All Forum Posts by: Bryan Montross

First, I want to say stick to your guns. Every investor has a number that works for them based on what their strategy is. When you analyze a deal and come up with your number, stick to it. If you lose the deal to a higher bid don't worry because the way you analyzed the deal that number would not work for you. Second, I would have you go back and look at your underwriting. Are you really putting in the best offer you can? I've lost a lot of deals because I over estimate repair costs, so my offer is lower than others. I need to personally do a better job of being able to estimate repair costs to compete with other investors. Where do you think you might be too conservative in your numbers?

One last thought to leave you with. I find that off market deals tend to be more relationship driven. Does the seller trust you as a buyer? On market deals tend to be about the numbers. If you really are going to go after on market deals, you need to find yourself a good real estate agent that can help you navigate what is going on in the market and what to put in your offer to get it accepted. I hope that helps.

My wife and I still own the house she lived in with her late husband and kids. She had kept it as a rental while she was not in the area with the intent to move back into it when she returned. However, we met each other and moved into a house of our own. I do most of the real estate investing, but I have always left the decisions on that house to her.

I would say, if she wants to sell the house, that is probably a good idea. I think you could leverage the equity to purchase additional real estate that may cash flow better, but it really comes down to what your goals are with investing. You might be better to sell and invest in something other than real estate. But any way I look at it, I think you need to sell for your wife's peace of mind.

Thanks for the story. It is always great to hear people persevering and being successful in real estate. Many people read the books, watch the videos, etc. but when it comes down to practice, they give up because it still takes work. I understand what you mean with Baltimore being block by block for good investments. I personally invest in Anne Arundel County because I know it better, but sometimes harder to find good deals that pencil out.

I have not really ventured into Baltimore city much for investing so don't have much advice for you. But if the city has been difficult to work with for inspections and permits they might also be difficult to work with regarding short term rentals. Sometimes even if the numbers look great, the headaches you get from the deal may not be worth it. Just keep that in mind as you choose your best exit strategy. Good luck and let us know how it goes. 

Hi Emeldine. I recently completed a BRRRR in Glen Burnie, MD. I am an agent and investor in the Anne Arundel County area. I mainly do buy and hold, but have started to look into BRRRR more given the local market conditions. If you would like someone to look through a deal with you, let me know.

Hi @A ndihokubwayo. Welcome to the BP community. I am a real estate agent and investor in the Anne Arundel County area of Maryland. How long have you been doing fix and flips in Baltimore?

Update: I have not made my final decision yet, but am leaning towards the small broker. I think he has more to offer me as I am getting started. The only reason I haven't finalized my decision is I need to get a contract from him and review it to make sure it says what he told me in our interview. I appreciate the comments.

@Charlie Cameron Thanks for you 2 cents. Surprisingly the smaller firm gives me more flexibility in terms of team meetings and training, which are all available after normal hours. However, the team aspect gives me flexibility that there is always someone there to pick-up things if I get busy with my other job. I do appreciate your opinion on the commission splits as well. I was thinking giving up more than 70% of my commission was a lot.

@Scott Schuetz Thanks for the recommendation about the coaching program. That is something I have considered, just haven't pulled the trigger yet. Maybe now is a good time.

@David M. Thank you for the link to the other thread. It was very helpful. I had not found that thread yet through my searches.

I am just about to get my real estate license in MD. I currently have a full-time job and looking to start part time while I grow and potentially come full-time in 1-2 years. I have been interviewing brokers to find who I would like to work with. I narrowed it down to two great, and very different, choices. I was just wondering if anyone had any thoughts.

1) A very large brokerage with 100+ agents just in the office I would be in. They state that they have a new agent training program and lots of educational opportunities. I would be a member of a team that all supports each other if another agent is out (e.g., sick or vacation). All listings are listed under the team name and not my individual name. The team lead pays for all licensing renewal fees, subscriptions, insurance. However, the compensation starts at 55% and gradually goes up to 70% by the time my gross commission income reaches $100K (no cap). I would also have to pay $50/month to the overall brokerage. I have used this team in the past for purchasing some of my properties.

