From Agent to Investor - MAD as Heck - 04/29/07 12:37 AM
Real estate agents are beginning to change the way they conduct business. 
With the slow down in many markets, they are taking advantage of the opportunity to experiment in the field of investing. 
Their instincts tell them that the market will rebound.  They have endured slow times in past history passively, but now are stepping up and facing sellers with offers to buy, option or control real estate as a principal at discounted prices.
They want to be ready with equity based properties waiting to be cashed out when the market improves. Controlling real estate now, below market will assure them moderate … (0 comments)

FSBO's were created for Agents, Investors & Auctioneers - 04/28/07 08:22 AM

What would agents do without FSBO's?
            You have to love them.  Without FSBO's some real estate agents would have to get a real job.  Agents love FSBO's because they are the non-static entity in their real estate arena.  Real estate agents and investors pray on FSBO's, they want a listing or a bargain. Agents have their technique down very well to convince a FSBO to list with them. 
You have got to love them!!!!  Yesterday they were happy property owners, enjoying their home and loving life.
Today when the newspaper arrives in the community, they will become known as a FSBO's, … (5 comments)

Title Company CEO - pays a dear price for naivety - 04/27/07 11:56 PM
 
I would like to thank Ed Rybczynski for being my special guest at last Monday on our Telephone- Interview call, our lines were packed.
Thank you for sharing the many pit-falls that investors and title companies face daily.  The consequences of making a mistake can be expensive and physically confining.
Your experience is unsurpassed in helping the mortgage and title insurance industry protect themselves from the frequent fraud that is perpetrated daily against these unsuspecting businesses.
Your openness and helpful suggestions are appreciated.
Next Monday our guest will be a mortgage broker, whistle blowing on the tricks of their trade and the junk fees that … (0 comments)

What is a Fiduciary Buyer Broker? - 04/27/07 11:12 PM
Who Does a Real Estate Agent Represent?
            buyer
            seller
            both
            self
Agents become proficient representing one or the other and sometimes both. Real estate is a great profession. When they begin to represent their own portfolio or family trust, real estate becomes an exciting profitable venture with measurable curves.
What is a Fiduciary Buyer Broker?
a locater
way to multiply  real estate prospecting efforts
a real estate agent who locates real estate opportunities for buyers (usually  investor)
            most importantly, a fiduciary
            A licensed professional who represents a seller's interests
What Motivates a Buyer Broker?
a process of creating income
the vast majority of real estate agents represent sellers … (0 comments)

No Credit, No Money & No Brains - 04/27/07 10:13 PM
    
I spent a wonderful Saturday and Sunday at Amelia Island Florida. A charity bike ride for the awareness of people on waiting list for organ donations was taking place.
I biked the route for about 37 miles.  At 2 times 30 plus 5, I discovered a wake up call when I found that I could not keep up with the younger more practiced riders.
I decided to have a competition with myself, to peddle until near exhaustion and than turn around and peddle back to my winter home on the Island where I knew my pool was waiting for me to … (2 comments)

BIG brother is watching us - 04/26/07 10:41 AM
I recently received this e-mail.  I could not believe it until I searched my cell phone; 443-253-3886.  Try doing a search of your number.....what do you get?
Can't hide from "Big Brother" anymore. Its disturbing at how much access is made available to our privacy.Google has implemented a new feature which enables anyone to type a Telephone number into the Google search bar with no dashes and hit "enter" and you will be given the person's name and address. If you then hit Map Quest, you will get a map to the person's house. Everyone should be aware of this! 
It's a nationwide reverse … (6 comments)

Creative real estate - science or fiction - a burning questions about formulas - 04/22/07 03:34 PM
I had many questions when I started in the real estate business about 40 years ago.  I studied like a beaver to learn enough to pass my real estate sales license test.
My primary motivation of becoming an agent was to learn how to invest in real estate.
WOW, what a surprise I had when I discovered that all the brokers and agents I talked to didn't have a clue about real estate investing!  Sure, they narrated great stories of how they representative investors who made big profits as a result of their representation. But done could answer my questions about investing.
I … (4 comments)

Real Estate B.O.S.S. or CEO - 04/13/07 12:30 AM
When Ashley was 7 years old and I was struggling trying to make a living as a agent and learning the real estate
investment business,  I looked down at my little girl and said, "Ashley, when you get older, I am going to make
you the CEO of my company.
She titled her head, rolled her eyes to the ceiling as if searching for something deep within your memory and
said, "No Dad, I want to be the B.O.S.S.
Now at 27 years old she is the on line editor of Marie Clair Magazine in Manhattan New York.
Children are wonderful, they make life … (1 comments)

The Preacher made a Prophet! - 04/11/07 01:18 PM
 It was my turn to pick up our son who was at bible study at our local church.  Having arrived early due to being stood up for a listing appointment I found myself outside my son's class room hidden out of sight but able to hear our preacher's query the class, "Children, how many of you know what a Prophet is?"  
My son's hand went up immediately waving in the air vying for the good preacher's attention.  I know, I know said Ian excitedly.........OK, OK the man of the cloth said.  What is the answer Ian?
A profit is when my Dad … (6 comments)

