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I wonder about the stress vs drinking aspect. Of course I do think that people should find other outlets too, but I’m referring to the person that comes home from work and has a beer or two to loosen up from the day.

Say you had two people that were very similar. One of them has a beer or two every day when they get home on the porch as a little stress reliever and the other one does not.

Who would live longer if everything else stays the same?

I really think that as long as it does not lead to Jack Daniels the one that has a beer or two might have a bit more longevity. Let me know if you know of anyone like the second guy. I’ll be test subject #1.

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You should be able to trust whoever you are working and if you dont find someone else. If I were working with a buyer I’d be trying to get them the home for at little as possible even though I get paid less. Sure there are Realtors out there that want a higher price for a larger commission…I was just never one of them. Maybe that is what led to me getting into another field. I was doing what I thought was right and getting paid less for it.

I’m sure any pre-negotiated fee with an atty only includes a certain amount of hours of work and if they find out it’s going to be more work they will charge you extra.

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Quick disclaimer: I’m still licensed, but primarily work at a tech company these days. I’m only licensed to help my wife out from time to time and because I enjoy the investment side of things.

You would rather work with an attorney than a Realtor? That is crazy in my opinion. At least the Realtor gets paid nothing unless they help to close the deal whereas the attorney bills you hourly regardless.

The commission is always negotiable, but it is typically stipulated in the listing contract with the seller and tends to be between 5 and 6% split evenly (most of the time) between the listing broker and the buyers broker.

You can always ask for a credit from the buyers agent or the sellers agent. It depends on the situation…if it’s a hot property or not so much.

Personally, I’d try to get the best home for my money regardless of how much the people that are helping me do so are getting paid. All that would matter to me is a home I like in an area I like for a price I can afford (translation-as little as possible). If you can find the home yourself then do it and just write your offer through the listing agent and ask them for the credit. The tough part there is that they work for the seller primarily. If you have a buyers agent then they only work for you and you might be able to negotiate the price down more than your credit would be anyways so you spend less on the home instead of paying more to get a credit. Not always of course, but if I tell a seller I will get them X I’m going to do everything I can to get them X dollars. The buyers agent does not have that conflict of interest and they might know of a property that recently closed in the area for less to negotiate the price down. That is as much their job as helping you through the process.

Another consideration is that a lot of properties fall out of escrow for reasons other than the buyers credit and financial position. There are other reasons such as an appraisal coming in low, etc.

Good luck!

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Thanks CA renter.

It actually ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made. I ended up being the 5th employee hired at my company back in 08 and the company now has over 110 associates. I was actually the 2nd full time sales associate and I would never own a home in North County if I had not gone with my gut and believed in the business model my friend put together and made the jump. The toughest part for me was that I pretty much failed at becoming a successful Realtor which is what I set out to do and admitting that to myself, but I’m good with it now since I know I did what I had to do and made the right choice.

I feel like you have to go with the flow sometimes and oftentimes its the ability to embrace change and adapt that enables you to take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves. I’m really glad I did.

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This is an interesting thread. I’m still licensed as a Realtor, but I ended up getting a W-2 job about 8 years ago because I felt it was the right thing to do. Reading through this thread really makes me feel like I made the right decision. My wife still does it and it’s a tough industry to get into.

I do think that if I was the OP I would get a new agent, but I would interview a couple agents in the area and be clear with them as far as your intentions prior to previewing homes with them. It seems like you are looking for a certain style of person as well as a professional. I think that clear expectations on both ends would be a good start.

She’s represented you multiple times and her credibility is “NIL”? Wow.

As far as the cross-qual it is very common because although you trust your lender and have already jumped through the hoops the seller does not know your lender and just wants to know you are approved based on the guidelines someone they know uses. Nothing personal here and yes many times a call or some correspondence between your lender and the one they want you to cross-qual with does alleviate this issue oftentimes.

As far as her being pushy if you tell her to lay off she should. If you at any point just flat out do not like her or her style you should tell her for both of you so that both of you can move on.

