All Forum Posts by: Bill Schrimpf

@Michael Saladin Sounds like your head is in the right spot.  @Antony Wang is right, get a small multi fam, 4 or fewer units and you get the first time buyer loan perks. Anything with 2 or more doors is an amazing start for house hacking 

@Sawyer Bullock - Welcome to BP! How long have you been in Reno and what areas look interesting to you? I'm happy to connect and talk REI for a bit!

Does anyone know the process and timeframe for obtaining an Insurable Title after a tax sale in NV?

Hello Ahamed - You mention SFR and 2 cities, but to give you better answers, can you please explain your top priorities for the investment and the anticipated holding period?

Did you send an e-mail to them?  Usually pretty responsive there.  PM me if you need it.

@Sean Dye - I'll echo may of my colleague's comment above about training and how to actually be a good agent, help your clients and make some money for everyone.  That knowledge is invaluable.

Not mentioned: 

* You will have MLS fees and likely Realtor fees you cannot escape.

*  What are the office/desk/technology fees in the office.  

* What about mandatory desk/floor time?  Some brokers want you there 40 hours a week doing office admin work and call it training.  

* Ask about E&O insurance, is it per transaction or a yearly lump sum?

* What is your commission split?  It is flat, variable, sliding scale?

* Will you be part of a team?  Will there be office admin to help if you need it?

* how available is your broker to help; are they too busy with board meeting and the 100 other agents?  

*  When you get licensed, everyone (including BP) will try to sell you leads, signs, more leads, business cards, more leads, name tags, more leads, health insurance, leads, print/mail services, leads.  Ask the agents in your office who have been in the biz for over 5 years about this stuff before spending money on it.

Welcome to the circus!

@Eric Forsberg - Welcome and congrats on your first successes! Every marriage is different, but if you really want to leave your W2, whatever your plan, even its still very "high level" keep him in the loop and supportive. REI is hard, it's work, it takes time and money. That means it takes your spouses support and buy-in!

That's my two-cents!  Keep up the good work!

@Artur A. 

I dont really know the scope of work, but the repairs numbers don't seem crazy high for one-off situations.  Sending every small job out to bid/quote is a waste of everyone's time.  Your PM should have good trades people on speed dial.  If you really want to micro-manage, then self-manage and save the 10%

A good PM would have explained their documentation procedures related to repairs before signing.  It appears you did not have the conversation, so consider having it now.  At a minimum, you should get copies of invoices or work orders to cover your butt if a tenant issue comes up.  

Did you skip the inspection before buying?  If you did, please consider getting one now.  It may be better to cut and run now (sell).  Maybe the property is generally OK and Murphy's law was working overtime.  Inspections are not designed to find everything, but should typically let you know what to expect so you can make an informed decision.  

Because it's an older house, the near-term cashflow outlook is bleak if maintenance and updates (HVAC, roof, plumbing, electrical)  have not been kept up with.  

That being said, talk to your CPA about accelerated depreciation and consider spending the big bucks to fix big systems/problems now.  You will get the tax break in 2024 and reduce your repairs and maintenance, which will help cashflow.

@Mike Brown Sounds like you are in need of a better property manager.  50% occupancy is a disaster.  Not sure about Wichita, but in my market, you should be able to get a good handy man right now, and pretty fast because of the seasonality of their work, at least for bigger jobs. Again, a good PM would be able to handle something like that with relative ease.  

Could be a great, or terrible time to fly into Kansas City next week, depending on the Chiefs...

I should add some nuance. If an agent is pure commercial, does not participate in the MLS (small multifam or SFR) then lots of the headaches disappear, but they still must advertise residential property to the public using tools like Loopnet and signs. This effectively prevents prohibits pocket listings.

Your questions make me want to push back on the term "Investor Friendly".  Every agent I've met is investor friendly if they think a buyer has money, and investors are always rolling in cash and credit, right!!!???  Even here in BP, a platform for investors, the term is clouded because of their Featured Agent program, advertising investor friendly agents.  It is a revenue generator for BP, just like the Premier Agent program generates revenue for Zillow.  

Lets use "Investment educated" agent. Now the answer is easy; vocabulary and education. An experienced person will know things like, NOI, COC, CAP Rate, depreciation, accelerated depreciation, vacancy rate, forced appreciation, rent rates in the neighborhood, vacancy rates, rental rate trends, a good handyman, etc.

I like most of what being an agent is, contracts, problem solving, marketing a property, negotiation, helping people, lending, title, all that cool geek stuff.  I don't like "marketing myself" which is why I use the BP Featured Agent program, I buy leads from BP.  For me, that is the answer, just pay for the lead.