All Forum Posts by: Joe Facenda

@Jack Bobeck  Thank you for pointing out my obviously out of date and incomplete Realtor.com profile.  It is incorrect as for the last year I have been with a different RE/MAX franchise.  I haven't looked at that profile in some time. 

I agree that people may  use Realtor.com to find Realtors but they may also use Zillow, Trulia, RE/MAX.com, Redfin and dozen of other sites.  

I have a more robust profile on my web page and here on BP than I do on any of those sites.  I care about the investor community so I make sure I am where investors will see me and research me.  I think that is what most Realtors do.

Want a Realtor who specializes in working with seniors? Look for a SRES or go to sites specializing in elder care.

Want a Realtor with a specialty in short sales?  Look for a CDPE.

Want a Realtor with an expertise in investing? Well, look through BP or got to a REIA. I suggest you not depend on a site that has every Realtor in the region listed like Realtor.com.

Fortunately, having been around for some time my past clients and sphere of influence are my biggest source of business.  I don't depend on the Zillows and Trulias.  And one needs to carefully look at several sites to decipher the info there.  You read the profile as stating I had 7 transactions in the last 24 months.  If that is all I had done in the last 24 months, I would not be able to afford the Verizon FIOS service allowing me to write this or I would keep the Verizon service and choose to write this in the cold because I would not be able to afford heat in my home if I still had a home.

Those 7 are the current active listings I have and do not include the 5 under contract and dozens of other closed in the last year.  (One of those 5 under contract is with an investor I met here on BP)

Anyway, say someone did want to try to find an investor friendly Realtor in our market. There are roughly 10,000 Realtors in our MLS. How do you screen those at a site like Realtor.com? You can't. There is no investor designation that you can screen for. So you are faced with slogging through Realtor profiles until you pass out.

Your wife is a Realtor.  She has nice profile on Realtor.com - better than mine for sure.  Yet her webpage is even sharper and there she states the same that I state - most business comes from past clients and referrals.

So, if you are looking for an investor friendly agent, use BP or Google "investor Friendly Realtor in ______ " or go to a REIA.

All of that said, I thank you for letting me know my Realtor.com profile is out of date.  I probably should update it.   Thanks

@Jack Bobeck  No. No.  Just looking up an agent on Realtor.com and getting their production is not the way to go.  How long have they been licensed?  How many investor deals have they done?   And, most importantly, do they invest themselves.  None of that is on Realtor.com. 

 Also, many of the big, big producers there only deal with retail clients. 

And last, many of those numbers a padded somewhat because they have a team of agents doing tremendous work but the production totals go to the team leader.

There are pluses and minuses to the team approach but the client needs to know what they are getting and decide if it works for them.

@Cesar Rebolledo I very much disagree.  

Well, I could agree investor friendly agents are hard to find. And I could agree that, depending on the market, a wholesaler would be better than a Realtor on the front end of fix and flip. Some markets - mine included - are ones where fix and flip deals are not in the MLS.

But when you question why would an agent work on a discounted home when they could sell a "regular" home in the same time and make more, you are looking at the industry with a rather narrow focus.

It is sort of like saying why would anyone want to run a Target when they could run a Nordstroms.  You need to sell 3 or 4 Target jeans to equal the revenue from one Nordstrom jean.

I am not a newbie.  I am a top producer - near the very top - in my market and have been a Realtor for over 2 decades.  Let me tell you why I work with with investors.

#1 I like it.  I like the people.  I like the challenges of the deals.  I like seeing people build a path to financial freedom.  I still do regular "retail" business ( about 50/50) and enjoy that as well but investing really gets my juices flowing.  Fortunately, I have a large enough business that I can do what I like even if it is not the highest "one time" commission which brings me to point #2.

#2 From a business model, let me go back to the Target vs Nordstrom analogy.  Regular "retail" buyers and sellers are wonderful.  I love helping families settle into a new neighborhood.  But when that transaction is done, barring life changing events for the family, I may never have another deal with them again or if I do it will be years down the road.  How many investors do you know who catch the bug and are one and done?  I do mostly buy and hold stuff in my market but there is the occasional fix and flip when I am on both sides.  The more deals you have, the more people you meet along the way.  The more people you meet, the more deals you get.  Deals that you never thought were there.  

So from both an enjoyment standpoint and a practical business/economic standpoint, I think working with investors is fantastic and I would never give up my license.

Now, I would also agree with some of the comments that new investors can be a waste of time.  Some yes and some no.  Again, maybe because I am old, whenever I have that coffee I decide if I want to work with them.  There have been many I have chosen not to align myself with.  If I accept a client, they need to be smart and ethical.  But even those I don't accept, I tell I am available to talk.  I love chatting investments and strategy.

P.S.  If you run an efficient business, even if you are a top producer, you always have time for coffee. 

Just one old guy's opinion.

I think this is great but to me an investor friendly Realtor needs 2 very important qualities - experience as a Realtor and experience as an investor.  

There are Realtors calling themselves investor friendly because they are long term investors but were just licensed yesterday.   Particularly for an out of town client, that can be problematic.  Knowing good neighborhoods, cap rates, cash on cash return, etc is only part of it.  If the Realtor doesn't know how to get from there to the settlement table in the most advantageous way for their client, they are not the best choice.  

