All Forum Posts by: Jonathan Makovsky

Welcome @Tammy Braz . Good luck in whatever path you choose, and I would strongly recommend listening to some of the podcasts to hear other investors' stories to see which one(s) you would want to do.

There are also a number of meet-ups in CT to join, and a local meet-up in the Hartford area is being organized by @Account Closed - you can PM him for more info. (NOTE: I have no affiliation with this meet-up outside of knowing Sal.)

Best of luck and looking forward to seeing you on the site.

Welcome @Account Closed !

Hi @Jacqueline Williams (I am going to work under the assumption that you're not referring to MLS properties with stated commission. Assuming that's the case your mark-up) will likely be market and ARV dependent, but this may help:

If cash buyers in your market follow the 70% ARV guideline (70% Article) then you can mark it up to the 70% ARV dollar amount. So for example, if you're buying a $100K ARV property that needs $20K of work, then the 70% ARV guideline says that the property is worth $50K to a cash buyer, which should mean that your spread will be the difference of $50K and what you go under contract for.

(You will need to know what the ARV and rehab costs though. If you are having trouble with that, it might be worthwhile shadowing an experienced wholesaler/rehabber and not worry about your "commission" today, rather focus on learning from these investors so in a short time you will be experienced and can do it on your own.)

@Robert Burns I'm sorry I can't opine on his program, I don't know enough about it. 

My only advice is to just weigh the cost (and the potential upsell - if there is any) vs. spending some time buying a book(s), listening to the podcats, and asking other questions on the forums to accomplish your goal of buying apartments (?). You can then use that saved money for down payments, marketing, legal, and other costs you might have when you will buy an apartment building.

Best of luck in whatever direction you choose!

Congrats @David Taylor on passing the exam - great accomplishment! 

I interviewed with many brokerages before I found the ones that were a very good fit for me. Personally I looked for a few things: 

• Good management style that appreciates the work you will be doing.
• A broker that I could leverage their information and expertise in the market I am looking to invest in.
• A commission arrangement that satisfied my needs.
• Minimal upfront fees (excluding MLS fees, board fees, etc) because - similar to you - I was looking to use my license primarily to invest, and not for the things that other typical agents might want from their broker.

Also, there are some brokerages that I found to be rather dishonest and while it's unfortunate you should keep an eye out for these. You can speak to references like other agents that work there, and other brokers/agents in the neighborhood.

Keep us posted on your results, and congrats again!

@Kimberly T. congrats on your great Christmas present! Hopefully this Christmas present begins to buy you your future holiday gifts for many years to come.

@Kate Miller congrats on making your first offer! Please keep us posted on the results.

Wishing you lots of successes in real estate!

@Kris Lippi personally I would start asap, and NOT wait for that ideal time. Your results may not be "as good" as they can be, if you were to wait a few weeks, but (IMO) this business is not about being perfect rather it's in doing things well enough that one or two things keep sticking. I wouldn't push things off today to be marginally better tomorrow. Who knows, maybe one of your sellers racked up a huge Christmas bill that needs to get paid off by the middle of the month.

An alternative option is if you have a list of 500 names, then mail 100 - 125 out every week, or 200 - 250 every 2 weeks, and you can compare results.

My feeling is that if you're looking to buy residential properties 1-4 units (and buy more than just one property in the next year or two). For me (aside from the cost savings/earnings of closing a deal) it's been a blessing to have access to the MLS, being able to see as many properties as I want, on my schedule, and write as many offers - no matter how low and ridiculous an agent might feel they are - is very worth it to me. Also, my brokerage that I hang my license with has been an asset as well.

There are costs to holding your license, but those were off-set with the first deal I did. 

Hope that helps.

@James Sotipalalit I think you got some good replies above. What type of investing are you looking to get into?