All Forum Posts by: Wes Blackwell

Who offers the best pre-license education for MLO's for the 20 hours required by the SAFE Act?

I've googled around, but most of the sites I'm coming across seem either way too scammy or way too overpriced.

I want to hear what companies and education providers you used and also thought offered great training, test prep, and overall value for the cost. As well as any you recommend to avoid.

Two that I've been recommended so far are www.AlliedSchools.com and LoanOfficerSchool.com, but I'm open to suggestions.

Great share @Chris V.!

To add even more info, read here: 'Region's Outlook Bright, SJ Leaders Say'

"John Solis, director of the San Joaquin Employment and Economic Development Department, said his department is working to ensure many residents stay employed, or find new positions for job seekers.

Last year, his department hosted 84 job and resource fairs in an effort to find work for some 31,000 residents. Of those events six were job fairs featuring major employers throughout the county, while 78 were resource fairs assisting job seekers in finding work.

The department has also helped find jobs for 2,575 teens in San Joaquin County as well, he said.

In an effort to make sure their clients stay employed, Solis said the department is launching a layoff aversion strategy program that will match job seekers with employers that fit their skill sets."

To further back this up, Business Insider mentions Stockton CA in the top ten metros for job growth.

It also made the list of Realtor.com's list of Top 20 Hot Markets.

San Joaquin County also just beat it's own record in voter registrations with 310,000. 

I'd say those statistics make Stockton a great place to look for investment property. 

Hey @Brennan MarLett! Welcome to Bigger Pockets! You're in the right place!

Here's the first few things you can do to help you get started:

1. Check out all the articles, podcasts, and forums conversations going on around this site. You'll soak up info like a sponge and help arm yourself with all the information you'll need to prepare to purchase a great rental property down the line.
2. Network with other members in the Sacramento area. You can do this by checking out the Sacramento Area forums and joining the conversations going on there. Before you know it, you'll make some great friends from fellow investors and real estate professionals on this site.
3. Start building your team... and by that I mean start network with other investors, agents, lenders, accountants & tax professionals, lawyers, wholesalers, and more. And take your time! Don't feel like you have to go out and meet everyone right away, and don't think you have to work with the first person you come across either. You've got lots of time to get this right, so be patient in meeting the right people along the way.

Looking forward to seeing you in the forums, and don't hesitate to reach out if you ever want to grab a cup of coffee and talk real estate!

- Wes

Hey @Kelli D., not nasty at all! I appreciate the feedback!

Thing is, the National Association of Realtors published a "Danger Report" in May of 2015 that said the #1 threat to Real Estate Agents is "Masses of Marginal Agents Destroy Reputation: The real estate industry is saddled with a large number of part-time, untrained, unethical, and/or incompetent agents. This knowledge gap threatens the credibility of the industry." You can read the report for yourself right here.

5 of the Top 10 most expensive cities in the US are here in California, so this state is flooded with people looking to make a quick buck as a real estate agent. We have TV shows like Million Dollar Listing San Francisco and Los Angeles or Flip or Flop that show people just how much money can be made in real estate here. And when you consider you can become a real estate agent from home for less than $100 and you only have to get a 70% score on the exam to pass as an agent and only 75% to pass as a broker, unfortunately it means there are a lot of C students in this industry.

Plus, when you throw all the scams and shenanigans into the mix, it gets a million times worse. I just had one of my neighbors, and 82 year old woman, tell me that her agent (a team-member of one of the most well-known agents in the Sacramento area) told her that if he didn't sell her home in 10 days, he'd buy it himself... the old Craig Proctor bait and switch. 

Well guess what, it's been over a month now and she still doesn't have an offer from him, or from anyone else for her property! And he's only shown the property once! Inexcusable in this kind of market loaded with buyers. AND, this is after she listed with another agent before who listed it for $30,000 more than it was worth (roughly 10%) and that hurt the price of her home too since we all know days on market is like acid to the price of a home. Unbelievable. 

Sorry I got all worked up, but poor, unprofessional tactics like these make me mad because it affects my business by affecting the reputation of our industry, which is why we're on the list of the most distrusted professions, right behind contractors, politicians, and psychics! It SHOULD NOT be like that.

But the truth is, there are a lot of bad real estate agents out there, new and experienced. And they should be called out for their lack of professionalism and sellers should be warned of their existence. There's nothing wrong with being a new agent, the problem is that most new agents (or even agents in general) treat this industry more like a hobby or a side hustle than a profession, and that is why our reputation as a whole suffers. 

