All Forum Posts by: James Loisou

@Brandon Turner That is great news. I am looking forward to it. Thanks.

I could be mistaken, but a few weeks ago, did Josh and Brandon hint that a second podcast might be coming out? I truly enjoy listening to each of the episodes when they come out each week. I could definitely listen to more of them. I think it was during a quick tip or somehwere in the beginning of one of their episodes when they gave a heads up that something might be in the works. Did anybody hear the same?

Welcome Walter. My wife and I enjoy flipping properties together as well. There is a whole lot of information here on biggerpockets. Every day I learn at least one thing here. Welcome and enjoy.

I agree with @Mark Updegraff regarding the importance of a good selling agent.

That being said, if you still decide to list it yourself, the most important factor is going to be the price that you list it at. As a buyer's agent, from my personal perspective, I have a duty to find the house that the buyer wants and to negotiate the best price for that house. Whether 2.5% commission or 3% commission is offered to me will not have any impact on my duty. I would show the right house at the right price regardless of that extra .5%.

I do not know what is customary in New Jersey, but in eastern Massachusetts for example,  you can sometimes get away with even giving 2% to buyers agent and at that point even if you hired a solid seller's agent for an additional 2%, you would only be .5% above what you initially wanted to spend and getting the best of both worlds. These numbers might be completely inappropriate for your particular market in New Jersey, but it is food for thought. I would advise that you at least speak to a couple sellers agents and see what they have to say and what value they could add.

@David Krulac , Thank you for all of that information. It is definitely not for the weak of heart and not to be taken lightly. It appears that most strategies involving these properties would be too risky, but I can't stop thinking that there must be some angle that I am not thinking of that could work and reduce the risk somehow. Although you are right, the pictures from Super Storm Sandy surely wake up many to the dangers.

By the sound of it, as time goes by, more and more properties will be susceptible to the floods and zones. And more fees will have to be paid.  I will keep on trying to think of some strategy or contrarian niche that could somehow benefit from the increasing flood zones, but it is probably very unlikely that a strategy with an acceptable risk will be found. Maybe the only way to benefit is to invest in house raising and flood clean-up companies.

Thank you @Lynn McGeein , I will definitely take a look at it.

Thank you @Lynn McGeein , I like your idea of getting your own engineers to further refine the risks in certain areas. I would imagine that when FEMA designated the high risk areas throughout the whole country, they might not have been able to scrutinize specific areas and factors. As evidenced by the fact that a number of people are getting elevation certificates that are proving they are above the flood zone in certain instances.

From what I have heard from friends, some of them are being subjected to mandatory flood insurance because there is a river or even a brook nearby. Perhaps those areas could be targeted for further analysis.

And as you stated, the flooding zones and potential impacts of the model projections are probably going to be impacting even more people in the future. There has to be some way to benefit from these occurrences, or at least from FEMA's parameters.

@Manuel Sandoval , My advice is to pursue the construction field. Even if you start out cleaning up job sites. It will allow you to save up some cash and it will give you some of the knowledge and experience that you will need. If your plan is to get a really old house, you are going to have to know how to fix it.

The fact that you live in a really poor city does not mean that you can't pursue a career in real estate. In fact, I think you should use it to your advantage. There are some people out there with money and investing potential that might not have any connections to the low income city. If you can become somewhat of an expert in your location and be a pointman for an outside investor, perhaps you can make yourself an important and useful tool for someone that does have the capital to take a chance in the city. You can be the person to oversee the projects in the city or you could be lining up all the renters or connecting with all the contacts, etc. Then you eventually build up enough money and connections to fund projects yourself.

You are ahead of the game because you already found something that interested you, now find a way to make yourself valuable to others in the industry that could partner up with you.

Good luck and go get 'em!

Thank you for sharing. Those are great tips and lessons that will really help the other members. You really did make the place look great. As others have stated, you are now experienced. I would definitely bet on you for your next flip.

Just listened to the episode and it was solid. It was especially interesting how he leveraged his prior publishing experience to succeed with the Keller Williams founder. He was at the right place at the right time and obviously put in a great deal of proactive effort to get to where he is today. It was motivational and educational to hear. Josh and Brandon did a great job of interviewing as usual. It was very evident that Brandon holds Mr. Papasan in high regard.