All Forum Posts by: John Shotton

I was reading some articles (like the one linked here) about there being a federal ruling late last year regarding how buyers' agents will not receive direct commission from home sales in the future. https://www.paloaltoonline.com/real-estate/2024/02/20/after-...

However, my cousin, who is currently a buyers agent with Compass in CA says not much will change, stating that if buyers' agents aren't paid, then who will connect homebuyers with the right sellers?  I also received my broker's license tho (solely to become more knowledgeable while making personal real estate investments), but I don't see their logic, so I figured I'd turn to BiggerPockets to help me better understand what's going on. Any insight into the below questions is much appreciated, and I look forward to reading your responses!

Thank you,

John

Questions I have (both generic to buyers agents overall and about the potential impact of the recent ruling):

1) Do sellers still have incentives to work with buyers' agents? What do buyers' agents provide to the transaction?

2) What do the best buyers agents do that sets them apart? Or, in other words, what do the best buyers agents do that can't be replaced by technology / self self-representation / etc?

3) How will buyers agents make sure they'll be paid in the future? Will their commission drop due to the ruling?

Thank you for all the replies everyone! Bigger pockets won't let me respond to each post individually unfortunately, so I'll just respond to the thread.

Jeff: Good point about Minneapolis. Thanks for the market insight. I'll definitely look into areas more like Louisville or Indi instead

Ruchit: That's what it's seeming like. The more I live in Seattle, the less it seems feasible. I had some hope, and even got my RE license here, but I'll just abandon that hope and try investing into a turnkey duplex in the midwest.

Rob: What's your opinion on Airbnb vs mid-term rentals like Furnished Finder? What are the pros and cons you've found, especially in an area like Louisville?

Dennis: I only pay 500$ in rent here, and I did the math. Even with house hacking, I would be losing money due to negative cash flow + negative equity (House hacking assumes the market will flat or grow in the near/mid term, which I'm not confident seattle will do). I'm still considering a condo near the International District (since it's close pro to hospitals) and rent it out mid-term to nurses via Furnished Finders, since w/ the right property, I could maybe come out cash positive. But buying a condo has many downsides as we both know.

Dave: Right. High HOAs are a big drain in cashflow. I would have to find the specific property in Seattle, and even then, I may have to bump up to 70/80k. The more I think about these responses, I'm thinking I'll just have to invest outside of Seattle, or just WA in general

Hey y'all,

I'm currently based out of Seattle, WA, and I've been looking into potentially purchasing an investment property. I hope to spend less than 50k total on the property but can go up if needed. I've considered the following options: 1) a mid-term rental condo in Seattle, 2) a duplex/triplex in a Tier 3 market or smaller Tier 2 market (like Minneapolis), or 3) Single family home in a place like Houston. For the last two, I'd need a property manager though.

I have the following three questions: 1) Is 50k enough to make a down payment + repairs on any of these options and still be cash flow positive?, 2) If so, which markets would you recommend, and 3) If not, realistically how much more would I have to invest to make this feasible.

Since I'm a total noob, any advice is much appreciated. Thank you!