All Forum Posts by: Bryan L.

@David Cook Thanks David.  Once I get back to working again after the holidays, I'll make some offers on some of these leads (in Jackson and also other West-TN towns) and see what happens.

@Clint Dorris - I'm getting plenty of leads in Jackson (which is obviously a large-enough town), and I'm also getting leads from smaller towns in West TN.  I'm about 200 miles away so I don't know the areas thoroughly.  I know enough about Jackson to know that there are probably some "war zones" to avoid.  And I know enough about small-town TN in general to know that the smaller West TN towns probably don't have as much of the same war zone issues.  But, will there be buyers in these smaller towns?

Hey everyone (there's a question for you further down, but a little back-ground first). I've been at this game for about 12 years now. But my main thing has been rehabbing (I buy the houses, actually get the deed using cash or lines of credit, or a mortgage, and then rehab and sell retail - either listing on the MLS or selling with land-contract - and sometimes renting it out after the rehab).

I've wholesaled 4 or 5 over the years, but haven't really focused on it.

Anyway, I now want to start looking into wholesaling.  And I'm getting leads from all of my state, and recently completed one "virtual" deal that was about 250 miles away in Memphis.  But my question is this - I'm getting leads from all over the state.  And I want to do more of these virtual wholesale deals.  But many of these leads are coming from smaller towns.

Now, small towns don't scare me necessarily.  I was raised in small towns (one with less than 1000 in population), and I have been rehabbing in some small towns (populations as small as 4000 or so).  But now I'm considering the combination of virtual wholesaling (longer distances) with small towns.  So I don't have a buyer's network in these small towns that may be anywhere from 100 to 300 miles away from me.

Finally, the question.  Do any of you wholesalers have success in small towns?  And how about virtual wholesaling in small towns where you do not really have a network?  Are there any buyers here on BP who are looking for good deals in cash-flowing states that would consider smaller towns?  I'm in TN by the way.

He may have losses or other write-offs or credits that can be used against the gain in this year, but maybe not next year.

Generally speaking, you want to work from the top down (as long as you don't have foundation issues).  Considering though that you may want to get electrical and heat going first so that you can work on the rest.  Flooring should be pretty much last.

I thought about this a little more.  If you're reading this, please be sure that you have read the other posts above too.

First, I stand by my statement that I will never take a flat-fee-limited service listing.  PERIOD (well, it's hard to say "never", but the market would have to completely change, and that is still a long way out in the future).

As for working with buyers - I really don't work with buyers much in the first place. They are too flaky. Not loyal. Difficult to get them to sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement. And again, they are NOT my "clients" unless and until they do sign that paper. Now, what I can do (and this is perfectly legal and ethical) - what I can do is to refuse to work with buyers who refuse to sign Buyer's Agency Agreements (I may still choose to skip the paperwork for friends and family, that's my choice). And, in that BAA, I can state that I am a full-service Realtor only. I do more than just show houses and write offers. For example, some of my other services include (but are not limited to): negotiating lower prices for my buyers, reviewing the HUD-1 settlement statement for errors, recommending trusted title companies, inspectors, and termite guys who do an excellent job and at a great price (I often get discounted pricing due to the volume that I buy myself), etc, etc. "Now, Mr. and Mrs. Buyers - I often save my buyer clients money in many ways. I only provide full service. I will not show you a limited-service-listing. Period. If you want to buy one of these, I will release you from this agreement, with no penalties. Also, there are many other Realtors in this area who do not offer the Buyer's Agent 3% for all the hard work that they do in bringing a qualified buyer to the deal. If you want to see these listings, I will show them to you as well, provided that you agree in writing in the BAA to further compensate me yourself an additional 1% of the purchase price. In exchange for the total compensation that I will receive, I agree to provide my full suite of services which include reviewing the HUD, recommending the best service providers who often give my clients discounts, etc, etc, etc). Here's where you sign on the BAA. Will this work for you? If not, I can give you the phone number to some Realtors who may not work as hard for you as I will".

And, if y'all here on BP still think that this is somehow unethical or illegal, I will gladly give you the phone number to my broker, my local association and MLS, and my state's real estate commission.

@Marian Smith @Sharad M. @Jay Hinrichs @Ron Drake 

 Wow, y'all came down on me pretty hard.  That's OK, cause I really don't care what you think of me.  But I will explain a bit here anyway.  Please keep reading.  Please read it all.

I once took a listing on a great house and the sellers wouldn't list at 6% (they had other agents offering to do it at 5%).  So, being new in the biz at the time, I went ahead and took it at 5%.  The house was a great property in great condition, and it was priced right.  We got a bunch of showings and no offers.  After that, I've always wondered if the other agents steered their buyers toward other listings that were at 6%.  Don't be "appalled" - it happens.  And how much did I make for all of my efforts and expense on trying to sell this house?  Yep, zero dollars.

