All Forum Posts by: Manny Vasquez

It would be very difficult to perform Real Estate agent activities living in Europe and working in Massachusetts.  Although I do know of a colleague that lives in Las Vegas and sells properties in Santa Monica, CA (he has some sort of family situation that forces him into this arrangement).  If he were to drive between Vegas and SM, it is about a 4-hour drive WITHOUT traffic.  So he often flies into any of the 5 airports around Los Angeles (there are flights to and from LA-Vegas pretty much every hour of the day).  He has told me that this arrangement is very time consuming and very expensive and therefore he is working on getting his Nevada License so that he can focus in Las Vegas and not worry about California.  Nonetheless, when he does travel to CA he makes the most of his day.  I would assume that doing something like this between Europe and Massachusetts would be both expensive and time consuming.

Have you looked into becoming an RE Agent where you live in Europe?  I would assume that would be much easier.

@Joshua Sinatra - Thanks buddy!

I own a 8 STR's, they are all on Airbnb and I'm doing pretty good across all properties. I travel extensively for my consultation practice and I frequently stay at hotels and Airbnb's. If I'm solo, I'll stay at a hotel....I guess you can call it convenience. If I'm travelling with family, I stay at an Airbnb....I guess you can also call that convenience. Depending where you are staying, hotels can charge additional "guest taxes", "resort fees', and expensive nightly guest parking. The overall room rate may be very enticing but then when you start adding up the different charges, they get to be very expensive. I often look at the "whole rate" just to see what the price will be.

When travelling with family, I like the convenience of Airbnb's because 

1. Generally speaking, parking is included with Airbnb stays and it is also a few steps away from the house (if its not in a garage).  At hotels, parking isn't always "out front" and sometimes you have to walk several hundred feet away to get to your vehicle.  No biggie, but when you're travelling with toddlers, this can be a pain in the neck.

2. I can congregate in an Airbnb a lot easier than in a hotel room. Some hotel rooms are so small you barely have enough room to walk inside the individual rooms.  My kids can be noisy from time to time and I would hate to be the reason that I'm the guest with the noisy hotel room.

3.  I can cook meals for my kids, rather than eat at some of these expensive hotel restaurants.  I don't like staying at hotels with "Continental Breakfast" that is included with the room rate because honestly, are those breakfast options any good?  Is anyone ever excited about getting a Continental breakfast?  My daughters toy-play-food looks more appetizing.  

Regarding chore lists....yeah, I totally agree with you on that. I don't require any of my guests to do any chores and I stay away from any Airbnb's with chore lists.  

@Rebecca Tingley - with your 20 years of successful experience as a property manager, I would say you have plenty of experience!  I have found out that one is "never ready" to get married, to have kids, to start their own business, to buy real estate, etc, etc.....so, DIVE IN!  You know your area and you know property management, I am positive you will do just fine!  Pair up with a local realtor, express to them what you want to do and your investment goals and start making offers!  Good Luck!

@Kiley Boss - The buyer never pays their real estate agent.  The agent representing you, in this case your friend, will get paid by the Seller of the property that you purchase.

I would highly recommend that you do your own due diligence.  Read as much as you can and listen to as many podcasts as you can from BP regarding buying a property for the first time.  Prepare your questions and your check-lists.  Go to meetups as there may be deals that can generate from that.

Although your friend might be new to Real Estate, give her the benefit of the doubt.  She did have to study to pass the courses and take a state exam in order to get her RE License.  I'm not saying its Rocket Science (and I'm an ex-engineer) but there are some hurdles, however small, that one has to go through in order to get your RE license.  Furthermore, she may be working at a decent brokerage and she may be quickly absorbing all the additional classes and training that reputable brokerages request their new agents to go through.