I might've been new once too, but I acted as a professional since day 1 and always sought to educate myself on my profession, be honest to all I work with, and perform for my clients above all else. Some people who have been agents for a decade still don't do any of those things.

I simply wanted to warn Joseph that just because someone is licensed by the state of California to sell real estate, doesn't necessarily they're a qualified candidate for the job, and that he should do some basic due diligence in selecting an agent to work with, which is good advice for anybody. But those agents who are true professionals, I have nothing but the most sincere and deepest respect, because I too am a professional and know what it takes to become one. 

Your concern my previous comments shows me that you're a professional too, and certainly care about your clients and their relationship with you just as much. And for that I thank you! :-) We need more agents like that in this industry!

Hey @Aaron Bry! Great question!

A good rule of thumb to use for the costs of selling the home is 8% of the sales price. That will cover the 6% average commission you will have to pay, and leaves over 2% for title insurance, escrow fees, transfer taxes, etc. that will also be a cost. So IF you sold for $295k you're probably looking at somewhere between $270-275k minus your loan amount of $256k. BUT -- you will have to order a final payoff amount from your lender to TRULY know what you owe them, because you may have prepayment penalties, impound accounts, etc. that may take even more money out of your pocket.

Also, as @Tim Jones said, you really need to have an experienced agent perform a CMA for you, as there may be several other things that affect value that you're not accounting for (telephone poles, lot size, location on street, etc.) that will affect your value. If you send me a message with the address, I'll run a quick one for you just to see how an agent would view it. No obligation. Sellers tend to view their property in the best possible light and nearly ALWAYS think the property is worth more than it is, simply because they are unable to look at it objectively.

As for Redfin and their discounted commissions... I would pass, and would tell any homeowner that. How can an agent who specializes in less get you more for your property? Makes no sense. 1% saved in commission is only $3,000 for you and that's REAL easy to blow by selling your home for less or simply losing in a negotiation. Any agent worth a lick will not be working for Redfin. Plain and simple.

Also, if it's possible for you to put enough down to refinance and eliminate PMI (which requires 20% equity) then you may likely be able to purchase another property anyways with 20% down. Assuming you have good credit, solid work history, etc. lenders will generally be ok with a second loan as long as there is 20% down because they know you wont walk away from it because it'd be easy to sell (so no foreclosure for the bank).

My advice is to talk to your tax adviser, talk to your lender, and see what's possible. Then you can see about talking to an agent and how you can make the numbers work. Best of luck!

Hello @Yia Her! Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

One thing I would highly recommend is that you search on Meetup.com for local Real Estate Investing groups, as that will be the easiest way to meet other investors face-to-face and really get some traction heading into this new venture for you.

Here are some of the most popular ones:

• Capital City Wealth Builders
• Real Estate Investing Club
• Sacramento Real Estate Investment Association

Best of luck!

While this may run contrary to popular belief, don't think for a second that the highest volume sales agent is going to have the best knowledge of a given area. Many top volume agents simply sell the same type of property over and over again in the same area over and over again, and don't know the area at large, or do the research to fully understand zip code demographics, crime rates, and other important information you'll want to know as an investor.

Beyond that, agents with high sales volume are most likely going to shove you off to someone on their team. They aren't going to want to do all the leg work to find you the perfect property. "Mega agents" or they are called often form a team of buyer's agents under them because buyers are a lot more work than sellers are. 

They can let the MLS do the work for them and their seller to get an easy commission, or they can run around and show you 15 different properties to find one that might match your criteria, and then possibly have your offer get beat out or have you walk away after inspections and then they start all over again... which one do you think the successful agent is going to choose?

The Mega Agent will co-broke with a buyer's agent on their team, so they'll get some commission and some credit too, but they probably won't even talk to you or ever show you a property. This isn't the case for all, but this is how it normally works with agents at the higher end of the sales volume. It's all about leverage, and successful agents know listings are the name of the game.

My honest opinion is to post on the local forum here on Bigger Pockets for the area you want to invest in looking for an agent or for recommendations. They will have a much better grasp on investing in general than your typical agent, and their willingness to come on a site like this and respond to your post shows their "hunger" and go-getter attitude. 

THAT'S the agent you want working for you as an investor. The one who will show you multiple properties, really dig into the research for any area you're interested in, and make you a priority among his clients. Otherwise, you'll probably end up as just another buyer that someone on that mega agent's team is working with.

Also, be aware that any agent on here who recommends you to another agent in the area is probably hoping for a referral fee or portion of the commission from your first purchase with whatever agent they recommend you too, so do your own research and due diligence on anyone recommended to you. Best of luck!

Hi @Randy Sinda! Great question!