The S E C R E T - - To 38 years of success - 04/11/07 10:22 AM
Having been in this real estate business for 40 years and married for 38 of them, may apprentice real estates friend wanted to know.... "How do you manage to keep your marriage so positive and lasting?"
I was somewhat reluctant to share my secret to longevity and happiness in our relationship, but I decide to give up my secret to this young apprentice.
He was ready to receive my ancient wisdom of success of surviving the intuition of matrimony for 38 years.  He loosened his tie, adjusted his seat, folded his arms and looked at me intently, ready to receive this secret.
"My … (2 comments)

Dirty Rotten Shame - I am not going to take it anymore! - 04/10/07 07:51 AM
It is a dirty rotten shame that deals fall thru, it is a great burden on us and our income.
How many reasons can you think of why a deal will fall-thru?
I gave up being a conventional agent years ago because of all the contingencies necessary to get to the commissions.
 I now own and operate a real estate auction company where all sales are contingency free, all cash and sold in "as is" condition.
What a wonderful way to do business, plus all of the commission, 10% is paid UP FRONT!
In the auction business we call listings "bookings".  Booking presentations are so much easier than … (5 comments)

Breaking News! "Top Real Estate Agent Admits to Earning $6.50 an Hour!" - 04/09/07 10:17 PM
The soft real estate market is NO FUN!
We have to jump through so many hoops to get to a pay day; find a listing, find a buyer, satisfy their price point and credit requirement, appraisers, underwriters, lenders, home inspectors, all before we can pass GO; go collect our well divided commission.
 I stand up and salute Real Estate Professionals.  You deserve to be recognized for your tenacity, for your knowledge, vision and for the many hours of required training, dues, meetings and regulations.
A top agent I talked to recently said that by dividing the hours she worked by the net income she … (15 comments)

Getting started as a real estate investor - 04/08/07 12:31 PM
Question for Charles:
How can I guarantee my success in the real estate investing business?
When I became interested in real estate about 40 years ago, it was not easy to figure out how to get up to speed in real estate investing; those wealthy/successful investors in my community had no interest in helping a newbie like me (I later learned that they really didn't know that much about creative real estate.  They just had money, they did their due diligence, they attended foreclose auctions and picked up bargains at the court house steps). Those investors weren't creative, the only skill they had … (2 comments)

Silence is Golden - Card # 59 - 04/08/07 10:37 AM
Silence is Golden - Card # 59
•·        Silence can be quite unsettling if used on a timely basis.
•·        It is like jujitsu; you allow the seller to be tripped up by their own  
            forcefulness.
•·        When inspecting a property, silence can be a strong negotiating factor.
Last month we were inspecting a property in Talbot Co., Maryland that we liked as an investment to flip within 60 days.  The property was appraised for $725,000.  We just looked, our silence was obvious to the seller, we made a second inspection of this home, which was in almost perfect condition.
We were ready to make … (4 comments)

Hot Buttons - Negotiate for Keeps - 04/08/07 10:21 AM
Pocket Pack - Negotiating
Card #3
For your benefit .... Negotiate for keeps!  Things that are not very important negotiate away.  (When making offers, add items that you can give up, seller to paint house, repair broken windows, change locks, other front porch clauses)
As an investor, make sure you add items you can give up. But keep the important items, your offer, right of possession, right to market before settlement.
Card #62 Hot Buttons
Every seller has a hot button that will turn your negotiation to your favor if found and pushed.  Find it by listening carefully.
Every seller has a motivation, find it and … (4 comments)

Creative Financing - Seller Participation - Hybrid Offer - 04/08/07 09:56 AM
Pocket Pack Creative Financing
Card #39 - Seller Participation
  You may be able to acquire real estate with your future profits, and no time machine is necessary!  As a down payment, give the seller a written pledge to assign all or a p percentage of future cash flows for a period of time or a percentage over $X if sold. "As consideration, buyer hereby pledges to pay seller 20% of net income from the Property for the next 3 years."
  Card #40 Hybrid Offer
When your intention is to "Control and Roll" (flip, resell, recast, wholesale, recycle, etc.) and the seller is stuck on a … (7 comments)

Negotiating - Bocket Pack Tips #35, #38, #39 - 04/08/07 07:20 AM
Negotiating Pocket Pack
Card # 39 - Negotiating
Negotiating is the ability to ask intelligent questions and to know whether you are getting accurate responses.
When negotiating with sellers and owners, it is important to understand the reasons they do what they do and why they want to list or sell their property to you.  Ask the same question in several forms.
"Are you moving from the area or building a house?"
"Do you need top price or a fast sale?"
"Do you need any money, or just want the property out of your name?"
"If I made you an offer today, and there were no … (3 comments)

Agents Are Lazy - 04/08/07 07:01 AM
Agents are Lazy!
This is what a REMAX Broker told me when I asked him why agents who signed a Buyers Agreement with me, never called back, never introduced properties to me.
For a moment, I agreed with him, but, I re-thought that comment and really disagree.  Agents are people too; they have a business and private life.  It is only natural for them to seek the easiest and most profitable path to take when running their business.
There are just so many choices for them to make. I do not think they are lazy, representing an investor as a Buyer Agent requires some … (16 comments)

