All Forum Posts by: Martin Zawarski

what are some of the issues you are dealing with. I am sure you can gain valuable insight here by posting a statement a tenant makes and how to handle that. I have had apartments for 35 years, I think I heard most of the lines out there .

Brand name has helped me tremendously in buying homes from the MLS that are estate homes. My brand name and last name are the same. But I have been told twice in the last year the home was sold to me at a given price because of who I was and that they know I will treat the home well. As soon as the home is transferred my sign goes in the front yard. It states that tis home is for sale/ rent. And I buy homes.

Watch the HGTV or DIY channels and you see that branding plays an important part in telling the market who you are.

I place title in the name of the LLC , while the mortgage is in my name as well as my wife's.

Originally posted by @Sharad M.:

Demo has begun. To be done by Sunday. Roof going on this weekend.

Demo including dumpsters $1,850

You stated earlier you filled 7 ---- 30 yard dumpsters. My cost on a large roll off is about $500. Seven 30 yarders would cost me $3500 plus the labor to fill it. Fuzzy math?

I could not imagine being a great investor and not having your license . I have my license and I have not represented a customer in a sale of a property in years. Having full access to the MLS is so important , I use this as my primary source for finding properties and I use the tools built in the program to determine vales of all homes I look at. I could determine in two minutes if a home I see falls in my criteria of properties that I may be interested in. I don't know how else I would be able to do this .

Getting your license should not get your mind off the subject of being an investor. I think they go hand in hand. You stated you want to invest within the next six months. In some states you can get your license relatively quickly using online resources. I know there are plenty of investors that don't have a license and they are successful- true. But I would think that most investors do.

clothes don't matter at all to me. That a painter is covered from head to toe in paint is no big deal. I have painted plenty of homes so I know that it's part of the program.

Shocking news. I don't get bids. Before a sub does work for me I tell them give me your best price. Do the job and then bill me fairly. If I see that your work meets my standards and that I feel your bill is fair, I will use you on the next job and the next and the next. If I feel the either your work performed is not adequate or your work was acceptable but your price was high, I will pay you for the job and I will never use you again. It will be a small loss for me , big deal, but it will be a bigger loss for you because you could have had ten, fifteen more jobs over the next year. Your choice .

Originally posted by @John Weidner:

@Martin Zawarski

Could you expand on this comment: "I check off, Available-Bank Owned-Estates." It's not an option on the Chicago area MLS to distinguish between bank owned in the search criteria . Is it an option on your boards MLS?

In our MLS , we could specify different variables. We could look up various status- available, sold, pending , under agreement, withdrawn, expired. Plus a whole host of other information. There is a subset of special conditions such as estate or bank owned. You can get very specific with your search. It is a great tool

having a real estate license is very important. When I do a search I check off, Available-Bank Owned-Estates. In my county that I look in there are typically over 160 properties as such always listed. I arrange them by dates and get to know each property. Even in my market one house lets say a 3-2 that is 1400sf can vary in price from 90-150,000 depending on location. So you have to know each community. I also look for price drops.

A house could be on the market for two months and get no action, the price is then dropped by $10,000 and now you have five offers.

But my point is I do this search every day. Most of the properties I bought were sold within one week of being listed. You have to be in the game and aware of what is coming on the market all the time. You snooze you loose . You really can't expect a hired realtor to do this for you unless you have a very special relationship with them. So that it cost be a couple hundred buck a year to be a realtor and have access to MLS is a bargain. I can also analyze the price almost instantly with the CRS tool. (Courthouse retrieval system) so if a home is significantly underpriced I know it and can act fast.

Acting fast is key because he who hesitates is lost!

I think many of us are overthinking the process. I buy 1 house a month off of the MLS and get great properties. There is one buyer here that is a competitor that buys 6 homes each and very month. The guy is a machine. Deals are out there, don't wait for he perfect deal or you will be waiting forever.

Boy you have done so much and I congratulate your organization and work. Now the easy part Put together a deal this week. Do not make this part a maybe or a should or a goal , make it a must. Rank it right up there with your need for oxygen. I fell into that kinda trap with another venture and all I was doing was preparing for preparing . Then I got into this and said the best way to learn is by experience or just by doing it. Like the Nike slogan goes "Just Do It!" From when I said I am in this business to when I purchased my first home was one week and then the next week I bought another home. Tell your two realtors you must must must buy a home within the next seven days