All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Greene

@Nicole Aleksandrowicz - find a mentor first inside your brokerage. A mentor can not only teach you a lot, they often have a surplus of leads or can give you some of their less savory leads to play around with. Ask around your office for anyone who needs help hosting an Open House. These are your best bets with people you don't know. But don't forget about all of the people you do know. Work your Sphere of Influence by letting them know gently that you are now licensed and are happy to help. Your sphere can contain more ready buyers and sellers than anyone can imagine.

My first listing came from a handwritten card I sent to an expired listing. I ended up selling the home in a week and got both sides.

@Daniel Johnson - just calling a lender for prospects will get you nowhere. You have to send lenders buyers ready for a pre-approval before they will even consider sending you a potential client. For them to refer a buyer out, they need to know you will close since it's their referral on the line. Before you can get value from service providers in the industry you have to give value. If you are hosting an Open House for someone, invite a local lender to participate with you and that mat stoke the fire.

@Luke McCann - I think 6 is the magic number, but direct mail can still have an effect. I think to stand out your postcards or mailers need to bring them some value instead of just a catchy way of asking if they have grown out of their home. Maybe the first few are market stats for multis and other related plus value adds for them. Then by #4 or #5 you can hit them with an "Aren't you tired of your tenants" card.

@Jered Lafuze - whether you are looking to transition into a career as an agent or a REI, the best way to transition from a full-time job into real estate is to find a mentor who is doing what you might want to do and offer you help. With your experience, you could provide valuable insight to a commercial RE agent, but you have to give to get back later for it to work when you still have a full-time job.

@James W. - New Jersey is a tenant-friendly state. It is easier, in my opinion, to evict a holdover homeowner than a tenant. I prefer to use any strategy to get the tenants out and cash for keys works best but is a difficult negotiation. If you are buying more turnkey occupied rentals, which is rare with the price points here for it to be worth it, then evaluating the tenants could work. If they have a lease, you must complete the lease terms, but if they are over lease they still have rights if the prior owner/landlord did not notify them timely that their lease would not be renewed.

@Shannan Bowen - most REO listings in my area are handled via an online portal for the offer and if not, they are handled internally and transmitted to the bank that way by the listing agent. I have waited three weeks for a response before and also just heard back from one yesterday in less than a day. What I have found is that bothering the agent, on behalf of a nervous client, never helps. REO agents sometimes can get 50 assignments at a time in a hot REO area and they use the portals as a wall because they have to - they would get calls 24/7. You have to prove to the REO listing agent that your buyer is serious and understands the game. With an online offer this is harder because there is no cover email, but you can add limiting language in the additional provisions that make it clear your client understands.

@Noah Scott - just NJ right now and NY shortly.

@Michael Flynn - there are definitely REO agents like that around, but it is not the norm and not the proper way to do business. I am waiting on REO assignments now and plan to run them just I run my high-end listings. Most of the REO agents I deal with for my investors locally are just overrun with properties and can't always respond on time, but once they know you, they will get back to you. The banks DO NOT favor the type of behavior you described, they like a streamlined (mostly online) bid process so they can maximize their price and sell for cash, as-is whenever possible. In NJ, almost all REO listings are on the MLS so that does sound suspect to me.

Try finding the ones on the MLS and make contact with them. If you are interested in auction options, I have a college friend who runs an auction house in and around the Boston and Cape areas. Just PM if you would like his contact info.

@Mark Dresdner - Orange and East Orange are both ripe for investment opportunities, but both can present challenges on a block by block basis due to the number of foreclosures or abandoned homes on each block and how it affects overall block value. For both areas, you want to be close to the train to maximize your rental income. A lot of areas are really owner/landlord preference based on your comfort level. I show REO and other disaster properties in both towns all the time and really believe there is scaling value in both on a longer-term scale.

One other thing to note, renovations take some relationship development with the town in these areas as the building inspectors can be difficult depending on what day you catch them.

Network early, network often. I think in the beginning of many real estate agent's careers they are kind of timid to network because they don't really know what to say about their new career. Too many agents talk about their choice of real estate as a way to have more free time, but that doesn't elicit an "I want to work with you" response. If you spend 3 months  (I suggest never stopping) networking as much as possible, you will have more options than you could ever dream of in terms of mentorship, referrals, deals. Always see what you can do for someone, not what they can do for you, and the favors will be returned.