Real Estate

Im studing for my exam in realestate and it would be great have some expert to help me with understading key terms my test.

Im a newly certified real estate salesperson in N.Y. One thing that I suggest you refresh on is Respa, fannie mae, sally mae, and freddie mac, Remember they symbolize the secondary market… Remember what is involved with dual agency. Breathe before the test …. Get this my test was given in the state capitol of new york.. i live about 2 hours away and I thought i had left early enough. Guess not anyway I got there about 10 min late then got lost going to the testing site. I forgot some of my paperwork in the car which they would not let me get. I then proceeded to fill out their paperwork. It was about 11:30 by the time i started the exam and it was timed. I didn’t think I passed because I know I didn’t actually finish but was unsure of the question number I got too…. I PASSED!! So don’t do all of that and breathe before the test you’ll be fine YOU KNOW WHAT YOU KNOW!!.. Don’t cram the night before you take the exam… It will stress you out and the information will not leak in… I am confident that you will pass all of your own expectations and pass with flying colors…
Also I suggest you attend a couple of your local open houses. Open houses are the best place to see a realtor at work.. do you need to secure a broker before the exam is taken? If so speak with your sponsoring broker He obviously is rooting for you to succeed I mean the more money you bring in the better for the broker. Remember that it is just a test and you can take it again… know the differences of deeds, warranty, referee, Bargain and sale deed with covenant, bargain and sale deed without covenant, executors deed, quitclaim deed. Know what a lein is and how a person can get one. Supply, and demand, etc.. good luck you’ll do fine as my sponsoring broker says "its not rocket science, just do it" Good luck with your future career. And if you need a study partner I can help, I could always use a refresher before I get into the REAL WORLD of real estate!!

the class costs like $2,500 to go for like 2 months and then you start work for someone, is it worth it, is their alot of property/realestate to be appraised?

I’ve been a Licensed Appraiser for roughly 9 years [Certified for the past 5 years]. The first few years are typically "brutal" because you must go through anywhere from two to three years of trainee duty. You start by finding a Supervisor that’s willing to act as a mentor during your initial 2,000 hours of experience requisite [most States]. The income during this trainee period is anywhere from $10K to $40K per year, so pretty horrid by most living standards.

The up-side is that once you get established and build your own practice; you have flexibility in your work schedule, the job is very enjoyable (IMO), and there’s six-figure income potential for those willing to work hard and continuously market themselves.

My recommendation is to approach appraisal as a part-time job and keep a primary source of income during the first two years (+/-) as a trainee. If you have a spouse that provides good income, then you may be able to jump in with both feet, but most people come aboard while carrying another job. I made the mistake of coming into the industry with no other income and it drained our hard-earned savings.

Best of luck! Average salary varies by area, but I believe it to be $65K on a National basis [salary.com is way off!]

We have been working with a realtor to buy a home. We recently went to an open house for a home that is not listed with a realty company (we went without our realtor), the home is being sold directly from the builder. If we decide to purchase this home and would like the services of our realtor to help with paperwork, etc. Do we then, as the buyers, pay for the realtor?

We did this exact thing – after being shown properties by a realtor we went to the open house of an unlisted property and bought it. We didn’t have any obligation to the realtor of course, since the house we purchased wasn’t listed. We maybe saved some money (or got a little nicer property for the same money) because the seller didn’t have to pay a commission to a realtor. We paid a lawyer instead to handle the sale and the seller paid theirs. Our lender saw to whatever paperwork they needed. Went fine.

On another occasion, we were selling some property and although we hadn’t listed it with a realtor, we got a tip on a potential buyer from a realtor. In this case we gave him something for passing along the information (it resulted in a sale for us) but not as much as the regular realtor’s commission would have been.

Builders do not need to have a real estate license to sell a new home that they built.

Also, is it hard to get your realtors license in Illinois? I see you can take classes online and then you take an exam, correct? It just seems buy getting a realtors license you could save a lot of money on purchasing homes. Can anyone give me more info or anything I should know before pursuing? Thanks!
Why do you have to be with a real estate company in order to get the commission? Can’t you just be independent?

Depends on whether the seller is offering to compensate a "buyer’s agent" – which is what you would be, right? The listing broker may have an agreement to split the commission with a buyer’s agent, in that case, you could use your portion of the offered commission to help pay for your expenses, or reduce the sales price.

