All Forum Posts by: Lee Smith

@Roc P. Most likely the buyers agent will have a contract for you to sign that is between you and him and his buyer client.. That should specify how he is paid. Now, she/he *may* get into a sticky mess because he could be construed as a dual agent, which some states do not allow... He will probably have an agreement for you to sign which shows he does NOT represent you in the transaction..

Also, some agents, myself included, do not like these types of deals, because we end up doing twice the work to make sure the deal gets closed.. We not only have to deal with Buyers demands, but your demands... Example: Buyer has an inspection completed, and wants certain things fixed, so now that buyers agent has to come to you and negotiate with you, instead of your agent... Me personally if I do a double deal, I prefer to get closer to 5-6% because I have to hold two hands, and not just one.. Hopefully you know what you are doing, can remain professional, and will not be a pain in the agents side..

@Kevin Farrell
I assume you are looking at Marion County? I am not sure about the other counties.

If you are talking about tax sale properties: You just need to get the tax sale list from their website, and then mail to them. Look up their mailing address via tax records. 

http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Treasurer/Sale/Pag...

For anyone delinquent, another source would be to to go:
http://www.indy.gov/eGov/County/Treasurer/Taxes/Pa...

Click on "view or pay bill" and then "real estate taxes" and then put in a street name and play with it.. Should show you who is delinquent on their taxes...

Have fun storming the castle!

@Nick Walts Didn't say it wasn't hairy, but it is legal.. I even called up Raymond Modglin of REAL University, a state certified real estate licensing school, and he is the one that stated it is legal...

Just like wholesaling without a real estate license in Indiana.. Technically, it may be legal, but *if* the attorney general gets pissed off at you, you are looking at some lawyer fees to prove you weren't doing something wrong... 

It all boils down to not taking advantage of people.. If you aren't taking advantage of people you should be okay... That's a fine line to walk for some though.

@Nick Walts You CAN do NET listings in Indiana... You just have to disclose what you are doing, and disclose your max commission... Now you may have to defend it with the real estate commission, but you CAN do it(e.g.-seller gets 100k and you get 50k)...

@Roc P. - I am a broker, so I just list my own houses and give 3% commission to buyers agents..

@Jason Jastillana I am in Indy, and work with a lot of Multi-fams here.. I currently own about 3 duplexes myself, and manage several other. I have managed up to 24 unit buildings... Below are some of my thoughts on Indy Multifams.

When dealing with multifams, you need to be aware of a couple of different things though.

Higher vacancy rates, instead of 2-4 weeks to fill a single family, you are looking at 4-8 weeks to fill a multifam.

Higher turnover rates.. While my single fam renters generally rent for 3-4 years on average, my multifams only rent for 1 year on average.

Watch out for owner paid utilities. These can break the deal. While water/sewer is easy to deal with(around $75 a month per unit), anytime you are paying for heat you are looking for trouble. Residents crank the heat up in the winter and then open a window to cool off...

Most of the smaller multifams in Indy are quite older, so you may have some increased maintenances..

I am not trying to scare you off, just you need to budget for these things.

Welcome to the table, let me know if I can be of assistance!

@Jim Bowser Our local Indianapolis BLC(not called MLS anymore) was restructured to protect data on property sales from sites like Trulia, zillow, etc.. We find that zillow, trulia and etc are generally pretty far off number wise because of this..

As an example I just pulled up a property we just recently sold for $80,000, Zestimate was $70,000. Appraisal came in at 80k and everything.

Another example. I have a property we are rehabbing that will be worth 80k, and yet the zestimate is for 43k.

To really figure out the value on a home, you need human eyes. They are better able to calculate values and comparables.. You or I will compare number of bedrooms and baths, square footage, level of rehab, proximity, style of home, etc... To best get that perspective and make an informed opinion you need to be able to see all the data, and that generally requires either being a Realtor or paying a Realtor to get the CMA....

@Jon Collins

I have been a fasttracker since 2007,she is still available for phone calls and returns them within 2 hours. 

@Christopher Chamberlain I am not sure how it could be easier to wholesale without it... In fact I would say it's the opposite... In the state of Indiana it is against the law to make money off the sale of a home unless you are the buyer or seller or a licensed agent.. There are a couple of other exceptions, but you get the point.

Now some will argue that as a wholesaler, you are not selling a house, you are selling the paperwork, but if the attorney general comes knocking on your door, do you really want to go to court to prove you were selling papers?

As for what you have to do when selling as an agent.. You just have to tell people "Hey, I am a licensed agent, and my buyers pay my fees. I do not represent you in this transaction." Most of the time I find people love the fact that I am a licensed agent. They feel it gives me some credibility, and I know the process so they don't have to lie awake at night wondering how to do this "sale" thing...

Most wholesale deals are NOT on the MLS.. Occasionally you will find deals that are on the MLS, but very rarely...

@Jon Collins Yes, she has been a mentor of mine since about 2007.. Incredibly creative person. Even to this day if I have a question I have yet to stump her.. I am a raving fan!

@Tomer Kamil  I am pretty sure everyone has talked you to death on these...

Lots of good points.. Indy is definitely street by street and block by block..

When dealing with multifams, you need to be aware of a couple of different things though.

Higher vacancy rates, instead of 2-4 weeks to fill a single fam, you are looking at 4-8 weeks to fill a multifam.

Higher turnover rates.. While my single fam renters generally rent for 3-4 years on average, my multifams only rent for 1 year on average.

Watch out for owner paid utilities. These can break the deal. While water/sewer is easy to deal with, anytime you are paying for heat you are looking for trouble. Residents crank the heat up in the winter and then open a window to cool off...

I am not trying to scare you off, just you need to budget for them.