I think it is important to look at it both ways because what one person might perceive as pushy another person might see as proactive. You get to pick who you work with of course, but I’d worry that the easy going Realtor you are looking for might not be as successful and might be deemed lazy according to some people and lack ambition. She’s probably just doing what seems to work for her to get deals in escrow which is how she is paid. She should very much be respectful of whatever you or any client tells her, but at the same time if she is too easy going she’s going to be looking for a new job soon.

That is what I did and the only reason I’m posting right now is because this hits close to home because I wanted to be the Realtor you are referring to that has YOUR best interests in mind. If a client did not want to increase they offer I always said, “We’ll find you another one” and they would typically either end up looking in another area or end up getting frustrated and going back to renting to be in the area they wanted to buy, but could not afford to buy in. If a seller did not like an appraisal coming in low I would back them up on cancelling the contract because the buyer did not want to come in with the difference if the appraiser believes the contract price is more than the home is worth. I prided myself in always backing up my client 100% even if it meant that I would have to work for free. It became about principles to me and being the person they could trust no matter what so that my clients could have the opportunity to work with someone that feels the way I did about it. I always told myself to hang in there and that eventually I would be rewarded because people would tell others how commendable what I did was for them and I’d get referrals, but the issue lies in the aspect that I was not closing enough deals to support myself long enough to get to that point. The pushy agents were and they were succeeding right next to me while I was not and I was just trying to do what I felt was right. I did not want to be like them and I wanted to do it my own way. I always had my clients best interests above my own and I think I so much so had their best interests in mind that I was forced to get another job. I still think about this stuff for my wife’s sake and how everyone’s perception of Realtors is a bit off sometimes…I think she does not take it as personally as I did and she luckily has me to pay the bills so our livelihood is not counting on her so she gets to do it the way I wanted to back then. I’m glad to be able to give her that opportunity for herself and her clients.

Anyways…good luck to you!

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I wanted to chime in with something an older wiser person shared with me about a year into having my son.

Maybe I looked tired that day or something, but he told me that is was necessary to allow the grandparents or someone you trust to take care of the kid(s) for one weekend each year so that Mom and Dad can be a couple again for a couple days.

At first it felt like a selfish thing to do, but after the first year was over and he was off the boob the grandparents offered to help make it happen we did it and I must say I think it’s a good thing to do. Having children is the most full time awesome thing that you can do, but that does not mean that you should not set aside just a couple days to spend with the one you fell in love with that led to it. The grandparents loved the opportunity to spend some extra time with the little guy too.

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I’ve grown to believe the Getty quote about buying when others are selling and selling when they are buying and tend to apply that to many areas of life.

If everyone around me is telling me about collapse or buying toilet paper while I can then I think prosperity is right around the corner. Inventory has gotten a little better recently, but it is still low. That tells me that some people are holding onto their properties and I want to be like those people.

If you take depreciation and everything into consideration with regards to your financial situation are you still negative each month? I’d want to talk with my tax person prior to making the decision because I never want to be negative, but if I’m having a good year then the write-off might justify keeping it. I always want to figure out what stays in my pocket/account. If I sell a property to avoid the monthly loss, but then I get to give that same money I’m saving to the IRS then I’d rather keep the property.

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Thanks for chiming in! I definitely know ours are black widows with the hourglass red mark on the bottom. We are going to do a bit of research and perhaps I’ll post the outcome to this string.

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Hey Kibu,

Did you end up getting rid of the black widows? I’ve got an issue with Black Widows and a few ants these days and was going to start a topic, but stumbled across this one.

The ants are a nuisance and I’m not as concerned with them as the black widows because they like to hang out in the yard and so does my 1 year old son. I’ve been killing every one I see, but I think it’s time for them to move on. They can live somewhere else if they want to, but they need to leave my property.

Anyone with any insight please chime in. I would prefer to get rid of them without poison, but if it has to be poison at this point I’m cool with it because I feel like they are multiplying and I want to nip it in the butt.

Thanks!

