Real estate closings are the best. The most of the time, everyone is happy. Everyone is getting what they want. It takes a lot of work, and emotional commitment to get a closing done.
In the past two weeks, I’ve had 5 closings. 3 for clients, and 2 for myself. I definitely didn’t plan it that way, and it’s been pretty stressful. But I learned a ton! Some of it from hard knocks, and some of it from “Googling” things like a maniac. Here are a couple of my best takeaways.
3 Retail Closings For Clients Last Week
Starting as a real estate agent is tough. It takes time to get the ball rolling. Like most things in real estate, It takes longer than you want it to. In the first 6 months as an agent, I had 3 closings. Since the beginning of this year I’ve had 4. It just so happens that 3 of them were last week! Each deal was quite different and taught some great lessons.
- Sometimes appraisers want to be inspectors too – One of my closings was a home that needed some renovations. According to the home inspector it was structurally sound, and didn’t raise any major concerns. The appraiser saw things differently. He required roof and foundation inspections that added to my clients costs and delayed closing. I’m thankful we were able to overcome that inconvenience and get my clients in their house!
- Buyers should aim to place closings near the beginning of the month – I learned that If you buy a home on March 1st, your first mortgage payment wont be until May 1st. I’m not sure if all mortgage companies do it that way. Delaying that first payment can be huge! It can leave you some extra spending money to fill your new home with furniture!
- Getting closings done is a team sport – There are a lot of moving parts between inspections, mortgage, title, and insurance. Good communication is incredibly important. All parties had to coordinate and cooperate to get these done.
I Bought 4 Condos and a House This Week
Expanding my rental portfolio was a huge goal for me in 2018. I didn’t plan to do it this quickly, but felt these opportunities fit my goals. Here’s some tips I learned.
- Get to know wholesalers – I usually like to look for rental properties on MLS. This is the first time I’ve bought a house from a wholesaler. The process was fairly smooth, and this house doesn’t need much to be rent ready. A great place to meet wholesalers is at REIAs
- Tax liens are confusing, yet lucrative – I bought the condos via tax deed which means I took a crash course in property tax and title laws. There’s too many crazy rules to get into here. That will have to be a post for another time. I spent every spare minute of the last two weeks evaluating my risks on this deal. I think this can be a good way to buy rentals going forward.
- Save on wire transfer fees – Pro Tip for investors who are doing multiple transactions in the Birmingham market! You can save $25 per wire transfer. Many title companies use ServisFirst bank’s trust account services. If you initiate your transfer from ServisFirst, you can avoid a $25 wire transfer fee. This could really add up for people who’re doing a large volume of transactions! I probably get over excited about saving $25, but I was pumped about it.
And It Don’t Stop
To top it all off, I had three clients go under contract in the last two weeks! Things don’t look like they’ll be slowing down anytime soon, and that’s okay with me. Getting started in real estate takes way longer than you want it to, but once things pick up, they really pick up! If you’re just getting started, stick with it!
I’m always down to chat about real estate say hi on FaceBook!
You must be logged in to post a comment.