In helping investors buy buildings I almost always preview the property first with out  taking my client.  Recently I went and reviewed a six flat near the Western Blue Line stop that seemed to have promise.  It sits on a park and a good street not to mention the building is 48 feet wide.

It was a rather disappointing showing as the property needed way too much work.  Said another way, I can’t imagine that anybody would pay close to $90k per unit for an empty building that needs a heavy rehab. 

At least I l got good laugh out of the deal as the listing agent had the gall to say he had an offer already; probably from a condo converter.

The role of a buyer’s agent is much different than that of a seller’s (listing) agent.  The amount of time it takes to find properties, research them, present to clients and conduct showings doesn’t compare to managing a listing.  Buyer’s agency is more difficult; however, it can be much more rewarding. 

I located an available brick four flat (multi unit) near the Western Blue Line Stop for which I have three potential buyers.  In this case, instead of scheduling a showing, I previewed the property first.  This tactic is used often.  I found that the property was in good shape overall.  The hard part with a property like this is it was built around the late 1800s.  Properties built around this time typically have a layout deficiency resulting in small bedrooms.  Further, it was mostly empty which adds a ton of risk to your cash flow.  Throw in a couple other questionable things and I have a property that I can’t present to my clients. 

Ultimately I saved my clients a ton of time by not presenting the property or scheduling a showing.  However, at a much lower price point I will present this listing to my investors.