All Forum Posts by: Troy Gandee

Hi @Elizabeth Ward. Welcome to the site and welcome to real estate investing. I wish you the best of luck and congratulations on your new purchase. I'm a Realtor and investor in Charleston, SC. I would be happy to help if you ever needed any assistance in this area. 

Hi @Mike Goldberg. Welcome to BiggerPockets. You'll find a wealth of knowledge here. You can always  ask questions to the forums and get informative answers from people that have been in the industry for some time. The Charleston area is an incredibly strong market at the moment. It's actually pretty difficult for us investors to find good deals right now. It takes a lot more digging that usual. I'm a Realtor and I would be pleased to help you out if you ever need anything as far as agency goes. I wish you luck. Feel free to let me know if you ever need anything!

I agree @Jay Hinrichs. If we keep going like this for years, I think we may hit some kind of impasse largely because of lack of inventory (at least in the Charleston market, which is the epitome of a hot market for many reasons). Most of the folks that I represent are securing very manageable and reasonable loans with quite stringent qualifications. There is a lot of cash moving around here and I see very few scary loans in the area here.

@Melissa N. I'm a broker in SC and I've never heard of that issue with EM. Our LLR has started to crack down more recently and they're auditing offices more than they used to. However, I have never heard there be a minimum amount necessary in an escrow account. Like @Jay Hinrichs said, we don't have any hard rules in SC for EM. The seller decides whether or not X amount is sufficient and it's usually just in increments of 1k, 5k or 10k depending on the purchase price. I agree with @Wayne Brooks that you should just ask the seller what amount they need and then I would have your attorney hold it. I normally try to have the closing attorney hold EMD anyways. I'm not a commercial broker, but I'm very familiar with commercial word. I'm in the process of trying to get more involved in the commercial market.

Hey @Pasha Ama. I would definitely recommend talking to @Jay Hinrichs about this. He literally invests from the other side of the country with much success.

Many of the tech options are very easy for us to set up for you. I have a ton of people that I sent auto-emails for and have "portals" set up for. A lot of people are starting to take that kind of thing for granted because they don't understand how much more valuable the accuracy and timeliness of the MLS info is rather than Zillow, etc. I'm happy to pull more specific data manually for people that can reciprocate small favors like that for me or just colleagues that I really respect and learn from. Most brokers are just so desperately trying to effectively manage their time that they will avoid a lot of special agreements. It's been my experience that special circumstances just lead to me taking a discount for the same amount of work. I would just try to find a more creative Realtor.

@Chris Armstrong I would highly recommend that you give Russ your info. He's always marketing for properties. 

Hi @Chris Armstrong. My name is Troy Gandee. I'm a Realtor and investor in the Charleston area. There are a lot of investors in this area and there are a lot of different groups that you can network with. I fix and flip 2-4 per year and have rental properties. 

Welcome to BP and to Charleston. This is a great market for real estate, though it's definitely very competitive and expensive recently. 

If you ever need a Realtor, feel free to let me know. I'm happy to answer any questions or give you any advice. Just shoot me a message on BP or send me an email. Good luck!

@Ben Leybovich @Jay Hinrichs

Myself and my Mother spent a small fortune on my philosophy degree, environmental studies minor and english minor from a great liberal arts university in Charleston, SC. While I'll never actually make a dime from philosophy, I did learn logic, abstract thinking, how to systemize anything and generally how to think anything into oblivion. I am very happy that I studied what I did for many reasons. 

However, I'm now a Realtor/Investor. Those college years are 4 years that I could have spent mastering a craft, honing a skill or building a business. I absolutely think that most of the Gurus are garbage, but it's half the price of going to college and it can kick your career into gear. If you find the right educational organization, it could be invaluable. Even if you don't start making millions, at least it will expand your experience and knowledge base.

I'm not a success story yet, but so far I've done alright for 27. I badgered @Jay Hinrichs when he was in town just to sit down with him for 10 minutes in the lobby at the airport. It absolutely depends on the person. It's totally subjective.

I'm not a success story yet, but so far I've done ok for 27. Much of that has been because I jump into things without overwhelming heed and I'm obsessive. I badgered @Jay Hinrichs for two days just to meet him in the lobby at the airport and talk for 10 minutes when he was in town this week. It really just depends on the individual. Like most things, it's subjective. Unfortunately, one thing that my generation does lack is the understanding that attending and getting the "certificate" does not automatically make you successful. Some of that confusion is societal and some of it is just laziness and expectance. 

SFDs for now, but I plan on getting some multi-families after I refinance these. You can absolutely do that. I can set you up some searches if you'll PM me your email and some criteria.