All Forum Posts by: Shawn Lowery

More of an art than science.  You develop a feel over time.  When I was trained as an appraiser, many appraisers used fixed adjustments for different features/amenities (Sq ft, bathroom, fin bsmt etc) based on their experience and location of property.  It allowed appraiser trainees to easily complete reports and fill in the blanks.  Not saying that's right, but what I've learned 10 years later is its nearly impossible to isolate a single differing feature between like kind properties to accurately depict that feature's true impact on value, especially if the properties aren't cookie cutter rows for instance.  You do your best to find a couple sold and settled similar properties, compare and contrast features and condition, and make your best judgment.  Do it long enough and work firsthand with buyers and sellers and you'll develop a feel.  Or find an experienced Realtor or investor and leverage their knowledge.

Curious how it is working out for you.  This type of issue is unusual and exactly why title insurance exists in the first place.  Have him file a claim and let the title attorneys clean up the mess.  If he for some reason has a deductible or fee to pay the insurance provider for the claim, offer to split it (assuming it's reasonable) upon successful settlement and resolution.  Peanuts in the grand scheme.

@Michael Blank Syndicated Deal Analyzer.  Google that, it's a great tool for syndications

So far (10 years) the pros have outweighed the cons.  I've been focused primarily on building traditional sales team and not large scale investing though, so if you are preferring majority of income from flipping/wholesaling it might be equally beneficial to develop a bond with a realtor you trust and work out a fair commission.  

Lately I've been buying more investments and the flexibility to roll commission into a deal or sell my own flips has been advantageous.   I'm buying multi family too and typically give all the commission to whatever broker brought me the deal, which is typical in that world.  

All depends on your particular goals and focus.

Looks great, congratulations

 Thank you much!

 Thanks, I'll be posting the next flip soon, getting through inspections now.  Learning lesson on that one so far was to make sure to tighten the toilet after laying tile, my 6-yr old son went to use it and it poured water on the room below.  Fun!

 It cracks me up whenever I think about it.  Good news is it's an easy fix for next time hah

 In hindsight I see ways to have saved about $8,000 on inefficiencies, I'll take that knowledge with me on the next project starting soon

 Much appreciated, tons of lessons learned