All Forum Posts by: J. Gary

Great thread! I'm a pilot, VFR only, though. Learned how to fly in a piper archer, love the low wings.

Hi everyone! I'm not terribly active with posts on BP, but I have used it as a resource many times to learn what's going on with other investors. I thought HMLs in my market were are all but dried up, but I was able to find one on BP no more than 6 months after I joined. This blog has truly been a resource for me.

Thanks Monica!

Eric, thanks for the reply. You're right, it is a vague question, but purposefully so. I want to know in general how much people are paying their crew no matter what the job is, as long as it's a SFH or 2-4 unit. Depending on the type of job they are doing I can take their numbers and adjust accordingly to ballpark a relevant figure.

What is everyone paying for a full gut these days (2-4 units and SFH)? I'm interested in benchmarking my costs against other investors'. Materials and labor on a full gut has been running me around 50-60K. Would love to hear from folks in the Chicago market and around the country.

@Anson Young, I've got a lender that puts up 100% too. Expensive as can be, but very valuable in this market.

Nick, just keep at it and stay persistent, you will be successful. I started a bit like you.

Jeff,

That has been my experience with agents. It about quantity over quality and if there is the slightest hint of work on their end, they bail immediately.

I don't use a buy side agent for deals anymore because 99% of the ones I have worked with are full of it and lazy. They have really given Realtors a bad name.

Lynn, I have run into situations like that. But I will tell you that when I used agents to represent me, just as a buyer, I would still get passed over (no B&H or counter) just as much, if not more.

Because the same outcome occurred in both instances, I have concluded that whoever ended up getting the property with had an inside connection of some sort.

George, that's right. I've won several deals just because the seller's agent did not have to share the commission. There were even a few where another offer was slightly higher then mine, but because it was from another agent, the agent thought it wasn't worth giving up half of the commission.

Mathematically, it makes sense. If you're an agent with an offer that will result in 100% of a $1,500 commission, and you have another offer from a buyer's agent that will result in 50% of a $2,000 commission, which one is more appealing?

Yes, Ed, it is quite infuriating. Many agents are as shady as the politicians are in the Chicago market and I have to put up with the mess because they are the gate keepers. You really have to "pay to play" sometimes.

J, believe it or not, the professionalism is severely lacking here with agents. In my experience, they are all trying to make a quick buck, whether it is ethical or not does not cross their minds.

Quite frankly, it's one of the reasons I never desired to get a RE license in IL.