All Forum Posts by: NA Jones

We finally closed on this house.  A successful first project!

Purchase price:  $33,830.86

Acquisition costs (taxes, insurance, inspections, title fees, etc):  $4282.57

Holding costs:  $2194.18

Rehab costs:  $54,404.23

Total invested:  $94,711.84

Sales price:  $129,900.00

Buyer subsidy:  $7665.03

Sellers closing cost:  $8151.95  

Total return:  $114,083.02  (plus $1795.86 commission return because I'm licensed)

Profit:  $19,371.18 ($21,113.04 if you count the commission return)

Not too bad for our first time, and the knowledge we have gained and contacts we have made are worth their weight in gold :)

Wishful thinking I guess. I figured I already give up 30% of my commission anyway, pay transaction fees, and all my own E&O insurance, MLS and board fees so I'm just not sure why I should have to pay a monthly fee on top of it all considering I don't use their leads, desk space, office supplies, etc.

I'm a licensed agent and investor currently with Keller Williams, but I'm getting sick of paying their monthly fees.  They've been great so far, but I don't want to work with "retail" real estate clients.  I only plan to do approx 6 transactions per year, at least 4 (if not all) of which will be my own transactions.  Can anyone recommend a good brokerage that will let me hang my license and not charge me $25-75 per month (or annually) in fees?  I just want to quietly do my own thing and not pay through the nose to have my license hung.  I'd much rather pay per transaction.

Off topic - the lawyer at my brokerage hates the word 'ratified' because she says there's no such thing as a ratified contract.

Considering renting out a property thats on septic/well.  Current owners have been diligent in caring for the septic - regular tank cleaning, liquid detergents only, no oils down the drain, no feminine hygiene products being flushed etc etc etc.  

What has been your experience regarding a rental properties septic?  Will the septic system wear and fail faster under the hands of a renter than a homeowner?  Anything I can put in the lease to withhold the security deposit towards the septic repairs if certain care and precautions aren't met?

This project has taken FOREVER but we are finally done (and under contract after only 10 days on market - YAY!!!!)

I will probably write a long blog post once we close with numbers and the lessons we learned but I did want to share some before/afters on here :)  Tried to take photos from the same angle as the original listing photos.  More photos available on the Zillow listing :)

Exterior

Family Room

Originally this bathroom contained only a shower and the 2nd bedroom was a pass thru to the third.  We knocked out the shower and built a hallway and private entrance to the third bedroom and took some space away from the middle bedroom so we could incorporate a full tub and market it as a 3 bedroom now instead of a 2.

I think you are fantastic for being honest about what you think regarding their profitability from certain deals. 

I think I'm in the minority here when I say this though - at some point you may just have to let them make their own mistakes. You can lead a horse to water and all. I mean, you are asking for advice on how to push them to do something they are not interested in. It sounds like they want to flip. I personally would never in a million years want to wholesale no matter how profitable it is. If someone had aspirations to be a teacher, would you tell them to apply for a lunch lady position because jobs at a school are all the same?  At the end of the day real estate is a broad scope with lots of available ways to make money. You can't force someone to be successful. While I understand and agree with you trying to protect them from themselves, you run the risk of them someday turning around and blaming you for the fact they haven't gotten started yet. Teach mentor advise yes. Show them how to run numbers yes.  Push and pressure them into something they clearly have no interest in? Not your place :)

You don't always have to pay asking price or higher than asking, it depends on your market. A good buyers agent will be able to help you determine what's typical in your market, and also help you negotiate closing costs along with the offer. I've made offers on properties that were less than asking AND had the closing costs paid, and the seller took it. 

 Same here. In MD you are required to disclose even the faintest of relation of the agent to anyone involved in the transaction. 

ps - my exclusivity agreements last for 12 months and have to be terminated in writing 7 days before putting in another offer. 

Also, once you terminate the agreement, your new agent gets all the commission regardless of who showed you the house many months ago.