Like several of the previous posters have said, you can find a deal just about anywhere, it's really all about whether or not the numbers work. 

Here's my take to add something new to this conversation...

The thing about finding great deals here in Sacramento is that you have to be willing to do what others won't, so that you may have what others can't. Go the extra mile so to speak.

Here's what I mean:

The Sacramento area is FULL of rehabbers like yourself, some of which have done hundreds of deals (I personally know one who's done 400+) and believe me, they have their costs dialed in to the penny and will probably be able to outbid you and come in at a higher number simply because of that fact. 

Competition for deals is going to be your main problem in this market.

Even as a Realtor, and some other ones may cast stones at me for saying this or tell you I'm crazy, in my honest opinion for the average investor to be looking for flipping deals on the MLS is a complete waste of time. I knew of an investor who hired two people to watch the MLS 8 hours a day and analyze properties and he only pulled the trigger once in 3 months. It's just not worth it.

And here's why: most real estate agents are automatically programmed to sell a home for the highest possible price. It's practically Dogma in this industry. Even when it may be more beneficial for the seller to take a lower price for a faster sale. I always say a fast nickel is always better than a slow dime, but most other Realtors don't realize that.

And really, there's no real sense in going after something every other investor can see and that comes on the market and a higher price simply because an agent is involved. Ideally you want the agent to bring the deal to you BEFORE they put it on the MLS so you have first-crack at it.

Wholesalers will help you get access to deals like these, and hopefully you'll be able to develop a relationship with one that allows you get a chance at deals before anyone else can, so that way you can eliminate a ALL of the competition...

But honestly, the best way to source rehab deals in this area is to source them yourself. 

For example, you could research every single vacant and non-owner-occupied property in a given area and send the homeowner a letter inquiring if they'd like to sell. 

At that point it's simply a numbers game. What's $5,000 in stamps, paper and envelopes if it finds you several deals worth $30,000 - $40,000 each?

Or, you can go after preforeclosures, bankruptcies, divorces, and FSBO's. Or drive neighborhoods and look for properties with beat-up cars in the driveway and uncut grass. Just go knock on the door. I swear you'll eliminate 90% of the competition this way, and by meeting face-to-face it's only a matter of time before you get in front of the right person and find the perfect deal.

I know it's not as easy as having the property show up on your doorstep on a silver platter, but that extra work will easily pay huge dividends if you make the investment.

@Ryan Blake, if you have the address, you can probably get a decent picture of the property using the Google Maps street view. That might give you an idea of what you're working with until more detailed pictures come along.

Hi @Tabi Traughber! Great question!

First and foremost, you should get belly-to-belly, face-to-face with investors and establish a connection and relationship with them first. Investors are pitched deals ALL THE TIME and often the people pitching them are selling a lot of hot air, and so it makes it hard to know who to trust.

People like to do business with people they know, like and trust... so my advice is to meet people face to face first, and find out what kind of properties they're looking for, what their experience level is, and see if there is any way you can be of value to them or anyone important you can introduce them to who can help them meet their goals.

Then, it's a lot easier to "be heard" about the property you're selling, and those investors can return the favor by introducing you to anyone they know who might be interested in purchasing it. 

Eventually, you'll have a rolodex full of investor contacts, and you'll easily be able to sell your properties much faster. But only show properties to investors that match the criteria they are looking for, don't spam them with every single property you come across.

Also, you'll want to make sure you present your property in a way that easily communicates the value to the investor. You be able to communicate using investor lingo, like knowing what cap rate, ARV, Cap Ex, etc. are. That will help them feel confident that you know your stuff and are able to discern what is a good deal and what is not, and they'll be more open to hearing more about your properties.

Meetup.com is a great place to start looking for real estate investor groups to network with. Here are a few of the top choices:

• SacREIA (Sacramento Real Estate Investment Association)
• Capital City Wealth Builders
• NorCal Real Estate Investment Association

A few extra tips to help you sell your property:

1. Since you're a plus member, have you tried posting an ad on the marketplace? Investors on this site check it regularly and that may just help you find the buyer you need.
2. Are you working with a real estate agent? If you have an agent to put the property on the market for you will be able to get your property in front of just about every available buyer on the market. I'm a Realtor who can help you with this if you're interested.
3. Have you tried contacting owners of similar properties around you? You can easily search the tax records of every other multifamily property around you, and simply send them a letter informing them you have a property for sale they might be interested in. It's more of a long shot, but the guy who owns the duplex next door just might be looking to pick up another property in the area.

I hope that information helps, and if you have any further questions or need clarification on anything I said, don't hesitate to reach out! Best of luck!