All Forum Posts by: Johnette B.

@Natalie Kolodij Thanks!

Hi, I'm located in MD. Does anyone have a CPA referral who is experienced working with both Realtors and Investors? Doesn't matter to me if they are based locally if they service clients in my area. Thanks!

Hi Paul, I am an agent in the DC metro. I have to concur with a few of my colleagues here. Just to give you a few more details on where we are coming from...we do not get compensated until a deal closes. We are contacted by multiple 'would be' buyers throughout the year. Many of us early in our careers have spent days, weeks and even longer going above and beyond for seemingly interested buyers that never followed through on a purchase or, worse yet, they were playing our efforts in parallel over that same period with other agents and we got left hanging. In those instances, we are never able to recoup the ROI on that effort. As an analogy, imagine if you had a full-time job and your boss said they wanted you to show up for work and grind your tail off for the next several weeks or months and they'd 'think' about whether they'd pay you. I'm sure that wouldn't fly with you right?

Don't get me wrong, every agent should absolutely provide great communication and service from day one. But at the same time, you have to do your part to demonstrate that you are serious as a buyer. Perhaps, take some time to research and learn about a few agents, pick up the phone to call those you are interested in, set up a conversation to discuss your needs, show them you've got your funding ducks in a row and let them know your property wants as well as what you want/need in an agent, etc. Then, decide which is a good agent fit for the geographies you're interested in. Once you decide, sign an agency agreement with them to put your client skin in the game and I assure you, you'll have a more proactive and engaged agent partner. 

Hope this helps!

Johnette Barham | TTR Sotheby's International Realty | Licenced in DC, MD, VA

@Eric Friday From a Detroit native Congrats Eric! :)

@Deborah Repaskey As others have noted follow your gut. I think a denial would be prudent. You can provide a super brief response letter and include 1 to 3 bulleted items to provide the primary reasons for denial...something like “high utilization of revolving credit” and “Recent collection activity” and then include the name and address of the credit bureau whose information was used to establish your decision and note that they can BBC intact them for more information on their credit file.

I would let that be it. Not worth the risk imo.

@Al Pat I would honestly chat with a few realtors in your area to negotiate a reasonable commission that will allow you to syndicate your rental listing to likely over 200 sites. That’s the first I’ve heard with Zillow charging but interesting.

I tried this but my logo did not appear when I re-downloaded. Anyone have this happen?

Hey @Russell Brazil! I know when we last spoke I mentioned to you I had been trying to research brokerages. I know you have great things to say about larger shops and training. Can you tell me how the team structure works, and how commissions are different if at all with teams, etc?. Since I'll be a dual career agent I also wanted to know how they typically view non full-time agents and those who plan to be active in investing. I know all teams will vary but I'm unfamiliar with how they work in general. Thanks! Have a meeting with one smaller firm this week and speaking to a few others. Hope to decide by the end of this week. 

@Ben McMahon that is really good insight. How did you go about seeking out and choosing a team? Also, what are the expectations when you join a team? Do they frown upon those who have full-time jobs outside their agent work? Also, how do they typically feel about someone who is largely interested in investing? How do the commission splits work if you are on a team vs solo?

@Don Harris, Thank you so much for that feedback. That is really helpful to know that most brokerages use much of the same training materials. I had no idea!