On the other side are long term Realtors who may have worked with many investors but have limited personal investment experience.  I think it helps to know and have experienced late night investor thoughts, worries and doubts.

I am a Realtor in Northern Virginia so I obviously can not help but I can address the value add of buyer agent in a short sale.

First, let's back up to the value add of a buyer agent in general.  An active agent who negotiates dozens of deals a year just knows the how to make a deal happen better than all but the most active investors.  That said, I will grant you that there are deals that are so smooth that perhaps the agent does not add value.  But is your deal one that will be super smooth or one that will hit bumps in the road that only a great agent can work around?  Going in, you never know.  

So what is the value of a deal getting done vs not getting done?  I know that I have saved many from the ash heap but there are others where, admittedly, I just  stand by and direct traffic.  And then there is a 3rd group where I see turbulence and make sure I find a work around  before the plane starts to shake.  My clients often never even know there was trouble ahead.

On to the short sale.  I am sure you know that the listing agent represents the seller.  And I know you feel comfortable negotiating directly with that listing agent. Now a short sale involves so many delays, stops and starts, misdirections and minefields that if you have not done several of these, you will almost certainly be wondering if the listing agent is giving you the straight story. There is no one else for you to really call to find out.  The bank will never speak with you about the seller's situation.  

A good buyer agent will let you know what is "normal" (if you can call anything normal in short sale) and what is not.

A good buyer agent will tell you that maybe you need to exit this deal and move on.  A listing agent will not.  There are important reasons the listing agent and seller want you to hang around as long as possible.  Mainly the banks only work on finalizing their numbers when there is a valid contract on the table.  Even if you eventually back out, if the seller can get the bank to show their hand, it is a small win for their side.

There are many more reasons I would want an agent on my side in a short sale particularly if I only have one or two under my belt.

That said, I do have a great investor friendly agent I can recommend in Indy.  PM me if you are interested.

I have a few homes outside my market and I would never do it without a property manager.  I factor that into the numbers when I buy.  That said, it is the hardest part of out of town investing. I have found great investor friendly Realtors but I struggle to find a great property manager.  Some are great at getting it rented but not great at management.  Some manage well but take longer to rent.  And others are not the greatest at providing timely and easy to understand reports.  Still, I would rather manage the property manager than the tenants so once fixed up get a property manager on your team.

Great 1031 discussion and shows why you should always use an experienced 1031 QI who does this all the time. Weirdly, Realtors need to be licensed, title agents need to be licensed but in QIs do not (That may be a state law. I know they do not in VA.) Technically, anybody who is not involved in the deal can be a QI with some other limitations. A little scary particularly since they are holding large sums of money and if they want to run off to an island somewhere........

Anyway, agent etiquette....  To me, it depends upon your market and the type of property you are looking for that determines if you should be with one agent or use multiple agents. 

In my market, if an investor is looking buy and hold, I know I can find properties on the MLS and I insist upon an exclusive buyer agency. I won't work with buy and hold investors using multiple agents but of course understand the investor may find their own off market deal and I am fine with that.

But if they are looking for a flip, I tell them up front that they should have several agents looking because the truly profitable flips in my market are not on the MLS. I do tell them that if I bring them an off market deal on the front end, that I expect to be the listing agent on the back end. And if another agent brings them the deal on the front end, they should use that agent on the back end.

However, if my market was such that I could find flips on the MLS, I would again want an exclusive buyer agency.

Hope that helps.

Are you looking to live in the home first or is this a rental from day one? 

if a personal residence then, to me, the numbers are secondary.  Be happy where you live and make sure the commute is tolerable.

But if an investment (even if down the road) my experience is that at $450,000, you are starting to get tight on cash flow (assuming 20%/25% down and if a low down owner occupant loan to start, forget it.)   It would be the rare home, Fairlington or anywhere else inside the beltway on the Virginia side that would cash flow with those numbers. 

If you dropped down to $350,000, you will start to see some cash flow in places like Centreville, Herndon and Springfield.  And a little lower you can get townhomes in Woodbridge and Manassas.

I am only licensed in Virginia so I can't speak specifically to MD or DC. However, as an investor I have studied those areas and I find VA is much more landlord friendly. I don't ever see myself buying a rental property in DC. Ask a DC agent about TOPA which makes the exit more complicated.

As for taxes, in general, I do not let that drive my overall strategy. It is all numbers and the 3 areas area so close that it is hard to make a decision based on that. However if you are living in the region, I do think VA is better overall as a resident.

Hope that helps

PM me. Have an idea for you. 

@Laura Shinkle.  Thank you.  Those are important comments.  Every landlord is different and property managers need to know the expectations of each.  Some want things done the cheapest way possible and want expenses as low as possible.  Understand.  But my philosophy is different.  I want things done right so the tenant is happy.  I am not going to remodel a kitchen or bath because they ask or refinish hardwood floors to be a nice guy but if something reasonable is requested, I want it done quickly and professionally.  The number 1 financial drain for landlords is not high expenses, it is vacancy.  I want to keep the tenants happy and in place. If I go above and beyond expectations, long time tenants will realize they don't get that with most landlords and will stay.  But if my management company does not share that philosophy, my plan is thwarted.  I will look into Niche when the time comes.   (Laura, if you do decide to buy, PM me.  I really like the agent I used in Charlotte.)