All Forum Posts by: Teri B.

Welcome and good luck and good idea on getting the license.  It gives you an advantage.  There are some drawbacks but so far I find it more helpful than not.  Keep reading the info on this website.  Join your local real estate investment club.  Learn as much as you can before jumping in, but don't be put off by an information overload.  

A suggestion would be to join your local real estate investment club.  There is lingo-galore there. Or, as a second option keep perusing sites like this and pick it up that way.  When you actually start doing some investing, it comes to you pretty quickly. Good luck on your learning process.

Hmm.  I'm sure someone has more experience, but I'll try to answer.

Pre-approval requires a hard pull as far as I know. Hard pulls do ding your score (although probably not lots) and I'm a stickler about not getting pulled until absolutely necessary. If you call a mortgage originator they can probably give you a general 'price range' guess based on your DTI ratio. And, you'll establish a relationship so they are there for you when you find that property. They are not all the same, so it will give you chance to call a few and find a good fit for you.

I bought a home a few years ago and it took me so long I had to have another hard pull after approx 60 days if I recall.  It didn't have a consequence as far as I could tell - same rate and amount.  Be careful, though - sometimes people will try to tell you that a hard pull here or there doesn't matter much.  That may be true, but I usually don't consent anyway.  I can tell it disappoints, but it's my credit not theirs.  

Getting a real pre-approval may have the unintended consequence of getting you to dive in faster.  Or, not.  Good luck with your investing.  

My biggest problem with out of area house looking has been outdated google street views plus good property photos that aren't a representation.  A virtual tour doesn't tell me if the floor is sloped or squishy in a spot, or if the house smells and I'll likely have to seal everything, etc.  It also won't tell me if an area is declining for a particular reason or set to explode.   I just responded to a post from a fella that is looking to invest from cross country, near me.  I know for a fact that some people are taking advantage (maybe it's too strong of a word) of out-of-state investors, so the local representative would have to very trustworthy and not someone that would profit solely from my buy-in; like an hourly wage versus commission or bonus.  There are good people in the world so not wanting to sound too cynical.  But, there's also funny stuff going on sometimes.

I know a guy but he's tied up for some time so it probably wouldn't be a good lead, right now.   I chimed in to say you may want to be very careful about buying in SB.  Some of the numbers look fabulous but if you don't know what you are doing you'll end up with a problem versus an asset.  Probably depends on your strategy, too.   Also, some 'feeder/border' towns are very reliant upon a particular type of manufacturing.  It's all good when the economy is humming, but  . . . it was ugly during the downturn.  

Sure, it was ugly lots of places but around this 'general region' . . so much so that it attracted some national attention.  

And, just like anywhere, it can be hard to find a PM company.  So, as common advice goes . . . make sure you have a solid team.  

I had a quote done on a property for windows in another town very close bye.  It was way too high - from Lowe's home improvement.  Started talking to the guy about investing, and he told me they just did whole house windows for a California investor that had never set foot inside the home.  Definitely wouldn't be my suggestion but when you aren't local you sometimes don't know.

I've started fanning out.  I strongly believe automation in manufacturing is going to be catastrophic sooner rather than later and I need some variation in my portfolio.  Good luck!

Others will probably know more than I do, but what the mortgage originator said has been my experience. When i mentioned a HELOC, the only concern was what the monthly payment was. It seems like it was handled the same way as, say, having credit available on a credit card is. The payment would have been calculated into DTI, but that's it.

I've been wanting to wholesale my own deals (not a true wholesale as I'm not assigning the contract right away but I do have an exit strategy), but have also been worried about being an agent and vulnerable if someone claims I exploited them.  

A few weeks ago, I was reading some info from a wholesaler in the South, somewhere.  Anyway, I looked at her website and it said something like . . . 'we buy houses, sometimes below market value'.  I thought, wow- wonder how that works out putting it up front like that?  Maybe that helps protect her from remorse and being sued?

So, back to the OP....

