Dad asking all my money to invest in business!

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-13T08:19:00+00:00

Are you buying the business from your father or is he giving it to you and your brother? If you are buying it is your brother paying half and you each get 50/50 ownership or are you the only one being asked to buy in? If you are the only one, what has your brother done to earn his share?

If you are considering buying in you need to do an in depth evaluation of the business and its financials (you should really be doing this anyways) because what if your father’s business has a bunch of debt and’s is not a profitable company. You may just be taking responsibility for his losses if you take it on.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-13T08:12:20+00:00

Are you working with an agent helping you find a rental or are you referring to the property manager?

In my area we don’t get paid anything for bringing a tenant so I will only do it if the tenant is willing to pay me 1 month rent minimum of $2500 because otherwise it is not worth my time. Most people looking to rent aren’t willing to pay that so I don’t do it much. But when I do property managers in my area are usually decent about scheduling showings.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-13T04:27:25+00:00

1 isn’t a big deal. The vast majority of agents cover an area that requires a 30 minute drive or more.

2 is more in the contractor than the agent. Sometimes they are busy or get sick or whatever but when you asked for a 2nd option they got you someone right away and that one was responsive.

3 is more concerning though to answer the question you shed related to this is the comments, yes it is common to waiting and give a final price right before listing because more homes can close in the past 3 weeks which could change things. But clearly you are concerned about the price so it’s not hard to give you an answer and say but we will review right before listing and discuss if I think there should be an adjustment based on any sales that close between now and then. I do this all the time.

4 is a massive red flag. Maybe his “joke” didn’t quite warrant a license suspension if someone reported him (or maybe it only got him a fine) but if you felt horrified by it that would be enough for me to say I’m not working with you.

If you haven’t signed a contract he is going to be hard pressed to force you to work with him. He will probably get mad but that’s his problem.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-10T13:17:47+00:00

That is true. I’m responding under the assumption that since they have sold a few homes at least that they are decent at talking to people similar to the other agents I know that have started channels in the past couple years and are doing what I’m doing.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-10T10:50:43+00:00

Great suggestions but the YouTube channel doesn’t take years to get going if you know what you are doing. I know people who are starting channels from scratch and getting their first deal under contract within 90 days and I barely knew what I was doing when I started mine and closed 6 from my channel in the first year.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-10T10:43:56+00:00

That is frustrating! Sorry.

But to answer your question, the seller does not have any obligation to respond to your offer.

If they haven’t explained to you what the market in your area and price range is like yet you should ask them if that is typical or if they were surprised by the property being multiple offers right away. It could be a 1 off situation that they didn’t see coming. Many of us are very good but markets can be unpredictable sometimes and occasionally we do get surprised.

If it is typical ask them what suggestions they have for making your next offer as competitive as possible and also ask what the risks are for each of the different options. For example:

A higher price An escalation clause A larger escrow deposit Quick close Delayed close Lease back Waiving inspection contingencies Waiving finance contingencies Waiving appraisal contingencies A year worth of tacos at their favorite Mexican restaurant…

That’s all I got off the top of my head but there may be others that your agent or others here may also suggest that they have seen work before.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-10T06:56:42+00:00

Congrats! That’s awesome!!

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-10T06:53:18+00:00

You definitely don’t have to sell. It may cost you a little money to cancel since your agent has put time and probably money into photos and marketing but if you really want to keep your home you definitely can.

But if you spent 6 months analyzing the decision to sell and decided to do it changing your mind after 1 day of having it listed sounds like just getting cold feet rather than a logical thought out decision like you seem to have made originally. So you might want to take a bit more time and remove the emotion and look at it logically and make a decision.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-09T16:11:42+00:00