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I’ve often thought about Orange County vs. San Diego and ended up choosing SD just because I live here and wanted to give managing the property myself a shot.

My first condo was actually bought with the exact same intentions in mind. I was thinking that my son was a newborn and rents tend to go up in SD so if I can cash flow a little now then I’ll cash flow very well 18 years from now and optimistically use the cash flow to help pay for my sons education rather than selling the property. If I were the OP I’d spend less to get your feet wet on managing or even owning investment property just to limit my risk. Assuming it goes well then I’d think about making another investment. In my case it went very well and what started as one condo turned itself into another one with an ocean view through a refi on the original property and because we found another opportunity right here in North County.

It’s interesting because people always recommend SFR’s, but in my opinion a condo in a desireable area works too. If someone is looking to live in a particular area….they tend to look at all options in that area, not just SFR’s. The SFR’s rent for more, but they tend to cost much more too. I would think if one was thinking of appreciation then the SFR might be better in many instances, but I’m only looking for cash flow and to keep it rented forever as rents go up in the area. I personally just believe buying for appreciation to be a bit more tricky than buying for cash flow as rents increase over time. I love asking people what their rent was 10 years ago and it often blows my mind that what was expensive 10 years ago tends to be very cheap by todays standards.

Do some homework on both potential areas and decide for yourself which area is best for you. I wish you the best…Good luck!

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I’d keep it. My parents and their parents always tended to do well buying and holding long term and it always blew my mind when they told me what they paid for it, but it was always followed up with the ol..”that was a lot of money back then though!”. It is so easy to get swept up in the short term and end up ripping the golden gooses head off when there are many more golden eggs to be laid. I’m sure someone will tear me a new one for saying so, but I wanted to tell you what I would do if I was in your shoes.

I just think that no matter what numbers, charts or people say. Demand will stay strong in San Diego because want to live in here regardless the cost to do so. I have so many friends that have threatened to leave a number of times and never seem to do so.

Additional considerations:

Did you enjoy the process of buying the home? Would you want to do it again in 1-3 years if you move back?

Is the new job good enough to justify having an investment property in SD for potential tax advantages?

Also…I would not worry about the tax free aspect on your gains. If you decide to sell after you move you can just 1031 exchange the gains into another property to avoid the taxes anyways.

Good luck with your decision, but that is what I would do and consider!

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I actually work with a lot of management companies and they tend to range from 6%-10% from what I see, but some of them also offer flat fee management (I know one in town that does a flat fee of $250/month.)

I would say there is a get what you pay for aspect so I’d interview a couple and ask the percentage, but also what it includes.

For instance…there are ones that would include the advertising in the percentage and others that would charge a lesser percentage per month then charge you for the ads.

I would mention that the majority of them tend to use Craigslist pretty heavily to find tenants and I believe most tenants go there first too. If your up to it and going to be in town you might want to think about finding your own tenant. I have heard some good things regarding American Heritage and they are a larger management company in town.

Good luck!

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I agree that a good deal is a good deal, but you also want to have clear expectations.

I would get another quote on the work just so you have a better idea of what it’s going to cost to repair. My gut say’s the 3rd quote is going to come in between the 1200 and the 21000. 1200 seems low and 21k seems crazy. I guess some people pay that, but I never would and would not expect anyone else to either. If you can get a quote for around 10k maybe you can just get the seller to discount the price by that or meet you in the middle somewhere.

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UCG – Thanks for adding the insight from a regional perspective and that it’s all relative too. It’s interesting how if your husband comes from a home with 5 boys in one room I would think 2 boys sharing a room is easy. Also interesting that you can say from your husbands experience as well as see it working first hand with your own boys.

That is awesome that you were able to buy the home you grew up in. Money cannot buy everything of course, but being in a position to do something like that makes all the work that led up to it worthwhile.

Cheers!

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lpj -We are definitely on the same page. If I ever meet you at a Piggington meet up or something I’ll have to buy you a beer or glass of wine or something!

Thanks for the article too. I’ll check it out.

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