One last thought: If she is your personal friend then either decide to work with her or not.  If you decided to work with someone else then tell her as soon as you come to this decision and be upfront with her about it. I realize that clients have options and that they may work with whomever they wish.  However, nothing, and I mean nothing will irritate, frustrate, upset, an agent more than working with a personal friend to then realize that the "friend" has bought a property with someone else. Nobody wants to be sinking in time into anything if they won't be rewarded for their efforts.  If you are going to be using someone else's time to do some work for you, then respect their efforts.....just as you would expect yours to be respected.

For my clients that have purchased multi-family properties with tenants, we have successfully requested the  Seller to evict the tenants before the Close of Escrow.   We have made a "fair" offer, and in the offer, we have requested that the purchase transaction will not be completed until the tenant(s) are out.  However the Seller makes that happen is his deal. In most cases, the Seller has used "cash for keys".....cash that he will be receiving from the sale of the property.  Let the Seller deal with his problematic tenants so that my client gets a fresh start.

(the above request is only for problematic tenants or tenants that are paying way below market rents).

Whoever needs to refinance better do it fast.  I believe the slight "dip" in interest rates will be short-lived as the FED has stated that they will continue to raise the Federal Funds Rate, albeit at a much less aggressive pace than before.  I'm thinking they will raise the rate anywhere form 0.5--.25 basis points.   Keep in mind that the Fed's #1 job is to keep inflation in-check at a targeted rate of 2%-3% Y-O-Y.  The latest inflation rate came in at 6.5%...lower than the last reading of like 8.9% or 9.1% (I can't remember but it was high) back in November or December.  The 6.5% was welcome news as this means that inflation is going down but its still above the targeted inflation rate of 2%-3%. 

I don't want to be a negative Nancy but I believe we are headed towards a recession, if not, it will be a slow-cession. The Empire State Index came in at negative numbers, the 2nd month in a row this reading has been negative, which has usually signaled that we are gearing towards a recession.

We are not changing our strategy, rather, we are excited about these times.  I see prices coming down, properties sitting on the market longer which both bode well for making strategic acquisitions.

@Collin Geary - There are several things you can do:

1) I would look up your local meetup and begin networking within that group.  They may be able to give you some guidance as to where you can find cash buyers.  

2) I would call as many realtors as possible and tell them what you want to do. They may already have some cash buyers ready to go.

3) List the property on your local MLS, which you will have to go through a realtor of your choosing. This will broadcast your home is "for sale" loud and clear.

 This is exactly how I feel about many self-help books.  After  what I consider the originals of self-help, Dale Carnegie, Napoleon Hill, James Allen. David Schwartz, amongst others, every other author has regurgitated the same information. They may say it a different way, provided slightly different examples and say the same info in their own words, but when it boils all down it's all the same.  Nonetheless, I am still thankful for that same, regurgitated information (no matter how repetitive) because let's face it, sometimes we need to hear the same message over, and over, and over again before it seeps in.  Or, we hear the same message with a slightly different "accent", "different spin", or "different example" and it makes all the difference in the world.

An example of this is how many times do we agents and EVERYONE on BP recommend to take professional pictures when listing your property on the MLS, Airbnb, VRBO, etc? Yet we still see many people cheap out.

Although inflation has "cooled" from its fire-hot pace, it is still high at 6.5%. Economists and Wall Street took this as good news (as evidenced by some stock rallies and an over all increase in the Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ) because this indicates that inflation is heading in the right direction and indicates the inflation-peak is likely in the rear view. Remember that the Fed's target rate is about 2% - 3% and as you can see, we still have work to do.  All of the FED's previous reports have remained adamant that they will keep rates high to bring inflation back to normal levels.   So understandably, I believe they will continue to raise rates.  I don't think they will go as aggressive as 0.75 bp, maybe they will go somewhere between 0.50 and 0.25 bp.

Personally, as an RE Agent and an Investor, I welcome the news as it will take a lot of competition off the market.  I also believe that the higher interest rates will provide downward pressure on housing prices.  If the deal is right and the numbers work out, I will buy.  When interest rates go back down, I can always refi.  "If the numbers workout with today's high interest rates, then they will only get better when you refi." ~ Manny Vasquez ( I just quoted myself...lol)