You’ll have to check to see what the requirements are in IL to get a real estate license. Typically, you sign up with a broker and "hang" your license there. If you want to be a REALTOR, you would have to sign up with a broker who is a member of the local Board of REALTORs.

Educate yourself about the costs of doing the real estate course study, exam, licensing fee, REALTOR board fees – local, state and national, MLS fees, E & O insurance, etc.

Check to see what the broker’s policy is for an agent to buy his own residence…some allow all the commission to go towards the purchase, some keep a lowered percentage of their share of the commission.

I think you will be surprised to see how little you will "save" in the purchase vs getting an experienced real estate agent to represent you in the transaction.

I have a multi member LLC used for real estates investment. I have no employees other than the 4 member/shareholders. Do I have to pay employment tax/payroll to any distribution to the shareholders or for any work that the shareholders does for the LLC?

No. Each shareholder, including yourself, is responsible for his/her own taxes. All of the members cannot be on payroll, as you are by default, self-employed.

Make the distribution (which is an expense, by the way), the LLC will have its earnings flown down to each of the members from the partnership return. Each member will then report their share of earnings on the individual tax return.

how do you become a real estate agent for Sotheby’s International Realty? Do you already have to have a real estate license? I am trying to become an agent what do I need to do?

http://www.sothebysrealty.com/ServicesBecomeAffiliate.aspx

Hi, I will need accommodation in Clayton or near Clayton area soon. How do I search for affordable room (bathroom shared only with one other person or private bathroom)? I am located overseas and will need the room for 2 months. Realestate/domain website listings are expensive. My budget is only $130 or less (with bills included). Please help.

If you look on realestate.com.au and put in under shaRE accomodation and enter the prices you can go up to you should find some places there to ask about.

i found some..
also think to enter some of the surrounding suburbs like Mt Waverley, Nottinghill, Oakleigh, Clayton North , Clayton South Huntingdale etc
It is close to the university there so there is always places emptying and changes made, but don’t wait too late to see to it as it will be booked up with next years students otherwise.

also you may try looking in the local papers for people who want to rent out 1 room to a border.
www.leadernews.com.au might help

I found a very nice property. The foundation (on a not so properly licensed extension) is messed up. The state did some work on the lakefront and it caused the foundation to drop down and out a bit.

The foundation itself is just brick walls. The state braced the wall with huge pylons on one side. So as for now, the wall can’t / won’t push out anymore. However, it has sunk some. I think like 4mm out and 4-5mm down within last several years.

I talked to the realty agent today (during home tour). They said it would take a COMPLETE foundation reinstall to fix the "problem". I imagine this would include floor bracing and new walls. The cost they gave for a front 8′x25′ wall then smaller side walls was about $40,000.

I am wondering if this sounds right. I understand the floor will need bracing to lift the floor and get a new foundation under there. And access for debris removal is not all that "good". But it really isn’t " that much foundation ". Any ideas?

You may have to call every single person in the area, ask the cement delivery guys who they think is the best and the worst foundation maker. Don’t shop by price alone. This will need a permit, and ask about installing a weeping tile system, it sounds like you don’t have one, You might get by on hiring some younger guys to dig it by hand, some work hard for the money, I know I did a few myself back in the day, I made 30.00 a day then.

I am considering becoming a Realestate agent in Australia and was wondering if you have any tips or ideas? I enjoy selling and have always liked looking at houses but Im not sure practically what its like to sell houses. Is it mainly dealing with paperwork, people skills etc?

Firstly, normally the paperwork’s not too bad – most real estate agencys have reception staff and assistant who process most of thing things like contracts etc for you. Definitely people skills and sales skills, though the latter can be learned. You need to be able to get on with people easily and quickly, this helps a lot. It also really helps to have good knowledge of the local area, but again this can be learned with a bit of time and effort.

To become a registered real estate salesperson you need to complete a course to learn about real estate and property. To find out more about this contact your local real estate institute in your state, eg; for QLD it’s REIQ (www.reiq.com.au).

Some agents however encourage new starters to real estate and will support you through the course which can be a really good way to start as you then have a job to go to upon completion – call around a few agents and see if anyone is interested in working with you.

Good luck!

My realestate put a bid on a house for me with the bank. She called me and left me a message today starting that she called the bank about status on my offer and was told the house is going for auction

many foreclosure auctions are bringing bids of more than private sales in many areas. Its goofy but the public obsession is with foreclosures thus an increased demand brings out greed and bids of more than its worth.

The bank will not take lowball offers when they can get so much more at auction.