All Forum Posts by: Elizabeth Beard

I just got my real estate license and I'm hoping to start using the MLS to find investment opportunities. Real Tracs seems impossible to search for certain keywords in descriptions of on market or expired listings, so I'm finding myself wasting a ton of time. Any suggestions for ways to streamline my efforts?

@Joe Gonzalez

Good point. I did have him sign a personal interest disclosure form, but I don’t want to put my license at risk.

Would love to get an opinion on something. I'm under contract to buy someone’s house, and he didn't want to sell it unless I helped him find another house. I’m an agent, so I did, and he's in his due diligence period with the new house. Well today he's having cold feet.

How much of a hard *** would you be? Technically I found him a house and I could probably force him to sell, but of course ethical and moral concerns here.

His hesitations include:

My dogs howl and I don’t know if my new neighbors will have an issue with that.

It'll be 70 miles away from the closest VA and my cars aren't in great shape.

His mortgage at the new house would be able half what he owes currently, property taxes would be cut in half with the new house, and his current house needs a lot of repairs and the new house doesn’t.

Additionally, he feels too old to move and he's nervous about making a wrong decision. I've talked him down twice now, but the cold feet are still there.

What’s another angle I could work? Or should I just walk away? It’s a REALLY good deal for both of us, so I REALLY want this to work out.

@Evan Polaski So helpful!! Thank you!!

@Will Fraser Thanks!! I thought it was something more like that from when I built my house a few years ago. I felt like this guy was getting greedy and trying to steal our deal from us. I want to pay fairly for work, but that felt a step too far. But he kept insisting that people won’t take the work unless it pays them well because everyone would rather be on a bigger job. Tough situation....

I just bought my first fixer upper to flip and now I’m trying to find a GC. I’ve been calling around to leads I’ve found. One asked me today how we planned to pay him. I always assumed a cost plus model but he said that GC’s are too busy and it’s not enough money unless they can be 50% partners on the purchase and the flip. What are best practices for paying a GC for a flip? Any recommendations on finding a GC who’s not going to take me for a ride?

@Corey Hawkinson Thanks :)

It’s hard as an entrepreneur to stay focused on the positive and the end goal when there’s so much hate for this industry, especially aimed at women. I am pushing through, but it has taken me by surprise that some of the comments even here are hateful. We should support each other and cheer each other on. This business is hard enough as it is. I appreciate your support for me even bringing this topic into the conversation. I wasn’t trying to stir the pot, just venting and looking maybe for a word of encouragement or two, but I also know that I have to pick myself up and turn the other cheek to all the haters and keep going.

@Erik W. So helpful!!! Thank you for this!!

I generally consider myself someone who has really thick skin, but this week is really getting to me. I realize in real estate investing we’re gonna receive a lot of hate, “f” off’s and more. I’ve received my fair share and that’s never bothered me. I realize what we do has a bad reputation out there, mostly from those who are uninformed, and it’s easy for me to write those off in my mind.

But this week, the sexism has been off the charts! I can’t even count how many men have asked me to handle their D, suck their D, ask if I’m single, tell me I sound hot, and more.

But what really was the cherry on top was when I called a hard money lender to fund my first fix and hold. This company was probably the 5th that I had called as I’m doing my research and due diligence on lenders. I’ve never in my life been spoken down to in the way this man did.

He literally did not ask me one thing about the property and immediately started telling me that doing a fix and hold was pretty risky and that I’d probably be better off just working with a real estate agent who could find me what I’m looking for. He went on like this for a solid 10-15 minutes. Never asking me one thing about the property, my experience, what I did or didn’t know, nothing. The tone of his voice was nothing short of an obvious, “oh silly girl wants to do real estate investing.”

Throughout the 10-15 minutes I had to endure, here are the assumptions he made:

I’m not a real estate agent (I am)

I have no idea what comps are (I do)

I don’t know the area I’m buying the house in (I do)

I had no idea what criteria to look for in a fix and hold property (I know exactly what I’m looking for and found this driving for dollars)

I hadn’t done my due diligence on the property or what it would take to fix it (I have)

I didn't understand what ARV is (I do)

I haven’t already determined with a contractor approximately how much it will take to repair the house I’m purchasing (I have)

Since I’m clearly uninformed (because I’m a woman?) I should just find a house that’s move-in ready to use for a rental property (this guy is a moron!)

I’m not really asking for advice, more just venting and/or providing a space for other women to comment/vent about their frustrations in this profession. I’m not going to quit or give up, but this week has just been one heck of a week in regards to how people have treated me. It’s just nuts.

I’m looking to do my first fixer upper and then keep for a rental. I’ve been calling around to Hard Money Lenders and I’m having trouble finding one that isn’t ridiculous for first time fixers. They have different rates and terms than if you’ve done this before. So I thought I’d ask everyone here...who are your favorite Hard Money Lenders?