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All Forum Posts by: Robert Breen

Robert Breen has started 12 posts and replied 48 times.

MLS is still a good place if you are patient. I list a lot of bank owned homes and am finding the banks are not being realistic with their prices thinking the market in our area is much better than it is. Patient investors will eventually get a deal done but they have to know the numbers and wait until the price gets to where they can make it work. They also can't be afraid to put in good honest reasonable offers for the market. HUD repos are another good possibility. Just make sure when working with a Realtor they know the ins and outs of HUDs.

  That said.  Supply and demand will work to your benefit when the right deal comes along as well.  If there aren't a lot of homes out there then the home you get will be that much more valuable.  Just know the numbers.  It's a very different environment than it was even a year ago.  It doesn't mean it isn't possible to make money.  

Post: Grand Rapids, MI - New BiggerPockets Member

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

Welcome.  I am a Realtor and investor in West Michigan.  I am in Newaygo.

Post: 6 Unit Apt Complex. Fully Leased. West Michigan

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

There is a 6 unit (3 duplexes) available in the West MI area for $290,000. After expenses including management fees the property is returning just over 10% annually. This is a good opportunity in a desirable area. All units are leased for 12 months. Current rents are below market so there is definitely room to boost ROI. If I had the cash I would buy it myself. Since I do not I am sharing it with this community. After all I am a Realtor!

I would also be interested in forming an LLC to buy with a group if there is enough interest.

Thanks

Post: Partners Wanted.

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

I am seeking potential partners interested in investing in the West Michigan area.  In nutshell I am interested in buying homes and offering them on a lease option to help those who aren't quite there on financing with traditional lenders.  I am a Realtor in the area and am not aware of anyone around here doing this on a large scale. There are two ways we would make our money.  One would be working with local Realtors and lenders to  help them with clients that want buy and can't qualify for traditional lending at this time but are working with a time frame and game plan they should be able to qualify with.  The other is to purchase homes outright and offer them for resale with lease option as a possibility.  (Currently know of home on the market that could be purchased for $38,500. Market value is 50-55k. It is bank owned and in area where more creative financing is needed.)  With the lease options we are in the rental business not the loan business.  

    I would appreciate both thoughts on the idea and contact from interested parties.  

Post: Mountain Financing

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

I have not done business with him but I have been approached to do business with him. The terms offered sound reasonable enough however I am trying to conduct due diligence and am finding it difficult to find any information on the company. That raises a bit of a red flag for me. I was told his website is undergoing maintenance so it wasn't available. While he may be a legitimate lender, the way I was approached and the information I was asked for along with the way I was asked for it was similar to the phishing scams I have been emailed asking for all my personal information. I haven't ruled out doing business with him but have yet to find any verifiable information about his Mountain Financial LLC.

   Anyone else out here have a similar experience?

Post: Real Estate Agent Median Income is it False?

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

As with anything in real estate the name of the game is location location location.  I am a Realtor in a rural area where the top agents bring in about 100k annually.  The average agent might make 30k though.  The average sale price for homes stays around 50-80k for most home in the area.  The real question is what do you really make?  There are a lot of expenses in this busines.  Someone netting 30k a year might be bringing in more like 55-60k in gross commissions.  Just because that's what you brought in doesn't mean that's what you make!

    The best advice I can give to someone just breaking into the business is get out there!  Let people know you exist.  I always tell our new agents to make sure you hand out at least five business cards every day!  Sometimes taking the laptop to the local coffee shop is another inexpensive piece of advertising  you can do. Do the people you volunteer with know you're in the business?  Just some thoughts.  

Post: Unseasoned note buyer? Seller financing.

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

This is a very similar question to one that was posted quite recently but different enough that I wanted to start a new discussion.   My seller wants to sell their property.  The buyer wants seller financing.  The seller needs cash.  Could the seller of the property write the buyer a note for seller financing and then immediately sell the note to a note investor for the cash they need without running into Dodd-Frank issues?  I am thinking of a one time deal for the seller as opposed to someone trying to write a lot notes on properties they own.   Secondly, if this is OK are there any note buyers out there that would want to fill me in on what they would look for in a new note such as this?  With financing of properties getting more and more difficult it would be nice to have an option like this in my arsenal for selling properties.  

Post: IRS LIEN

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

That has always been an interesting question.  That would depend on if the lein is against the actual property or the person who owned it.  The last experience I had with an IRS lein the lein was actually filed on the person so the property was free and clear after the foreclosure.  Cetainly would be something worth asking the local municipality about or a legal expert in such matters.  The IRS changes their rules a lot.  

   Congratulations on doing your due diligence.  Some people may not have seen that if they weren't looking closely. 

Post: 'Cash' offers with 'Proof of Funds' not worth even the paper they're printed on

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

Never accept anything but a verification of deposits as a proof of funds. Without that they are not a cash buyer. I list and sell bank owned and HUD properties as a broker. That's all either of them will accept.

Post: Owner occupant HUD bidding

Robert BreenPosted
  • Real Estate Agent
  • Grant, MI
  • Posts 54
  • Votes 6

I actually list and sell HUD owned homes in West Michigan. Me and my associates have listed and sold more than one hundred HUD properties over the past couple of years and have learned a lot. I'm not sure there is any particular "rule of thumb" nationwide but from what I've seen Greg H is pretty on the mark. My rule of thumb has always been the bid should be 90% of what they are asking. Some say net to HUD has to be 80% of what they are asking.

Work with someone that knows values in the area. Most of the time HUD prices their homes pretty in line with the market but there are the exceptions. I have seen them under price homes on occassion and quite frankly currently have one listed for them they stuck a price tag on that's about twice the market value for the area. It is also extremely important that you are workng with a Realtor that knows how to deal with HUD. I have seen too many nightmares of people working with an agent that just isn't familiar with how HUD works. It can slow the process down and sometimes make you lose the deal. I suppose that would be true for any bank owned home as well.