All Forum Posts by: Michael King

Don't worry, I don't take anything personally. Here's the full scoop. My parents are real estate investors who buy multi-families in the area. When I was 18 I was asking them about finding an apartment, and instead they helped me buy a multi-family of my own because they knew I couldn't afford to rent. Buying a house was the only thing I could afford.

Long story short, I work full time (regular hours as a $10/hr teller) at a credit union and part time at a restaurant. About three years ago, my father gave me Rich Dad Poor Dad as a gift. It wasn’t until a year later that I finally got around to reading it and had that ah-hah moment. I realized that my rental income always came in, even when I wasn’t working. Since then, I’ve become absolutely excited and obsessed with real estate investing, and read numerous books on the subject.

The book learning was great, but some things were tough to learn from a book. That’s why I decided to become a real estate agent; to "jump right in" and learn how to fill out the contracts that I would need for investing. I spent many long months studying and taking the required salesperson courses, but really didn’t learn much that I didn’t already know.

I had a close family friend, who had been a realtor for years, recommend that I sign with Keller Williams. Also, the realtor that my parents work with was with Keller Williams, and she agreed to sort-of take me under her wing. So when I got my license that’s what I did, signed with KW.

The problem now is not with KW, but rather with myself. Because of my regular $10/hr teller job, I am stuck in “the rat race” so to speak, and working diligently to get out of it. Unfortunately because I work during the day, I cannot make it to most of the trainings that KW offers, and the realtor that was going to take me under her wing works during the day time. So I assure you that I am not badmouthing KW in any way, but was more looking for opinions as to whether it was worth it to stick with them, or look at other options.

However your response has enlightened me. Considering they do offer unlimited training, and their CEO is indeed an incredible investor who encourages investing throughout his company, I have decided to stick around. Although I am not free to enjoy and benefit from any of those trainings and courses yet, I am a very motivated and determined person and will at some point be able to participate in the numerous benefits available to KW agents.

Does anyone know if the Realtor forms can be altered legally? Is it legal to take a word processor and add clauses and additional sections to the generic Realtor contracts? And how about using the clauses from the realtor form in a different contract template?

Okay, that's about what I expected. So for example, I am under KW right now. So if I were to go to buy a house from someone, I would obviously disclose that I am an agent, but does that mean I would be representing myself in the deal and some percentage would go to KW? Or does it not work that way where I would be having a personal interest in the property?

Thanks Lisa, that makes a lot of sense! That way you are paying a minimal monthly fee rather than paying for a bunch of stuff you don't use or need. So how does being an agent affect your investing. Hypothetically, if I sat down with a FSBO right now with a contract, and we both signed it, would a cut have to go to the broker? How would that work?

Hi guys, I am loaded with seemingly simple questions like this, so I've just been asking them as I think of them. I think of it like teaching a teenager how to pump gas. It may seem like a straightforward simple task to those of us who do it on a regular basis, but when someone is trying it for the first time they may not know that you have to look at which number pump you are at when you go inside to pay, or that the nozzle will clunk when the tank is full rather than just overflow.

My question is: I am a licensed real estate agent. I got my license back in March of 2014 and signed with Keller Williams. But I didn't exactly get my license to work as an agent. I got it more to have access to the MLS and gain experience with different contracts. So at this point I am paying my office dues on a monthly basis, but not using any of the technology that I am paying for. Do I need to be signed with a broker to use the MLS or am I paying for nothing? Will it harm or hurt me to be working for a broker while I invest? Just looking for some basic insight. I don't really understand how that would affect deals.

Thanks guys!

Hey, nice to meet you Eric. I will definitely keep that in mind!

Thank you everyone for the advice. I plan to focus on one strategy at a time, but I just want to make sure I have the proper paperwork on hand if I need it! Thanks for the template forms as well! I will check out the association of realtors tomorrow and see what they have.

I recently read a couple of books by Peter Conti and David Finkel. Both books were very informative and contained many excellent techniques and instructions. They teach you how to find motivated sellers and sit down with them to solve their problems. Then they essentially say "pull out your contract and lock up the property on the spot." My question is this: How do you make sure you have the right forms & contracts on hand when you need them?

In other words, with all the variables that differ from contract to contract (i.e. type of deed, whether there is a mortgage on the house or not, etc.) how do you make the perfect contract on the spot? It's not like you are going to pull a laptop and a printer out of your brief case and arrange something right there, and I can't see it working too well if you tried to hand-write different parts of the contract while the antsy seller was right there.

Is there some basic form that you use to lock up the property, and then you leave take it to your attorney to have him create the perfect contract?

Does anyone know where to find good contracts to use? I purchased some books with templates and clauses in it, but I don't even know where to begin. I was hoping to build a basic template contract to have with me when I visit sellers. I would have it looked over by a lawyer first of course, but I'm not even sure where to start.

And lastly, let's say you have a very full, lengthy contract. Can you then cross out all the sections you don't need, or is there some rules against that?

Sorry if these are stupid questions, but they are so seemingly simple that I can't seem to find them in any books. Thanks guys!

Thanks for the link Shaun, I am definitely planning on being there. I look forward to meeting you there as well Ann. As for my strategy, I am planning on cold calling FSBO's (about 100 calls a week if I can find that many to call), meeting with motivated sellers, and signing up some deals. Once I get the hang of that, and improve my skills with talking to sellers, I plan to run some ads in the paper and do some direct mailings. And hello Rob, I was surprised to find that there are so many investors nearby to me.

Hi Shaun, thanks for the fast reply! Actually, my father is already a member of the Northern Worcester County Landlords Association and tells me good things about it after every meeting. Unfortunatly the meetings are always on Thursdays, and I work full time at a credit union which includes late Thursday hours. However, coincidentally, I have this coming Tuesday off. Would you mind giving me more information on the Black Diamond event you mentioned? I would definitely be interested in attending.