All Forum Posts by: Maxwell Milholland

@Ned Carey Hey Ned yeah I did. I always run the numbers as if I won't be living there to get a good idea of it's potential.

@Sam Shueh How can I compete with an all cash, 24 hour closing? I have enough cash to cover 3.5 percent down plus closing costs. I have no shot. Any advice? Maybe pray haha

Thanks Alan, that is extremely helpful.

Hello everyone, I'd like to tell a story about a recent experience I had with my agent and would love to hear your input on it. So recently, as of two months ago, I learned about real estate. I quickly realized that I didn't know much, so I picked up a book. Then another, and another, and twenty more. Now I have a basic grasp on the fundamentals. However, I have no practical experience, so I decided it'd be good to get in touch with a real estate agent. So I did. We spoke for a while, I told him what I was trying to do (house hack a duplex), what kind of time frame I was looking at (6-12 months), the price range (70-100k), and many other things. We seemed to have been getting along just fine, as far as I could tell. A couple weeks later, I stumble upon a duplex for 100k. Nice house, pictures looked clean, good area, boasted high rents, low expenses, everything looked great, except the price. It was too high, and the numbers didn't work. At 100k, it had a negative cash flow of 200. So I thought to myself, well I really like this house and it's not that far off, so let me run the numbers at 90k. Much better. So I email my agent and say "Hey! I found something, what do we do now?" We ended up looking at it, and it was great. I told him I wanted to put an offer in at 90k. He says "Maxwell, that's way too low. If anything, we have to offer above list price. Its a sellers market, there's going to be multiple offers, and you are financing with a FHA backed loan. We should put the offer in at 105k". My first thought was "Are you freaking kidding?!!" but of course I didn't say that. I said, "Okay, well I've ran the numbers as thoroughly as I can, and the house doesn't make sense at anything over 90k. That's all I can do". We go back and forth for a few emails, and I eventually tell him to not make an offer. I'll find something else. A week later I did. Similar situation, similar outcome. What do I do? I don't want to seem like a jerk. But, the numbers are going to drive my decision. I'm not going to buy a property that is going to lose me money. At the same time, I'm new at this. I don't want to be a pain, I don't want to drag my real estate agent around for months and making low ball offers and looking at apartments if I know that we have very different approaches to determining the amount I offer. Do I need to let up a bit, get a new agent, or is there something else I am missing? Any advice greatly appreciated!

Anybody from Buffalo/New York and surrounding areas know any investor friendly banks who are knowledgeable and experienced in 203k loans?

@Ian Walsh Hi Ian! What do you pay per year to maintain your license and access to the MLS? does it vary drastically by region?

Hello all, does anybody have any tips, tricks, or general ideas as to how to navigate the local tax assessor's site in Buffalo to enhance lead generation? I'm looking for information on who owns what in a given area, and I am having trouble as the site seems poorly constructed and difficult to use. And advice is greatly appreciated

@John W. thanks John!! I will definitely heed that advice come time to pull the trigger on a property!

@Rich S. My thoughts exactly! 

@Eric James If I had my license, would I get access to all of them? Or would I have to pay additional fees for each one I wish to access?