All Forum Posts by: Sherry McQuage

Yes, let the PM deal directly with the tenant.  This is a business, not a "warm, fuzzy, pull your heart strings" relationship....the PM keeps it professional and not emotionally charged.

Firstly, kudos to you for being so young and already as experienced in real estate investing (I looked at your profile).  Wish I had started when I was your age.

Well, I figured you were younger than I when you talked about sending emails to find off-market deals.  If it was me, I WOULD include an "unsubscribe" link in the emails.  Where do you get your email addresses from?

What has worked better for me (I have never done the email "farming" you talk about), is going on the county GIS for whatever county you are targeting, print out a list (or generate a spreadsheet) of the properties in that neighborhood/area, and mail them a letter.  (You can create a professional, short and sweet letter that has your contact information on it.)

With some time (to print the letters, address the envelopes, and stuff them) you can send out a letter to every property in your "farm".  If you send a piece of mail to all of them, say once a month, over time you will likely improve the response rate.  

You may have better luck sending emails; you may get irate calls, too.  At least with a printed letter, they can just throw it in the trash if they're not interested.

Please let me/us know what you decide to do, and how it turns out.

You have a bright future ahead of you, best to you!

Google "Landscape Designers" and call these until you get someone willing to answer your question.  It may help if you can go to plant nurseries, or talk to contractors/vendors who regularly work with similar situations.  If you talk with enough people, are "nice" and friendly, you will find the information you seek.

Best to you!

Oh, and I've seen a seller accept an offer BEFORE the stated offer review date.  It happens!

Since I'm not familiar with Seattle, FIND A LOCAL ROCKSTAR AGENT in the area, and offer a fee for them to sit and go over the offer(s) and the property you are considering.  I understand about wanting to "win" the property, but it makes me very uneasy for you to waive the Inspection, Appraisal, Title and Financing contingencies (especially the Inspection and Appraisal).

Ok, I just checked your profile...it looks like you are a real estate agent.  If you have the deep pockets to pay cash, are familiar with the area and the property, and have enough $$$ to make repairs (estimate the worst case scenario), and the property checks off most of the "wants/needs" on your/your parent's list, go ahead and make your best offer.

You could also call the listing agent and ask them if the seller has any special requirements that they would really like to see in an offer.  They may tell you nothing, or they may tell you a morsel of information that makes all the difference in what you offer.

Best to you!

Hello Darvin,  I checked your profile for more information, but it's pretty bare.

Do you have a real estate license? Do you have a day job and want to get into investing on the side? Have you done any deals before? Are you planning to fix and flip, or fix and rent (BRRRRR)?

Not knowing much about you or your experience, get to know a few local real estate agents.   As you buy more properties, and they see that you are a possible repeat client, they are more likely to help you with information in situations like this.   

Or, if the property is in a neighborhood, look at homes that aren't fixer-uppers to see what they are valued at. If the property is in a rural area and there's not any properties nearby, look online for "For Rent" properties that are similar to this one after it's fixed up...you can then look on the county GIS to see what their tax value is and extrapolate (guess, estimate) what yours would be valued at ARV. Also, see what finishes are used in the local houses....you may over-improve or under-improve your property.

The more deals you analyze, the easier this will become.  Be proud of yourself for diving into real estate...many people only dream about it and fail to take action.

Best to you!

Get a contractor friend to walk a property with you, and give you ballpark ideas on what needs fixing, how much it should cost, and anything else they see that would concern a buyer.  Make sure to pay or "reward" the contractor for their time.  The more you do this, the better you will get at knowing rehab big-ticket items vs cosmetic fixes.

Best to you!

Again, in NC (where I'm an agent), a property can sit on the market...if it sits as long as 60 days (as you mentioned in your post), it was probably over-priced, or has some defects that most buyers don't want to handle...especially if the property has recently had a price reduction, I'm not surprised that "another offer was coming in the same day as your offer".  

Whether the agent didn't think to ask the listing agent if other offers were coming in (some agents won't even tell you yes or no to that question), or if another offer came on the radar unexpectedly, it is what it is.  The market, or a particular property, can be just sitting...then the market or the price of the property can change in an hour....just run your numbers, know what you can offer in order for the deal to make sense, and go for it.

With time and more deals under your belt, you will get better at figuring out what a good/bad agent is like, and what a good/bad deal looks like.

Best to you!

In NC, I ask my buyer clients if they have a lender they trust...a lot of times, they say "I'm going with xyz lender because they handle everything for me". That's ok.  My clients don't always get the best rate, or best loan package, but they chose the lender they feel comfortable with.

Now, I also usually ask if they would like the contact information of a few local lenders that past clients have used, and do a good job.   Sometimes they want to talk with them, sometimes not.  

The thing I have found is that the buyer client focuses mainly on "lowest rate"...sometimes, they choose a large national lender that advertises on TV, or through their work (military), or some other outlet touting "best in customer service, etc"...In my experience, the large national lenders often slow down the purchase process, or get to a few days before closing and decide that "no, they don't intend to finance the loan because buyer has xyz in their history".  And my clients have to scramble (usually then choosing to talk with one of the local lenders I told them about) and we get to closing....they're stressed out, and I'm like "local lenders have a brick and mortar office you can go to, sit and talk with them eye to eye, and they have a track record with my past clients"...local lenders most always out-perform the large national lenders that advertise how great they are.

Often, people will end up refinancing after 1-5 years anyway, so the absolute lowest rate is often a moot point.   Life changes, plans change, but local lenders are vested in the community and have working relationships with real estate agents.  Local lenders are often more flexible (working on weekends, after hours, thinking outside the box on how to get you qualified if it's close) and respond faster (in my experience) than the "team" that large lenders have.

You may have a relatively new real estate agent; you may have an experienced agent...don't know.  Feel free to ask him/her why they want to know the rate you were quoted.  If they "get an attitude" with you, that will tell you something.  In future deals, you will know better what to look for in an agent, in a lender, and adjust your expectations to the current mix of people, rates, and timelines.

Best to you!

I'm not familiar with CT laws or real estate practices there, but in NC you can terminate the purchase during the "Due Diligence" period (you put down DD money to have the specified time...usually up to 3 weeks) for any reason or no reason.  If your contractor and the current tenant showed you enough to make the deal a "no go" for you, then you should be able to terminate the purchase agreement (and only lose the DD money...in NC).

I like the idea of getting quotes on making the repairs, and presenting (still, within the DD period) the seller with the problems, quotes, and a request to reduce the price by $xyz....or, you could just decide you don't want to deal with the property since it has xyz issues.  Your call.

The important thing is YOU LEARNED SOMETHING that will help you in all future deals.  I hope you "pay" or at least buy a meal gift card for the contractor...they will remember that you valued their time and will be more likely to help you with a walkthrough again on the next project.

Don't know how much DD money you put down (and it's gone now), but it's probably a small price to pay to avoid buying a money pit.

Best to you!