All Forum Posts by: Charlie MacPherson

The photo of the sign might be useful, but what you're arguing over is a difference os $1300.  

Is that worth going to small claims court?  Only you can answer that.  What is your time worth?

You also have the responsibility to understand the contents of any contract you sign.

A side note - what somebody else made on the deal doesn't matter.

It's also worth noting that long term rentals are so scarce here that they command a pretty good price.  Often as much or more than a mortgage payment in a nearby town.

Consider concentrating on 3+/1.5+ in towns with good schools.  Homes with 3BR or more are great targets for families with kids.  Those families tend to want to rent in towns with low crime and very good schools.

On the south shore - Scituate, Cohasset, Hingham and Duxbury are good targets.  All will command premium rents.

www.GreatSchools.org should be helpful in evaluating schools.

For our RETAIL clients, we do not show properties without a signed Buyer's Broker agreement that essentially says that if they buy a property (on or off MLS), they buy through us. We also have a minimum commission. We also require pre-approval before investing resources for them.

For my investor / flipper clients, I have a different agreement that limits their obligation only to those properties I introduce them to.  The agreement also states that if they resell the property within X months, they will list it through me at a Y% commission.  

I don't think most investors would consider exclusivity until there's a long established relationship.  

@Jon B  I'm a couple of weeks away from launching my own brokerage on the South Shore.  We may be able to work something out.

As you can tell from my presence on BP, I'm investor-friendly.

Please contact me and we can talk.  My direct cell is 781-470-9111.

For what it's worth, here in Scituate SF rentals are scarce as hen's teeth. I just checked MLS and there are 19 total, 3 of which appear to be long term.

The rest are either weekly / summer or winter only.  

That's a strategy you might consider.  Weekly summer rentals here frequently fetch between $2000 and $3500, depending on proximity to the water.  

It's a lot more work keeping them rented, cleaned and turned over for the next tenant, but the income may justify it.

You need legal advice on this.  Contract law can have real teeth and being sued for specific performance could be compounded if the seller has other actual damages.

A law professor once told me "We can't make you buy the house, but we can make you wish you had."

Get thee to a real estate attorney ASAP.

RED FLAG.

You say that he takes payments by cash only?  

When buying a business, either the income is on the books and the tax returns or it doesn't exist.  And you want to see a transcript from the IRS, not a photocopy of a document that he could have created in Word.

For all you know, half of those units could be filled with his own junk and the other half his his relative's junk.

Trust, but verify.

I have a mentorship contract with my RE broker.  The value I bring is in doing deals together, where he makes a percentage in addition to the mentoring fee I pay him.

You might try to offer something similar.

 Just a comment as a Realtor.  It is against my client's interest to overprice a property - and yes, I've had clients do so against my advice and to their detriment.

The result is that the property just sits on the market, until after a series of downward price adjustments, it finally hits a price that the market is willing to pay.

Properties that have had multiple price decreases over a long period get stigmatized. 

 When they first hit the market, local agents know that they're over priced and don't waste time showing them. 

It's kind of a vicious cycle. I can't put my finger on the source, but I remember that NAR did a study that said something like this; A home that is initially priced correctly will sell at a higher price that an overpriced home that is eventually sold at a reduced price.

Of course, it will sell more quickly, and if you're flipping with hard money, that becomes even more important.

Also be aware that mobile homes are normally considered personal property, not real property - i.e., not "real estate".  

That means that most home lenders won't finance them. You'll need a specialty lender who will finance it with something resembling a car loan.  Talk with a mobile home dealer to see if they can recommend one.

I know yours is on owned land, but for the benefit of others, mobile homes are often placed on leased land.