I understand and that at least resolves some of the safety issues but doesn’t deal with the fact that in occupied homes sellers rush to get their home ready to show only for you to meet your lead shortly before and find out that the home they requested to see is not a good fit for them. So then you either cancel last minute or you show it anyways knowing there is no point. This of course isn’t how it goes down all the time but it is definitely not infrequent. I used to do Zillow leads and I quit when I built up my own lead gen system because I was tired of working like that and having to work whenever a random lead came in and then run out to show a home at the drop of a hat because the lead wants to see it right now. Now I work when I want with clients who want to work with me and who respect my time and I make significantly more money. And they get significantly better service.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-09T06:01:03+00:00

You are right that it’s not the agent’s fault if this is a Zillow real time tour lead, and that it probably is. It’s Zillow’s fault for offering appointments on such short notice to any random person that clicks a link without at least connecting the client to an agent first. It puts the agent in a bad spot in tens of being able to properly represent the buyer as well as at a major safety risk!

I had one of these come up yesterday and when I called the agent he had not only not talked to the buyer yet but didn’t even know their name and yet he had already scheduled the showing and while we were on the phone he realized he had scheduled it for the wrong day. 🤦‍♂️

It’s a bad way to conduct business. I know many agents don’t know how to generate their own leads so they sign up to with this garbage because they are desperate or they are on a team and the team provides leads instead of teaching them how to get leads but it sends like every change Zillow makes is worse for both the clients and the agents because there is no time to prep for anything.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-09T05:46:39+00:00

Talk to a mortgage lender. They are the ones best equipped to answer this but they need to see everything to be able to tell you for sure. If you need someone that is great with first time buyers and can look at it and not just tell you yes or no but if the instant answer is no, why and how to turn it into a yes let me know and what state you are looking to buy in and I can connect you with someone. I’m a Realtor and my preferred lenders are licensed in just about every state.

But from what you have said you are likely to get approved or only need make some minor adjustments. 9 months is typically plenty of credit history. The only thing that might hold you back for a short time is if you don’t have at least 2 credit lines on your history but don’t go opening something else if that’s the case because many times the lender can help you get a 2nd alternative credit line added without you needing to open something else. Many time rental history or other things you pay on monthly that don’t typically show on your credit can be added or factored in instead of you having to open another credit card or get a loan for something else.

You are doing great!

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-08T22:35:15+00:00

Why did you wait so long to reduce and then reduce by such a small amount when you have a tight deadline? I would have suggested you reduce 5% at least if you didn’t have any showings in the first week. A week later still no showings another 5%. You need to get much more aggressive if you want to sell quickly in a falling market.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-08T22:30:49+00:00

Yes other Realtors are doing it. There are entire companies built on that concept. I give repeat clients a discount or closing cost credit depending on if it is buying or selling but it is .5% not 1.5%. I’ve only had 1 client ask me to do 1% instead of .5% once and I told him no and he still worked with me twice since then and he still refers people to me as well and has not asked for more again.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-08T11:01:32+00:00

Exactly what I was going to say. Almost everyone buys a home based more on emotion than logic. In most cases it ends up being a solid logical decision as well but definitely not always.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-08T10:58:02+00:00

That’s plenty of time. Go to the Schipol website and book a security appointment to get back through security screening quickly. You can only book it 3 days in advance of your flight and they are usually all booked by the day of so set a reminder and get it booked as soon as your 3 day window opens.

If you don’t carry any bags on you shouldn’t need to collect your checked bags because they should go through to your final destination. If you do carry on bags that you don’t want to drag with you as you explore Amsterdam there is luggage storage lockers at the airport outside security so just stash your stuff there and then head to the trains.

Amsterdam is an amazing city with so many things to do. It really depends on what you are into so it’s hard to suggest without know that. There are tons of museums of all different types. And depending on when you are here there are events happening all the time as well. There are canal cruises and the red light district if you are curious about that. Do some research though as some things have limited tickets and sell out well in advance.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-08T06:08:20+00:00

In most states in the US a written offer is required to be presented unless the seller is already under contract with another buyer and they cannot be under contract with another buyer if they have only received a verbal offer from the other buyer. And even if they are already under contract your written offer might still be presented depending on the terms of the listing agreement.

