Southernbelle

You must have met some bad apples......... I admit some Realtors I know ain't worth their oats,... however there are many that are....LIKE ME! Like I said , I like mine, cause if I am in need of research, comps etc..it is at my fingertips. I am not having to call a Realtor and w..a..i..t for them to get me the info. The property would already be snapped up.

I personnaly like having mine, because of the info I can search on my own. So what about the legalities.... YOU DO EVERYTHING UP FRONT AND ABOVE BOARD...NO WORRIES.... When I am wearing my "Investor hat" the clients know that I am here to sell/buy as an Investor...however, I am also a Realtor....but not in this case. understand? When I have my Realtor hat on it's reverse.. Just my 2 cents...

Funny. Like I said I'm ready when you are.... my area of expertise is in Texas...

Not to worry. Doug said he would have the baby! LOL... too funny!

Refer an agent here who will bring me 50 creative deals a month and charge only 1-3% commission and I'll have your baby. When do you want to get started?........ I don't want another baby.........

Cha-ching-cha-ching goes the commission machine while the investor goes bankrupt Now Doug, why would you think that? Look at it this way, IF you have a Realtor you WORK WITH, and you two have a relationship, they can bring lots to the table. You then can buy more and they can sell more. Who is making the most money? I know when I sell/buy as an Investor I am making a lot more money, than when I sell as a Realtor. I am only saying, If you can find 10 houses on your own in a say 6-12 month period and only a couple turn to deals, you made money on vs. If you have a good working relationship with a Realtor that can bring you say 50 houses a month with you making deals with 2-5 EVERY month...... and the Realtor is only making 1-3% on every deal you do....who is making the bucks?..... YOU are but it is because you have a good working relationship. I am not trying to make you mad/upset at all, so don't take it that way.... I am a Realtor and I am an Investor....so maybe I am different than most Realtors you have dealt with. I do agree some do not understand Investors or Investing in Real Estate. I have worked with Investors(with my Realtor hat on), some good, some bad. I have done some good deals, and have been USED/BURNED too. I learned from that and will not repeat. I find now, I can do more deals by retailing to end-buyers than trying to get an Investor involved.(ask me how I know) I mainly keep my license just so I have access to MLS and other records most Investors do not. Anyway, sorry for long winded. Just my thoughts... Have a great day!

The ad doesn't have to mention it is from a Realtor, however they should. The Realtor paid for that ad. (Another cost to the Realtor, and if it don't sell,...oh well..business write off?) Doug is right that you can lease from the seller thru the Realtor and the Realtor will either... A. collect a one time payment or.... B. If the seller has it set up for the Realtor to be their "property manager" then the Realtor will still get one up front fee and anywhere from 10 to 30% of rent collected for the life of the agreement.(between Realtor & seller) If A. is the case, then the seller pays the Realtor their fee and moves on.. If B. Then you as the tenant will write your monthly checks to the Realtors company, they turn around and write a check to the seller minus their agreed upon %. Now, if you do like Michael said and deal directly with the seller, knowing that it is listed property, you have just "muddied the waters" with that Realtor and all others that the Realtor knows. So, I would suggest not to do that. You can either get YOUR own Realtor to represent you, or wait until the listing expires (if it does) or the seller can terminate their listing. If they terminate their listing after already talking with you, they will still have your number so to speak. I find, since I work in "both" worlds It is best to keep your nose clean, and don't step on peoples toes. Make sense? Hope this helped.

The MLS places your house nation wide. Or should I say, when a listing is imputted to the MLS, it is then placed in 3-6 more nationally known websites. Ex: listing in Ntreis, then goes to REALTOR.com, then to local association, then on to several more, sometimes not. Depends how big your area is. So I guess the anwser to your question is, that it helps get your listing out their, some are for ALL to see(Realtor.com) some are just for the REALTOR(Ntreis) to see & use for their clients. Some sites charge for the general public to see some don't. Some want you to sign up first, so they then have your info, etc..Anyway, if you have a Realtor list your property that's where it will go, it doesn't COST you a dime to do that, you will have to pay the commission when it does sell, if you are the seller. But so what, pay the commission, you have sold your house, and got your money. List high enough to recoup some of the commission. This is where some Investors screw up, they USE several REALTORS to the point of burnout. The Realtor only gets paid when it sells. So, my suggestion is to have ONE REALTOR you can work with on a consistent basis, scatch their backs and they scatch yours. They can bring you tons of properties, list them for you too and do it again & again. Make sense? I have rambled enough.....