2) A small brokerage of ~25 agents. The broker states he focuses on mentoring new agents and teaches them how to build their clients and get more referrals. He also provides at least 1 training class every month in the evening because he caters to agents who have other jobs. All listings would be my listings under his brokerage. He would basically walk me through everything on the first 2 deals paying for everything with a 50/50 split in commission. Then he would do a 70/30 split for the next 6 deals while he is still intimately involved in the deals, but I would pay all marketing. After that I would get 100% of the commission and pay $295/month plus I would be responsible for all my fees. My wife used the broker to purchase one of her homes over 15 years ago and still speaks very highly of him.

I just want to make sure I get started on the right foot for hopefully a long career in real estate. I'm not looking for someone to tell me which to choose, but maybe to tell me the pros and cons of each based on the information I have provided. I appreciate the help.

P.S. Does anyone know if David Greene's new book Sold addresses selecting brokers and if it would help in making this decision? I have not had a chance to pick up a copy yet. Thanks.

First, thank you to all of you who will take the time to read this post and provide comments. I recently came across a property in need of some TLC that I am looking to rehab and sell. This is my first major rehab and just want some help with the new layout I am proposing (See images below).

The property is very small, ~600 sqft. The first thing I noticed is I can open the wall between the kitchen and living space to make it more open concept and feel bigger. It also has an unfinished basement with a full bath that I will be finishing about 400 sqft of space into a large living space. Note: In this neighborhood it is more advantageous to have a larger living area than a third bedroom in the basement and is much less cost then adding the bedroom and putting in the necessary egress, etc. The bedrooms are small, but I think I am going to basically just leave them as is although removing the linen closet to get more space in the master closet.

A couple items to note that can't be seen from the floorplan. Just inside the side door on the left are the stairs going to the basement. I am going to reconfigure the stairs to go into the basement the other direction coming from just inside the front door. My main concerns are 1) where to put the refrigerator. I put it next to the pantry I created where the entrance to the stairs used to be, but not sure if that is the best spot. 2) Seating area for a dining table. There is no real seating for a dining table so I put in a peninsula cabinet with seating and an owner could make the front room a dining area since the basement will be finished with a large living area, but again not sure if this is the best configuration.

If anyone has a better eye for how to configure this layout I would greatly appreciate it.

P.S. This was my first time using Homestyler for the drawings so they are not completely accurate, especially the furniture layout and size of cabinets, etc. I also forgot to measure for and put in windows, so those have been left off.

@Jim Goebel Thank you for the questions. I have always liked real estate as an investment tool. As I have gotten into it I have done the buy and hold route and enjoy the passive income with just a little work as a landlord to do minor repairs, cleaning up a place to rent, etc. That was the route I started down before I started thinking the place needs some more major work than just cleaning it up for a new tenant.

If I were to rehab the place I would need to find a general contractor to come in and do the repairs. Since I have not done this before I do not have a GC in my network and know finding a good one is sometimes difficult. If I go the sell route, I would have to find a buyer. I probably wouldn't list it with an agent since I would be targeting a different buyer than most agents have.

I do want to continue scaling up my portfolio and generating more passive income. That is why if I sell the place I would use it to get into another property. Something more turn-key. I know rates are low right now so there might be a good opportunity, but my current interest rate is 3.5% so would be hard to beat with an investment property. I think if I took out some equity and put it towards a rehab I would still be cash positive after the repairs. I work a full-time job, but I would have time to spend going by the property to monitor progress on a rehab.

I'm still not sure what I am going to do yet. I might go a couple routes and try to find a buyer while also looking for a GC and getting quotes to rehab the place. Then I can see what I can get or how much it will cost and make a further decision after I get more data.