All Forum Posts by: Ed Brancheau

I searched but couldn't find an answer to your question.

So, if you want to know for certain but aren't getting a response from Zillow, you might consider adding a fake listing, send a "lead" to it, and then deactivate the rental listing. Then you'll have an answer.

For future listings, I believe you can connect Zillow to your CRM so that you collect the data automatically.

I agree about telling everyone what you do. You never know where that next deal is going to come from. It's also the simplest way to get deals that a lot of us completely forget about for some reason.

OK, it's a little embarrassing that I'm recommending these two books because I have to admit that I only purchased the first one -- I can't remember which I purchased first -- because the title caught my eye and then the other book was recommended because I liked the first.

They are:

• Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop -- Helps get over all the things that are holding you back.
• The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson -- Love it because he hates the whole "just be positive" advice.

Now, while their not well written, if you want a couple of real estate books that have changed my life, I like:

• Fire Yourself by Brian Ellwood. It stopped me from doing everything myself. Now, I'm making more money, have more free time, and I don't do things I hate.
• REI Secrets by Joe McCall. I've learned a lot from Joe over the past few years and this book is a great way for me to jog my memory for more details about things Joe has taught me but I forgot.

Well, I'm not a realtor or broker. I'm a digital marketer and investor that has helped several agents dominate their markets and then grow to have their own brokerage.

A few things I noticed between the successful and unsuccessful brokers are:

• The successful brokers found a niche whether by location, housing type, or by client type (i.e. they only work with investors like those on BP; really the best niche because investors don't usually need hand holding and we don't care what a place looks like.)
• They work with agents that also pick a niche. Too many agents say, "I can sell a house anywhere." Sure, you can by why would you want to drive all over the place? The successful brokers attract agents that understand this.
• They attract agents that take well to training. In many cases, this means brand new agents that haven't formed bad habits. Then they coach them to succeed by helping them become the expert on a particular neighborhood or something.

Next, I'd highly recommend focusing on investors as your clientele for the reasons mentioned above plus it's more lucrative.

A lot of real estate agents complain about wholesaling "being illegal." It's only illegal if they are asking investors what they want and then go out and find it because that's brokering which requires a license.

But the point is that they don't even realize that they can be the wholesaler, receive a larger "commission" in the form of the wholesaling fee, and then make double commission if the investor decides to sell the renovated property. Agents always want sellers but never think about how they can create sellers.

Also, if you want to focus on investors, check the reciprocity laws of the states surrounding Arkansas. You can easily get reciprocity licenses in those states so that you can become the broker for investors in those states.

Sounds similar to San Diego.

What you probably have to do is look for deals that nobody else is looking for.

For example, when it comes to SFH, 3B/2BA at around 1500 sqft are the most popular and so that's what everyone is searching for.

But what if you searched for a 2B/1.5BA that is 1500 sqft? You'd have much less competition which would drive the price down significantly because there's not as many bidders.

Also the owners will have experienced very few people calling them. So they will be less likely to demand a much higher price because they'll feel that there's less demand and might get more desparate.

Then you can take that 1500 square feet and add another bedroom and for much less than you would actually be paying to buy the 3 bedroom 2 bath that everybody else is trying to get.

You can also do the same thing if you look for like a one-bedroom that's around 1,000 square feet to which you can add another bedroom and still have it be you know relatively we spacious.

Really, this works for just about any number of bedrooms. I helped a friend find a house for his family of eight. They wanted 7 bedrooms and 3 baths -- five rooms to be used as bedrooms and the other two for an office/study area. But unless you're buying a mansion, that's pretty hard to find.

So what we did is we found a 2500 square foot 4 bedroom / 2 bath house that few people were interested in because it was too big square-foot-wise for people looking for 3/2s and had too few rooms for people looking for 5/3s.

Then we resized all of the rooms to be able to added one bedroom and one bathroom. And in the backyard they added an ADU to currently be used as the office/study/gym but they will be able to rent out as a STR in a few years when their oldest children go off to college.

Again, this really works for for just about any number of bedrooms. Just look for larger properties with fewer bedrooms.

Congrats! That's awesome!

I certainly wasn't that fast when I started out so you're in the top 5% of people that take action.

One thing you might consider is keeping an eye open for deals in your area. I live in San Diego. So, I completely understand your thinking because I was the same way.

But there are deals everywhere and while the prices for deals are different, the percentages are very similar -- and the amount of work is no different. With the exception of houses being much more expensive and being able to get 70% of ARV here in San Diego, there's not much difference.

However, a deal here in San Diego is more psychological because of the price rather than the risk/reward.

For example, to build any house, you'll pay about 10% for the kitchen whether it's a $100K house or a $1M house.

Plus, if you find a $5M deal that's 70% of ARV, you'll find someone willing to partner with you. I have a friend that secured a deal on a property in La Jolla with none of his own money because he listened to the owner -- I kick myself to this day because I had talked to the same owner numerous times about other things but I didn't listen to him like my friend did so I missed the opportunity.

I had kind of tuned out the opportunity because the property is in a really expensive part of La Jolla and I didn't think I could secure a deal on a $5M house when I was just starting out.

But my friend -- who had no more experience than I did -- and the developer he worked with -- and who paid for everything -- made $7M each off that deal because the house ended up selling for $28M.

Anyhow, my point is that while you should keep doing what you're doing because there are deals everywhere and you don't need to live near by, don't ignore your own backyard because you probably know it much better than any other area. So, you'll immediately know a deal when you see it.

I respectfully disagree. I'm making an agreement with and paying the GC. The GC is making agreements with and paying the SC.

So, if I pay the GC in full and they don't pay the SC, it's not fair for the SC to be able to come after me to get his money. He made a deal with the GC and is owed his money by the GC.

I certainly want the SCs to get paid and I wouldn't work with the GC again if they don't pay their SCs but I shouldn't have to essentially pay for the SC twice just to avoid a lien on my property.

Whatever you decide, it's very important to apply the rule to everyone in the building -- if it's a building or if you own a row of properties -- to avoid any discrimination claims.

You are making your decision on the basis of the pet but if anyone thinks that you discriminated against them because of their race, creed, color, etc and are just using the pet as a pretense to get rid of them, you'll have a hard time proving your intent when you didn't change the rules for everyone.

@Matt M. Especially cat urine. That smell is so tough to get out. At least 10X harder than dog urine.

Why do lawyers and judges insist on using a language that's been dead for 1000 years?

It's "Notice of lis pendens" and it basically means that there's been a lawsuit filed against the property usually when there's title dispute.

As an investor, don't get emotionally attached to properties because it will end up costing you more money when you can't just walk away. Instead, you should just move on and look for other deals. There are too many other there to waste your time on one property.