Buy Low, Sell low and do it Often - Card #6 - 04/07/07 10:24 PM
Creative Real Estate Pocket Pack
Card #6 - BUY LOW, SELL LOW, DO IT OFTEN
"Buy low, sell high," is a common saying, but buying low, and selling low often makes more sense.  Selling low means selling fast and avoiding carrying cost and opportunity costs.  By leaving profit on the table for the next buyer, selling low creates repeat business.  If you were to make $25,000 on each transaction, and do only 4 transactions a year, you would have $100,000 in profit.  Not a bad start!
Although we say "BUY LOW, SELL LOW, DO IT OFTEN" I have recently changed this to "Control Low, … (2 comments)

Investors & Creative Agents - Beat the Competition - 04/07/07 10:14 PM
Creative Real Estate Pocket Pack
This is a great new product for real estate agents and investor.  It is a pocket pack of playing size cards with creative financing and formulas written on them to remind the pro of the many ways to put together a transaction;
Card #5 - BEAT THE COMPETITION
The three most common real estate prospecting methods are 1) classified ads, 2) Listed real estate, and 3) Bank REO's HUD and VA. These are actually the three worst sources because the competition drives prices skywards.  Instead of competing with novices who over-pay and agents who over-inflate sellers' expectations, use lesser … (2 comments)

59 Creative Financing Methods - all in a Pocket Pack - 04/07/07 09:56 PM
Creative Real Estate Pocket Pack
This is a great new product for real estate agents and investor.  It is a pocket pack of playing size cards with creative financing and formulas written on them to remind the pro of the many ways to put together a transaction;
Card #59 - MAKE TRIAL OFFERS
Real estate agreements do not just happen; they are forged by making "Trial Offers."  As you gather information about the property and about the seller, test concepts by asking questions.  Verbal trial offers test what the seller will and will not do, what ideas will and will not work.  Consider seller … (5 comments)

I don't get it! Agents STAND UP AND SHOUT.... - 04/07/07 09:38 PM
I just don‘t get it!   Real estate agents are so abused, work so hard and many not only work hard but long hours.  They take abuse from buyers, sellers, lenders, title companies and just abut any other entity involved in a real estate transaction.
They are asked to cut their commission, to contribute it to close a deal and just go away with some pocket change!
Agents have made others many thousands of dollars in profits by helping their clients and customers buy real estate, by applying their creative closing techniques, by eating negative comments and putting up with all of the … (10 comments)

Making offers - 04/06/07 08:18 AM
QUESTION TO CHARLES:
I have been sending out cards, trying to find sellers.  Many of these prospects want me to make an offer.  What would you do? 
Thanks.Gary
DON'T DO IT!  Do not offer a price.  The seller may act dumb; but like a fox.  The sellers are playing you.  What ever price you quote the seller will be wrong.  If you offer them more than they expected, you are over-paying, if you offer them less, you risk getting them angry and closing off negotiations.
You need to get to their base line price, with this base line, you will have a number from which … (0 comments)

No Equity - No Deal - Maybe yes....... - 04/04/07 08:42 PM
Recently an investor called to lament her problem with investing in todays real estate market.  She said, "I used to say the key to that great deal is to find a motivated seller, I find motivated sellers all the time in this market, but now the key seems to be finding a motivated seller who has sufficient equity to make a great deal. Unfortunately, lots of folks are very motivated right now, but don't have anything to offer investors".
Sure it is difficult to find motivated sellers with equity, I partly agree, but you can still negotiate profitable transactions that have little … (0 comments)

Work Less - Earn more as a Fiduciary Buyer Agent - 04/03/07 07:01 PM
Have you considered the benefits of using alternative methods of earning income as a real estate agent?
Fiduciary Buyer Brokering may be an alternative to consider.
A Buyer Representative has a tremendous opportunity to earn income in the real estate business as an alternative to being paid from the seller of listed property.
You may have learned that as a Buyer Agent that you represent buyers, but receive part of the commission from the selling agent.  Yes, this is one way.  But the Buyer Representation I am referring to is where you NEVER take a commission from the agent of the owner, always on … (1 comments)

H-E-L-P -- WHAT AM I MISSING HERE - 04/03/07 01:39 PM
H-E-L-P -- What Am I Missing Here?
While on my way back from the Eastern Shore of Maryland last week, I stopped by 3 real estate companies to ask if they would represent me as a Buyer's Broker.
Each agent from the companies said yes and presented me with a Realtor's Buyer's Agreement.
After signing the agreement I asked them how much commission I would own them if they found a suitable property that I purchased (Houses, commercial or non-conforming real estate).
In the commission space they wrote 2 ½ percent.  My question to them was, "If I increase the commission to 5%, will you … (4 comments)

 

Charles Parrish

Baltimore, MD

More about me…

Auction Brokers & Investors United

Address: 6717-6721 Harford Road, Baltimore, MD, 21234

Office Phone: (410) 426-6000 x 11

Cell Phone: (443) 253-3886

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A wealth of techniques and ideas to advance real estate business.


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