All Forum Posts by: Bryan L.

@Luis Mendoza - Ahhh Luis, it's get's even better. Most Realtors never even customize their MLS account. For mine, I have it customized so that it gives me the price/sq.ft. for all listings. You can also set up searches and save them - and have them automatically email you when new listings hit the market that match your criteria.

@Luis Mendoza - You can be an active and licensed agent/Realtor and not have to represent clients.  There are thousands and thousands of Realtors like that.  Some are that way because they choose to be, some because the suck at being a Realtor.

@Greg H. Good points. And some of this varies by state law. In TN, no client relationship exists until the listing agreement is signed. So, if I go in for a listing appointment, and decide that I want to buy the thing myself...... well, they already know that I am a Realtor, so that disclosure is out of the way. If negotiations were to start for me to buy it myself, I would need to remind them that I am not acting as their agent. And at some point before a signed contract to purchase, I would need to get them to sign the Confirmation of Agency Agreement (as well as the disclosure) to get it in writing that I am representing myself and not them. Even so, I have no obligation to tell them what the ARV is. Or what a full retail value would be. Actually, if I were to be buying it myself, I would have them sign that disclaimer that says that I am not an expert on value. Where this becomes tricky is if I were to want to buy one of my own listings (after I have the signed listing agreement). There's just too much opportunity for a lawsuit there in my opinion, so I've never even started down that road. On the other hand, I often try to get the listing as a back-up plan if the deal is one that I can not buy (or not interested in buying). Have a great vacation.

@Greg H. I am a Realtor/investor. NAR has no requirement to provide a market analysis . Neither does my state association. The do require that I disclose to the seller that I am a licensed agent if I am interested in buying it myself. And, in my state there is an official form for that along with a form called Confirmation of Agency Status. On that Agency Status form, it would be marked and made clear that I am representing myself and not representing the seller. Taking it another step, in TN we have a standard disclaimer form that says that I as a Realtor am not an expert in structural issues, square footage, environmental hazards, etc, etc, etc, INCLUDING that I am not an expert in the current value, investment potential, and/or future value of the property. It goes on to say that the true current value of a property can only be ascertained by a licensed appraiser (which I am not).

@Elizabeth Wilson thanks.  Did you have any trouble getting title insurance without the Tenncare release?

I hope someone can answer this.  I've asked 20 people locally and gotten 20 different answers.  Yes, I need to ask a local real estate attorney.  But here's the question.

There is a courthouse steps foreclosure auction coming up soon.  The previous owners passed away (that explains why the stopped making the payments).  I've done a title search at the courthouse and found nothing other than the mortgage lien that is being foreclosed.  HOWEVER, in TN (Tennessee) we have this thing called a Tenncare release.  Tenncare is our state version of medicaid.  If someone that is over the age of 55 dies, Tenncare can try to recover the expenses that were paid for nursing home care or whatever.  This particular owner was over 55.  Now the bank is foreclosing after he died.  I checked at the courthouse for a probate file and there is none.  There is one adult heir.  So, if I buy this house at the courthouse steps, could I potentially be getting a house with an issues since I do not have a Tenncare release?  The state says that they will mail me the paperwork in 10 days or so, but the auction is coming up in about 4 days with a non-refundable deposit due the day of the sale and no title guarantees.

Oh, what the crap.  I'll give y'all my script for Realtor referrals - for free.  With this script you can easily earn enough in referral commissions each year to cover your cost of being a Realtor - with about 10 hours of work (or less actually).

Here you go.

1. You are already talking with sellers anyway, right?

2. You are already doing a little bit of online research on their property to see how much it's worth and stuff (don't get in the car and spend time going to meet with a seller without first doing a bit of online research).  By the way, once you become a Realtor you will have better access to online info too.

3. With those sellers who are not highly motivated enough, or who do not have enough equity for you to buy (you need to be getting this info out of them on that initial phone call anyway and with a quick online search) - if they have enough equity to pay a Realtor's commission (and it's not some trashy single-wide or something like that), then go to step 4.

4. Then you come in with a script something like this while you are still on the phone with them (or maybe during a second phone call).

Script:  Ah, Judy, it sounds like you have a wonderful house, and from what you've told me, it probably would be worth $xxx,xxx to an owner-occupant or a nice family (usually this will be the amount that they have told you that they want for it, and you will already be getting this info anyway).  But, I'm sorry, with me being an investor, my interest rates on my loans are higher and I just wouldn't be able to rent it out for enough to cover my payments at that price.  But, you know, this happens to us a lot.  Just a few days ago we were talking with Judy - she lives in your area (try to use a real name and real example), just like you in the same situation.  And one of my partners on my team, Joe, is one of the best selling Realtors in our town.  Joe came in there and got Judy's house listed and sold in about 45 days and got her the price that she was looking for.  He's awesome and does a great job at getting houses sold (he's sold a few for me before also).  Would you mind if I had Joe to give you a call?

5. Email the info to Joe.

6. Once Joe gets it sold and closed, you get paid a referral commission (in my area it's typically 1/4 of Joe's commission).

Just become a Realtor yourself.  No, you don't have to drive people around, and no, you don't even have to list houses.  Yes, there are some annual/fixed expenses - maybe 2-3K per year.  But those expenses can be recovered very easily with referral commissions where you can make $500/hour and up.  Here's how you do it.  Partner with a good agent in your firm who is a good closer/converter on FSBOs.  Then, when you come across a deal that is not good enough for you to buy or flip, refer them to your partner for listing it.  It takes a little bit of practice and it's good to memorize a script for this - but it's really not very hard.

If your plan is to make a lot of offers on MLS-listed properties, why not become a Realtor yourself and write your own offers. You will have a little bit of expenses, but you can make that up pretty easy in some referral commissions. Plus, you gain access to the MLS on your own, and access to properties on your own.

Personally, I don't think that I would do that - but then again, I don't do direct mail.  There's plenty of other free or low-cost ways to find deals.  Keep reading a lot on here and you will learn about many of those ways.