All Forum Posts by: Max Gradowitz

And people gripe that there is such a "low barrier of entry" to being a licensed agent...

Yes, an actual offer attached to the email.  This is precisely the benefit of having a buyer's agent.  Do you have commercial purchase agreements?  Do you know how to fill one out?  Do you what to include with the offer?  This is why you get an agent.  I can't imagine how you could want to buy a commercial property without a buyer's agent.  I know of residential REALTORS that get their own buyers agent for commercial purchases because the process is different than residential.  And they SHOULD, it's free to the buyer anyway.

Also, if you are not prequalified for a commercial loan yet and do not plan to pay cash entirely, then you must get prequalified first.  How do you know you are even qualified for a commercial loan at all?  A seller is not going to entertain an offer without a prequalification letter or a proof of cash funds - how do they know you will be able to perform at all?  "Just trust me" doesn't cut it.  Get an agent.

It's totally ok to switch anytime granted you don't sign some sort of exclusive agreement (and you never have to!).  But keep in mind that agents are salespeople, so they will hound you if you start using them and then fly off the radar.  Be upfront and honest about it to avoid that.  You won't hurt their feelings.

Also, finding a random agent on Zillow, especially if you need an investor-friendly agent, is probably the worst way of finding an agent.  Agents pay to show up on Zillow listings, and it's (in my experience) usually brand new inexperienced agents that don't have a stream of clients so they pay Zillow for leads.... Not what you want for investment purchases in my opinion.

They probably receive calls/emails like yours all day and don't have time to return those calls/emails.  If I list my own residential fixer upper, I get TONS of emails from people "interested" in it, so many sometimes that I can never respond to all of them.  If any of those emails have an attached offer, then I'm responding asap.  The reason?  No, I'm not trying to be mean.  It's because time is money in the real estate business!  I can't talk to 50 people on the phone every day so they can ask me silly questions about the property, only to never end up making an offer anyway.  I only have a little bit of extra time each day because of my job, so I'd rather spend a long time on the phone with a person that sends me an offer and proof of funds, because I know they are serious.  It's just the reality of the business.

How you get them to respond is you have your agent send an offer with your prequalification letter and proof of funds.  Also, have your agent ask any questions about the property, not you personally.  They will be much more likely to respond to an agent that has a prequalified buyer.

From SLO?  I love SLO!  I live a couple hours away and I absolutely love going wine tasting in that general area (I usually start in Paso then move towards SLO and the coastal areas).  SLO is a great place to live.

And yes, prices are too high in most big cities in California.  But there are some parts of CA that are still affordable and cash flow.  I'd highly consider just looking inland from where you are (like in Kern County).  It's affordable, cash flowing, and growing.  90% of CA is appreciating so much that there's no room for cash flow after mortgage and other expenses.

Welcome!  Most agents fail and switch careers within a year or two of starting, because they aren't prepared beforehand financially and don't have a realistic plan for the immediate future.  I've been practicing in SoCal for over 10 years and I've seen so many agents come and go.  The ones that stick with it and have a fruitful career as an agent tend to have similar qualities.

First, they have financial backup from the start.  DO NOT start practicing real estate with only a thousand bucks in the bank!  You may not close a deal and get paid for a few months when you first start, maybe a handful of months. Basically, I wouldn't recommend full time practice unless you have about 4 or 5 months worth of money to pay your rent and live on, because there's a good chance you'll need it.  It takes many people a year or two to get a steady stream of clients, so that first year or two is when most agents fall out of the business due to lack of funds.

Second, have a plan.  Starting out is tough, so be prepared.  Consider brokerages that cater to training newbies and providing leads, as opposed to small boutique brokerages that may give you a better commission split.  Take less than a 50% split if you need to, it's worth it for the right brokerage and leads starting out.  ALSO I'd highly consider asking some busy agents in town if they could use a "co-agent" where you can do a lot of the busy work for them for a split of what commission THEY get after splitting it with their broker.  Network with high volume agents - sometimes they will hand off listings to you that they don't have the time/energy to list themselves (I do this with a new agent I recently met, I hand off my "headache" listings to her if the seller is ok with it).  Finally, consider lead generation, but do your due diligence before spending much money on it.  I used Zillow lead gen during my first year, and although I would never do it now (its like 30 **** leads per actual serious lead, and there's no way I would have the time for that nowadays) it did definitely help me get my first few closings.

Hope this helps a little.  Good luck!

In real SoCal (everything LA County and South of that), you probably wont find a cash cow.  Although, there is something to be said about appreciation.  Anyway, Central California is the way to go if you want to stay in state.  Cheap, cash flowing, good appreciation, etc.  Otherwise, go Midwest.

You haven't spoke to a lender yet?  How do you know if you qualify for a loan at all?  Whether a duplex or townhome is better for you means nothing if you can't qualify for the financing anyway.  If you just started a job, you may not qualify for a loan for quite a long time depending on your college/work/life situation.

I suggest completing step 1 (getting prequalified) before spending time an energy on everything else that follows.

27 years left on a 30 year mortgage?  Are you sure you have that much equity in the rental property to sell?  I would confirm this by having a Realtor pull comps, if you haven't already.  Any other way of determining the market value of your property will NOT be accurate (Zillow, etc).  If there is in fact enough equity, I'd say go for it!  Consider a 1031.

Happy to network!  There is a RE investors meeting locally you may be interested in.  Check the Bakersfield forum for places and dates.