZERO desk fees, and the only thing I'd have to pay is the $1,200 annually for MLS access. They also offered a surprising amount of assistance (marketing, leads, training) even given the zero desk fees. I think you should be able to find a place to let you hang your license for well under $5,000/year even with CE and MLS dues. Best of luck!

@Christopher Broussard call them, set up some appointments, and go interview them all! I am in the process of doing this in my town right now, as I passed the test last week. If you haven't taken the exam yet they may not be as willing to sit down and give you all the details about hanging your license with them, but I'm sure a quick phone call to each broker's office will give you the preliminary answers you want! 

Most smaller brokers will be willing to hang your license with minimal fees (probably just an MLS fee) as they offer less marketing, advertising, etc. whereas some of the larger firms will have "desk costs" that you'll have to pay even if you don't plan to be an agent. Good luck!

@Account Closed good luck on the test man, took mine in PA last week first time...piece of cake. Keep asking questions! Surround yourself with the best agents in your town that are willing to meet with you once a month or so and pick their brain and find out how they got to the level of "success" they have, whether it be financial, social, however you define success. The day you stop learning and striving is the day you start moving backward. There is no staying the same. There will always be someone younger and hungrier coming for you (metaphorically) and once you embrace that truth and wake up and grind each and every day, you will do great.