All Forum Posts by: Jared G.

I have been speaking with a realtor for a few weeks now; she was a work colleague's recommendation. We get along well and she is very professional but I'm not exactly sure what's happening here. 

She offered to get together to meet for the first time, we did, we talked for a few hours, and she has forwarded me MLS listings since. She is very familiar and knowledgeable about REI, even recommended neighborhoods that I had already heard great things about. All this is well and good.

However, I'm not sure if she's actually working for me or not, as strange as it sounds. She has been a great mentor, yes, but what constitutes "working" for me? The reason I ask is because she won't straight up tell me cold, hard facts or information. She won't send me properties to consider, just "clues." Is this normal? 

What's happening is I am trying to evaluate deals with the MLS listings (dozens at a time), and then when I send her a property that looks promising, she gives me mysterious replies like, "You're getting closer..." What does this mean? It reminds me of a teacher who wants me to find the answer for myself, rather than simply telling me. But is that what's supposed to happen?

Is this normal? I'm not trying to disrespect her time or make more work for her, I simply don't know. Is it "bad form" to want your realtor to just lead you directly to properties that match what you want (in this case, cash-flowing and in my price range)? 

I have no problem evaluating deals myself but she seems to hold all the information -- she knows what expenses are for that area, what places will rent for, what makes a low but competitive offer, etc, but won't tell me. I'm just wondering why such mystery. What am I expected to do and what portion does she do?

I am pretty familiar with Baltimore from staying there about half the time for more than 2 years. In the past months, I've talked with other investors and a few realtors and learned more about the city from an investor's view. So, I feel I have a good grasp on neighborhoods in general, but I'm struggling with putting numbers to what I know mentally. 

Take the area around Roosevelt Park in zip code 21218, for example. I've visited and spent time in this area many times even before I got into real estate, I know that it fits my goals and I've had realtor contacts tell me the same. It's not the only place I'm considering, but it is one. I've walked it, gotten to know it as many here recommend. But how does this translate to numbers? I know ranges of rents ($1000 - $1500, say, for the properties I've been looking at), had other investors tell me ranges of their insurance rates, maintenance rates, etc. But that's all I have: ranges. Meanwhile, there are properties for sale that don't seem so different from one another that go from $80,000 all the way to $150,000 and higher. The square footage, bedrooms, bathrooms, are quite varied making it hard to compare.

My problem is plugging these in to evaluate deals. With such ranges, how do you know what values are most accurate? So far, I've just been using the most conservative estimates for everything. But even tweaking the numbers slightly generates huge differences, and these tweaks might be very reasonable. How do I really zone in on what the numbers should be? 

Thank you all.

(P.S. I also want to point out that I'm a beginner. I unfortunately happened to receive an over-the-top PM berating and insulting me for asking so many questions. Is that not what the forums are for? Of course, nobody is under any obligation to answer. :) )

Okay, I'm starting to wrap my mind around how to evaluate deals (buy and hold rental properties). I see how you have to go through many different listings in order to find the right one. My lingering question is where you source each piece of information to plug in to the calculator.

If I'm trying to evaluate the total income minus the total expenses, and as a result the cash flow and ROI, where do I find all the different values that go into it? I ask because I've heard many different things, everything from using other websites, talking to people, working with a realtor, looking at places that I've sold, etc. I'm just not sure which goes with which.

1) Where do I source the monthly rent value? I am inclined to say it's through finding what similar places in the area are renting for. What's the most accurate way to find this out?

2) How do I know if the price of the home makes sense? I've gathered it's through finding comparable places that have sold recently. Where is the best, most accurate place to find such information?

3) Taxes, insurance, similar fees like that. Whom do I go to to learn this information?

4) How much to set aside for maintenance, capex, and similar expenses. Is this a percentage value of what I purchase for, or are these solid numbers to be found through somebody?

5) Property management, closing costs. I'm guessing I ask the managers and realtor respectively what they charge. I know the 10% rule of thumb for property management, do any of these other values have rules of thumb or do they need to be researched exactly?

6) Repairs. This confuses me, I can tell from a basic layman way that something doesn't "look right" and should be repaired, but how do I know these costs professionally?

7) Other numbers: what else am I missing? Just for initial calculation purposes.

Again, I don't want someone to do the work for me, I just would like to know where each piece of the puzzle is sourced from, so I can accurately evaluate deals. Thanks!

@Jim K. Thank you, Jim. What a great, inspiring answer! I'll PM you.

@Melanie Heiges It's great to hear from someone with the same question. Sometimes I feel like I'm yelling into the abyss when I ask for help around here :)

Let's say there's a property I'm interested in and I want to know what it should be valued at. Point blank: how do I know? What I have heard and read is compare it to similar properties in the same area that have been sold recently. Where do I find this information? I know that Zillow, Trulia, etc. are NOT accurate for knowing the property's value -- but what about already sold ones? 

If the comparable properties have small differences (number of rooms, square footage), how do I know how much to take off or add on to my potential price?

Assume that I am not ready to buy and am only doing this to get a feel for a neighborhood -- would it still make sense to contact a realtor? Can any of this be done accurately without one? I don't want to waste their time when I have no intention on buying for a while.

What else do I need to know?

But this IS me asking questions. . .

I'm just in the research and learning stages, but I've heard a lot about the eventual need for buy-and-hold investors to contact many different people: lendors, realtors, contractors, lawyers, property management companies, and others.

At what stages of the process, from initial research to becoming a landlord, do all of the members of your eventual team come into play? How early should I be forming these connections, and how far along should I be in seriousness of buying? Would it make sense to be speaking with any of these people while I'm just learning about neighborhoods?

More importantly: are these teammates there to help/work with you to close in on a property and buy it, or do you call on them when you already KNOW what you need them for specifically?

I have a friend of a friend contact who is a realtor and who has forwarded me some listings. I am not ready to buy yet and she knows that, so I'm treating this as some friendly mentor-style help. But what does the realtor actually do and when does she do it? I don't want her to get the wrong idea if I keep taking help without "hiring" her (I know I don't pay her directly).

Just wondering about when each person here comes into play, and how much "help" they provide rather than just providing a direct service.

Thanks, all.

I have read the Ultimate Beginner's Guide a few times now. Obviously, this site has tons of articles, blogs, podcasts, and other information. If I am looking to buy and hold SFRs and/or multiplexes as a complete beginner, what are the next best books or articles to continue learning?

I am feeling completely overwhelmed by the amount of information out there.

@Ned Carey Ned, thanks for your continued help and above all patience with my questions. Here's my train of thought on this: I'm interested in investing in Baltimore but live in DC proper, so while I can go there, I don't think I can just wander around to "explore." At least not regularly. I am in the beginning stages of just trying to use the resources here to figure out what neighborhoods make sense in the most basic of terms. I'm not even at the stage of looking at street by street because I have no idea what makes one neighborhood worth focusing on over another.

To be clear, I will go to Baltimore and will engage in these activities, but I want to make the best use of my time doing so. If I don't even know where to start, or how much places rent for, or the difference between a property needing work and a non-starter, are people out in the community really the best to answer these very broad questions? Surely there should be some way of determining this online so I can then go out there with this knowledge and get more specifics? How many hours would it take to get general information about dozens of Baltimore neighborhoods through personal interactions?