Now days, I refuse to take a listing at anything less than 6%. I work hard to sell my listings - doing more than just placing them on the MLS, and my firm spends a lot of money to have the best internet marketing in the state. And it shows - we are the number 1 firm in the whole state. So, if you want to list with the best, come on and list with us at 6%. If you want inferior service, and you want to pay less, I can give you the phone numbers of the girls at the firm down the street who will do a 5% listing (or flat-fee, limited service).

By the way, I put my money where my mouth is.  For example, I put one of my rental properties on the market to sell this last summer, and I listed it myself and listed it at 7% (yes, you read that right, SEVEN PERCENT, with FOUR PERCENT going to the buyer's agent a.k.a. seller's agent).

On the other thing - you talk about it being "my job" to show all of the listings to "my client" and to represent them the best that I can.  First, I don't have a "job" - I run a business.  Second, most buyers will not sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement if you held a gun to their head.  So, they are not my "client" (I bet most of you refuse to sign these documents too).  And third, it takes more time, energy, effort, and paperwork on the part of the selling agent to show and sell one of those limited-service-flat-fee listings.  I will not do those types of listings, and I will not show those types of listings.  Period.  We have some pretty ladies in our area who do a lot of 5% listings and they also do flat-fee-limited-service.  If someone wants to choose their Realtor based on their cuteness (this happens a lot by the way), or based on paying less money, I can give them the number to those ladies.

Here's the thing. Being a good Realtor is much harder than the average person realizes. The actual mechanics and nuts and bolts of it are not really that hard, but the hard part is getting clients. And seriously, a lot of people choose their Realtor based on their prettiness, or the fact that they are "the biggest name in town". By the way, I recently did a MLS search on the lady who is the "biggest name in town" in my town, and she had about 40% of her listings that had been on the market for 6 months or longer - unsold. Anyway, this biz is hard enough as it is, and I work hard to provide my clients with excellent service. And I'm not going to mess with people who are mainly focused on saving money on commissions (or the agents who agree to give in to those kind of people). Do you really want an agent to work for you if their negotiation skills are so weak that you can negotiate them down on commission anyway?

Like I said, I work hard. On a recent transaction of mine, I saved one of my clients $2000 with my negotiations on their behalf. And on another, I saved someone $3000 by finding a mistake that the attorneys had made on the HUD-1 settlement statement (do most other Realtors even review these documents? - definitely not with a limited-service listing). And these examples are on transactions in the $100,000 or less range. So, anyone reading this, I'll give you the phone number to the pretty girls who do 5% and flat-fee listings, but I bet you that they won't save you 2-3% or more in negotiations and settlement costs. It's your choice. Also, here's another example. I recently bird-dogged a deal for a guy, and we did my bird-dog fee as a commission (ran it through the brokerage). On that deal, my fee turned out to be 10%, and that buyer was very happy to pay me that fee. But he's not a cheap-wad and was able to see the value in the service that I provided.

As for the coaching - it's harder than hell to even get any coaching students from this website because of the rules that they have set up.  And I follow those rules (while many others do not).  And again, people want something for nothing.  Jay and Sherrod especially, you have seen the wealth and quality of good advice that I have put out here on BP - for free.  And the truth is that it's very difficult to get most of these newbies to fork out a measly $97 for a book that's written by an investor (not me) that has done over 1000 transactions.  My hourly rate with coaching here with BP contacts is paltry, and I will probably just quit offering the service.  But again, I put my money where my mouth is.  I pay almost $500 per month for the coaching that I take.  I've been very successful at investing and flipping houses for over 10 years.  And yes, there's tons of free info here on BP and other places on the internet, but I still see the value in having a good coach (and, unlike most, I am willing to pay for it, and willing to pay people for what they are worth - and willing to pay for great quality, not just the lowest price).

I don't know how to end this.  I really don't care what y'all think of me, and I know deep down inside about the quality of person that I am, and the quality of service that I provide.  I really don't even need to be making income from coaching and Realtor work in the first place, so I can be picky and only work with people who recognize that value that I bring to the table and who are willing to pay me well for it.  I guess that's all for now.  Good day.

@Account Closed You've met one now.  I also shy away from showing listings that are at less than 6%.

A lot of Realtors won't show houses that are on a flat fee listing.  You get what you pay for.

I meant to say BP instead of FB.  Don't know why it came out of my fingers that way (brain fart I think).  Anyway, looks like a good 2% deal (or better).  Hope we can meet in person some day and have a good beer together.