All Forum Posts by: Tracy Selfridge

 Hi! I am looking for one for mid term rentals Thanks!

Also looking for a property manager in the Columbia area. Looking at our first multi family in the area and would like an active and knowledgeable manager. If anyone has someone please let us know.

Thanks!

@Tracy Selfridge its all about relationships and providing raving fan customer service so you have a team of people singing your praises and sending you referrals. You want to spend every minute serving people, your community and building lasting relationships.

Do this and the business will take care of itself.

I fund many properties that are bought on MLS.. there is a way to work MLS to your advantage..

just have to pick your niche's  like Timber  when listing agent in our area has no clue as to what standing timber is worth once its on a log truck and list the property just as a home.. 

Or when listings have hidden lots under them or certain zonings that can be monetized.. We bought two this month were they were right off of MLS and both will make more than 100k net profits by just doing map work.. etc etc.

if your just buying for rental properties and that's your only focus then I guess your looking for different metrics.. and those that buy for rental or owner occ we cant compete with either.. as their is just not enough spread.. I always lose at auction to the investor that wants a rental .. I mean they think its a great deal if they buy a 300k prop for 275k.. you see this in Vegas all the time.. 

when markets get tight you have to dig into HBU and just be much more knowledgable about the whole value proposition not just what will it rent for and can I make a whopping 10% COC return on a rental.

The first record I can find in my digitital footprint about BP was an email my wife sent to me with a blog post on here about short sales in 2009.  I think I may have come across the site here and there occasionally, but I dont think it made any lasting impression on me til 2013 when @Brandon Turner sent me the following email in April 2013.

We  were trading emails about one of his spreadsheets I had purchased off his own personal site.  The right email, at the right time, would have a dramatic impact on my professional life going forward, and I had no idea. This was right around the time that I was getting ready to leave my well paying job in healthcare to become a full time investor and real estate agent, and BiggerPockets would become a huge part of my success over the next 6 years.

Ive been thinking a lot lately, with this 10,000th post coming up and having just turned 40, what the keys to my success have been.  While there are probably hundreds of little things that have added to it, I think the #1 key to my own success, and I think for many others, is that I surround myself with successful people. 

My social circle is filled with very successful people...a congressional chief of staff, a dod policy advisor, a partner at a major DC lawfirm, the head of social media for Fannie Mae.  Ive been friends with the same guys for 20+ years now, and we have all grown a careers to amazing heights together.  In my professional life Ive surrounded myself with some of the most successful people in my industry. When I moved into being an agent full time, I decided to join the market leading brokerage in my metro area, and decided to join the highest producing office of that company, and decided to measure myself against the top agents in that office. Now I am right there with those individuals in the top 1% of this profession. Then in my online life, here on BP, I too surround myself with incredibly successful people like @Mindy Jensen, @Alexander Scott Felice, @Joel Owens, @Brie Schmidt, @Dawn Brenengen, @Darren Sager, @Ryan Murdock, @Ned Carey, @Jay Hinrichs.

Alex says Broke is a Choice.....and similarly, I am a big believer that Success is a Choice, and the start of that success is surrounding yourself with successful people. Because then you have no choice but to also be successful.  

 I agree that value is the number one priority, but many of the investors I've spoken with clarify that they only care about the numbers (as they should). The value conversation tends to carry more weight with typical homebuyers who are looking for someone to simplify the process for them, handle admin duties, and negotiate on their behalf. Investors don't have much interest in those things, and as some have pointed out in this thread, they even see agents as obstacles or glorified taxi drivers/lockbox openers. Although those of us in the business know that our jobs are far more complex than this, how can we overcome this disposition from skeptical investors?