All Forum Posts by: Wesley Smith

Thanks Andrew! Thanks for the plug too. I'll check Customer Realty out. The complicated part that I'm beginning to find out is running my investment business and my future real estate agent business separately. It's starting to like like I'll be somewhat forced to run them together. Good idea on the lows fees brokerage part.  That may be the route I go when selecting a brokerage.

That does help Kevin. Thanks! Best case scenario for me is to manage my own properties myself (outside of the brokerage), and other peoples property through the brokerage. It'd be great if someone from Virginia could chime in here.

I live in Virginia. I have 5 homes that I manage myself. I'll be getting my real estate license in a few months. My question is. Do I legally have to run my personal rental agreements through my brokerage and pay them a fee on my own deals. I like to use Craigslist to market my homes, and would rather not list them on the MLS.

Might turn a large single family into a quad. Zoning isn't a question. I'm a little confused about converting utilities though. Anyone done this before?

Thanks Joshua. I'm not a pro member yet. I think a tool like this would definitely get me on board though. I'm always looking for rehab calculators as well, and love to work on my phone while sitting in a property. Being able to plug in numbers on the fly is a big plus. Can't wait to see the updates whenever they come through. 

Of course. I wish I had my stuff together at that age. The earlier you buy the sooner you get to benefit from appreciation. Most of us older folk won't see a lot of cash from our properties until we're near retirement. Make sure you've got zero debt, get a good credit score ASAP, and if possible find a family member to co-sign with you. Perfect time for the house hacking method.

Is there a way to use the rental calculator on my iPhone app? Would love to be able to enter info while walking through a property.

The bedrooms were small, with very small closets. We also tore down the wall between the living room and kitchen to make an open floor space. This really opened-up the house. There's currently not really any space for a big kitchen table but I think less and less people sit down and formally eat nowadays anyway. I'm very proud of this fixer-upper. Every inch of the 1100 is built for utility.

Nothing fancy, but it fits the little house nice.

I think the success story I'm most recently proud of is turning a 1100 sq ft 4 bed/1 bath into a 3 bed/2 bath with a master walk-in closet for a total of $1000. Got the sink, tub, shower, toilet off craigslist for $300 total. The rest was spent on hardware (plumbing, electrical, 2x4's, sheet-rock etc.) My partner and I did the work our self. When we show'd the house the master w/ bathroom and walk-in closet was always their favorite feature. Definitely worth losing one bedroom.