All Forum Posts by: Ronald Grams

@Anthony

Not a REI yet but spent the past several years managing my own stock portfolio. Actually looking to get into REI so I don't have to do as much work. Between keeping up with news, trends, company research and data it gets exhausting. Have had good years and bad. This year is unprecedented so the 200% returns is not something I'll likely ever see again but the non-stop research has me wanting to coast and bail, especially now that things have simmered down quite a bit.

@Payge Myers

Put aside a good chunk of money. Check to see if the advertised cost is the total of one or both classes. I paid 220$ for the class only to be surprised that it was only 1 of 2 classes and another $220 was needed for the second class. Also, if you go the cheap route be sure to find out what volume of text book they use before purchasing online.

I did my classes, mostly, in person at a local agency school. It was 3 hours a class twice a week for about 3 months. Highly recommend that as it got me out of the house and away from distractions. I also personally liked having an in person instructor to talk about the testing and business with. The test is no joke. Study your vocab daily. One thing that really helped me was “Prep Agent” podcasts and YouTube videos for review.

Being a “Real Estate Agent” you need to work for a broker. So, although you are technically “Your own boss” the reality is you still need to work under a broker. This one kind of surprised me learning I had to pay monthly “desk fee’s” to an agency to work for them. Then there’s test fee’s, licensing fees, insurance (sometimes the broker pays this), criminal background report, and probably a few other odds and ends I’m forgetting. All total I’m probably in at least $1,000 this year. All that is before you’re even licensed and need to start paying for the stuff to actually start and run your business.

Interviewing and finding a broker is not hard after you pass your test. The test center sells your data to all the brokers in your area after you pass and for a week or so you will be texted, emailed, and called all day by many many brokers.

Shadowing might be hard, but not impossible. Most agency stuff is done from home, and open houses are currently a no-go. (At least in Pa.)

The biggest issue right now though is actually getting your license and testing. I’d check with a broker or an office and see if there are any issues in your area. I started in January and finished online in April. Because it’s a “State Issued” license and Real Estate is “non-essential” just getting to take a test, that wasn’t cancelled last minute, took until July. I signed with a broker in the beginning of August. The 7 to 14 days passed and I’m still with out a license. With no indication of when it will be processed or issued.

I’d start doing some research into classes, contacting local brokers, saving money etc for now. This way at the start of the new year you can hit the ground running and more importantly use all your expenses for tax write offs.

@Joe White my interest is peaked. Any particular parts of Philadelphia or do you try and lump them all in a few blocks from each other?

Anyone have any experience with flipping a property that’s been severely fire damaged?

Over the last few weeks I’ve come across several properties that have been through fires.

One looked to be a hoarder SFH fire. Fire damage was minimal but house was not cleaned out after. Was able to walk the property where possible, the hoarding blocked more than the actual fire.

The second recent property was a twin. Access to the property was forbidden, but from an exterior wall around the damage from the fire was much more severe. The attached twin however was not damaged.

Will contractors even want to take it on?

Is the liability of having anyone even go for estimates worth it?

Will the disclosures that need to be made scare away any buyers/renters?

Thanks in advance for any and all information.

@Josh C. I brought up the conversation I had with home owner the night before during our walkthrough. (Wife forgot her purse. When we went back to grab it they happened to be home.) Neither Agent knew about the conversation. The title company and lender agents there had no clue. My wife also did not know I would bring it up. I just simply asked out loud while looking at the paperwork. “Hey I’m noticing this Sellers Disclosure doesn’t mention the water damage he told me about last night. Do we need a lawyer?” Pens dropped. Angry stares get shot at me. Agent pulls us out of room, her and my wife super furious with me and my terrible timing.

We attempted to renegotiate at the table over price and work to be done. They walked away completely. Week or two later they came back with a different offer. We accepted.

Because the change in price our lender required an Appraisal. Appraiser found mold we had known about and negotiated to be fixed. Lender still killed the financing.

H/O then got certified mold inspection and remediation.

We paid for another appraisal. Got approved. Four months after initial offer we finally go to closing again. Seller ended up having to borrow money to sell the house.

HV/AC guy was a referral from a neighbor, probably how he ended up back there. He had been there the previous winter for the same issues and gave a quote. H/O did the work themselves. Considered it fixed so didn’t disclose it.

Repairs weren’t major, few hundred dollars, and wife determined she was sick of dealing with everything. So after a few phone calls with the lawyers we just dropped it.

It was our first house we ever bought. Some hard lessons learned on both sides. The first being “Always Carefully read the paperwork.”

@Nathan W.

Check out “Latent” and “Material” defects and how they apply to your state.

Honestly your inspector may have saved you a lot of legal hassle.

When purchasing our house wife and I ran into the H/O by chance. We talked about the property including some of the “wonderful” things they did to it for various reasons. I went home and went over the Sellers Disclosure with a fine tooth comb. Many of the things they claimed to have zero knowledge of, ie any water damage, the homeowner actually told me about. They installed a French drain around the property because basement had flooded for years. S Hit the fan at the closing table.

Few months later ,after purchasing house,we had an HV/AC contractor come out. He talked about being at the property a few months before and work that had been done. Back to the Sellers Disclosure we went. Back to the lawyers we went.

@Steve Babiak No, the instructor was Heather Bloemker

@Alex Critcher What area are you from? I took my classes in the beginning of the year and it was an amazing experience and networking opportunity I think the online version lacks.

The classes were located in the burbs North of Philly.

I have not taken my exam yet though as past three scheduled have been canceled. A classmate did take hers this week though so I’m guessing they’re finally opening back up.

@Kelly Claiborne

-Money

-Knowledge

-Coach/Mentor

Finished me Real Estate class in April. Waiting for testing that’s been canceled twice now. In the mean time reading Rental Property Investing & Managing Rental Properties by Brandon Turner. And of course studying for State Exam.