I met a real wholesaler for the first time last month.  Low-end value property.  I passed.  But, I was really put off by his demeanor.  He was talking about 'tying up houses', used a slur that is offensive to a certain group of people, and other stuff that seemed less than professional. I also felt that he dismissed me based on my appearance and assumed that I didn't have money to purchase.  Wrong and I didn't like it.  On my end it doesn't matter - either I want the deal or I don't.  But, he was so .... I can't see how he'd be able to hide that as he was working with potential sellers and I'd be hesitant to 'sell' to or work with him. 

My point  . . . I don't know if it would work, but I'm guessing/hoping there is some room for individuality in the wholesaling market and maybe you can go after that?  I've been thinking of a way to do that myself.  It may be worth a small test run to see what happens.  In the end solving someone's problem is all that matters to them, but maybe you can do something to play off yourself to stand out.  All the other stuff about being persistent still applies.  Good Luck. 

Rashad,

For one deal a year, I'm not sure if it's worth it.....

I'm in Indiana, so I don't know if it's similar in Texas.

It cost me about $500 to take the class.  I took in online and had no complaints.  Working a full-time job and going to class at night or on the weekends didn't appeal to me.

I've only held mine for a little over a year so I'd need to go back and look at expenses to be sure. But, I think the test was $20. Joining my local board was about $1500. Then I pay quarterly MLS and Supra fees, maybe $500 a year. If you google your local board they should have the fees on their website for all to see.

But, I'm hoping to deduct this all as business expenses, because, well, it is.  Also, I did 2 deals last year and recouped the fees with my commission.

Now, here's the part that is rough.  I had a managing broker at first that didn't care for investors and didn't offer much help.  I just switched last week.  It caused me to lose money by making poor pricing and negotiating mistakes on my own deals.  It's different, I'd guess, when you are new and making mistakes with other people's money.  Not that it doesn't matter - but this stung because I was responsible.

That is also not to say that I couldn't have hooked up with a sub-par agent and also missed out on profit.  So, I lost but oh, man - did I learn.  And that, is priceless.  I also told you that I have started to craft my own strategy and it is greatly helped by being an agent.  When all the fish are swimming in one direction, go the other way . .. 

Lastly, many of the agents I've talked to say 'yeah, I work with investors' but they really don't frequently enough to work with you well.  Save for one or two that are the real deal (like your agent you mention), many really don't have a good idea of how it works or are put off by the process and I don't blame them.  So, yes, as you say you can spread out some wear and tear by using multiple agents but this strategy didn't work well for me either.  

I also tried the 'go with listing broker' strategy but I was vulnerable because I didn't fully understand comps, the process, etc - and didn't know what to offer and they weren't 'on my side' and couldn't be for obvious reasons.  If you are targeting foreclosures/bank owned properties, some of those listing agents can be the tough to work with.

Whew, that's it.

One more thing. I already dropped the EMD check off at the Title Company. Bank required that before they would sign off on the contract. EMD check is in our personal names. Thanks.

Rashad,

This is exactly why I got my own license after about a year of kicking out offers with little success.  Time is money, and agents have to eat, too.  There are pros and cons to having one as an investor- for sure.  It can also be costly and earning your license is only half the battle.  You still have to learn how to 'do' real estate.  

But, I don't have to deal with an agent growing tired of me.  I can go see a house as soon as it is listed without waiting on someone to let me in.  It's a very interesting field and there is a lot going on 'behind the curtain' that an average person may not be privy to.  I've seen all kinds of stuff - most is disappointing but that's probably because I don't have the right personality for it.  I'm an introvert.  So, I created a new strategy that is riskier but working ok.  Also, the other part I don't care for is the sheer dislike other agents may have for you when they figure out your an agent and trying to buy as an 'investor'.  They can be abrasive.  

I got my license and still worked as a manager in a non-profit organization.  

Just something to keep in mind for the future. If the numbers made sense, I wouldn't be above letting another agent represent me if I really wanted the deal. The cost to hold a license can still be worth the MLS access and showing properties to myself.