All Forum Posts by: Sean Hudgins

I would recommend reaching out to the brokerages and see if you can do a presentation at their team meeting. That's a great way to get introduced to a lot of agents and the new ones all in one place. I do generally agree that once someone has their person, they are not going to be very open to switching. but if you can prove yourself with someone building that team, you may find yourself in a great position. 

Also, try and reach out to the Sandbridge vacation rental companies and see if you can get on their list or radar. that would be a great way to get very steady demand in the summertime.

@Sean McDowell Congrats on the first flip! great numbers. do you have many buy and holds here in the Norfolk area?

@Russell Brazil definitely nailed it. The thing that some sellers are having trouble with is understanding that this is now a variable in the transaction where it use to be somewhat set at the beginning of the transaction. But it leaves room for the savvy listing agent to negotiate more money for the seller. And on the flip side, if I know that I'm going to be the only offer on a house as a buyers agent, I have a pretty solid chance of getting the service fee that I want.

I really like to think about it like online dating. I want the first 5 photos to be the ones that draw the buyer in. My order goes like this.

1: Front of House (unless there is an extra special feature. think a Plane Jane house with a chef kitchen or over-the-top pool and patio area)

2-5: Highlights of the best features of the house. If the house is staged, it would be the nicest-looking main areas. If the house is vacant, I like these to be Virtually Staged Pictures... Real Staging is Far superior to virtual, by the way. Also, if the community has a stand-out feature or the property stands out, then an overhead may go here as well. 

6-50: I set up the logical walk through the house from the front door through the house in the most logical way. I leave virtual staging out of these photos if vacant, so there are no big surprises when people come to see the house, and it's empty. And floor plans are last.

Welcome to the community! I'm an investor and agent in VB happy to talk through your strategies sometime. I was a SWO for 8 years, and the best thing I did to improve my financial life was real estate investing. 

Josh, welcome to the community. I am local to Hampton Roads and would be more than happy to connect. Hampton Roads has a lot to offer in the investing space. There are a couple of small meet-ups in the area as well that you can find in the event forums, as mentioned. I am a long-term single-family investor with properties in VB and Chesapeake, and as an Agent, I have helped several investors find properties. 

I will say Long-term rentals are tough to pencil in at the moment, but it can usually be done with a larger down payment. MTRs are great, and there is a lot of opportunity with the different medical facilities in the area, as well as the influx of military and the gaining popularity of MTRs among the general public, not just traveling nurses. STRs are a little trickier on southern Hampton roads . Norfolk is pretty loose on regulations, but fewer areas are desirable, and Virginia Beach has very specific locations that can be STR (Sandbridge and The Resort District). The only other option in VB at the moment is home share. If you can get into something with multiple units and live in one, you can STR the other units; just be ready to purchase something north of $1m for that strategy. The good news in Sandbridge is that the off-season is the best time to acquire a property out there and will give you a chance to get the property right before the next season starts.

Brendan, the VA loan can be a powerful tool in your investing career especially as you continue to PCS around the country. There is alot of opportunity to househack even if you do not go the MFR route. One fun fact to consider is that your first use of the VA loan does not come with the lending cap so if you did want to try and get a 4 unit on that first purchase you may be able to shoot a bit higher if you can qualify for the loan, which in VB may be your only avenue to multifamily without going toward the Norfolk area.

I'm a little surprised no one else has mentioned this yet, but if your agent is in compliance with the new rules, they would have had you sign a buyer-broker agreement before showing the house, and I pray before starting negotiations for you. That could mean that if you were to bypass the agent in this case, you may still owe compensation to that agent if you close the deal. 

As for the rest of the conversation, I think you have demonstrated that you and the agent are not a good fit. If you are unhappy with the agent and do not feel like they are providing value to the process, then you should move on. If you want to do it yourself, cool, go for it, know that if you use the listing agent, the commission they are going to get is for just doing your paperwork because they are not going to be truly representing you. (side note: Dual Agency is not legal in every state. so it may not even be possible.)

Next time you do find an agent, you need one who is a local expert and FULL TIME. Being a real estate agent is not something that can be done well if you are only half-in. 

 I definitely appreciate the docs you sent over! I know in the one email you had said that the Sandbridge life numbers were more reflective of the take home. Did your clients end up buying something out there, and have they shared with you what their actual take home has been? Also, did SBL mention what their management fees were?

 I am very familiar with Airdna. The main issue is that in Sandbridge, there are a couple of management companies that have their own booking sites, since Sandbridge has been a vacation rental spot for a very long time, well, before Airbnb was a thing. So many of the properties are booked through those sites, likely more so than on VRBO and Airbnb. So, my assumption is that Airdna does not have the data from those bookings. 

I know that Sandbridge was one of VACASA's top five most profitable STR destinations last year. If anyone has any real-world experience in the market, I'd appreciate it.