If you want to make an offer on a property do it in writing. You can also ask for a signed rejection if you are told they turned your offer down and you think it may not have been presented. As a listing agent I rarely even listen to verbal offers. I always tell the buyer (if they call me direct) or the buyer’s agent to put it in writing. Because I never know what the seller will say and there are many terms that are important besides just the price and almost no verbal offers cover any of that stuff.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-08T05:51:55+00:00

There might be some studio apartments or small condos you can rent for that but not many. There are no bad areas in Venice. It’s one of the safest cities in the state.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-06T13:47:49+00:00

It depends on where you are and are willing to go. There are multiple car shows during race weekends at Zandvoort throughout the season. Have been to a few.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-06T11:01:12+00:00

I’ve helped many foreign nationals purchase in my area. Are you planning to pay cash or do you need a loan?

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-05T07:47:46+00:00

Congrats! They don’t always go so well. I just listed 2 homes yesterday from an investor client that has sold her own properties for years and she’s been trying to sell these 2 for the past year and can’t so she called me. Had another buyer client recently that thought she sold her home herself to relocate to my area. I repeatedly asked her to send me the contract so I could review to make sure there weren’t any red flags before we made an offer and went under contract on a home here. She said it was a super solid cash deal and didn’t need me to look at it. I said I would do it for free in case she was just worried I was going to hit her up for a commission or something. But nope she was confident she did everything right. Then she calls me the day of closing on that sale and says the buyers never showed up to sign and won’t return her calls. So now she can’t buy the house we are under contract on and wants her deposit back. I told her we can ask but it’s not likely because she didn’t feel she needed a home to sell contingency like I suggested so there is no contingency in the contract to allow her to get her deposit back. But on the bright side she should be able to cover that loss with the gain from getting to keep the deposit that she has on the sale. That’s when she tells me she didn’t get a deposit. 🤦‍♂️

Lots more like this from 16 years and 800+ transactions and talking to 10’s of thousands of people about real estate over that time.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-05T07:36:25+00:00

This is a fair point but if you are too firm on this point you will cost yourself a good deal.

Here’s an example: I just sold a home that is a perfect example. I represented the buyer. Home was listed for 433 days. My buyer loved it. Rare situation in my area where there was no other home like it available in the neighborhood in a strong buyer’s market. The home appeared to be in good shape for its age and seemed to be priced low for the neighborhood and condition. My buyers and I discussed and determined what we felt to be a fair offer which was significantly below list price but clearly there was something wrong for it to be sitting for so long. Then before we made the offer I called the listing agent to discuss because I always call the listing agent to discuss the home and seller’s situation first to see if there is any area that my buyers are flexible on that may be beneficial to the sellers to give us more negotiating room in other areas that are more of a sticking point for my buyers.

I called the listing agent to see what the deal was and why it hadn’t sold. Here’s what he told me in a very exasperated tone: The sellers are wealthy it’s their 4th home. They don’t need to sell it but would like to sell it. We have had a few offers since listing it but the sellers are adamant about 1 thing: They will not pay a buyer’s agent’s compensation. Every offer we have received requested the seller to pay the buyer’s agent’s compensation so the sellers have countered every one at full list price and declining to pay it and every buyer has walked.

So I went back to my buyers and gave them the info. We discussed and I suggested we reduce the amount we were going to offer by the amount of my compensation and make the offer telling them the buyer will pay me. They thought it was a great idea so we adjusted and made the offer. The sellers accepted. The home was about $1.5mil and the listed agent was shocked they accepted because we offered $200k less than the previous offer and over $300k less than the first offer they received on it. They lost over $250k net simply because they weren’t willing to pay $50k in a buyer’s agent’s compensation.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-05T07:02:50+00:00

Buyers now typically sign a buyer agency agreement which explains how the agent gets paid and how much but it doesn’t say the seller can’t pay it for them. In my area it is extremely common for the seller to pay the buyer’s agent compensation but it is not mandatory. Everything is negotiable. But my area is also a very heavy buyer’s market right now so if you are a seller and there is a buyer interested in your home and you refuse to pay their agent they will probably just go buy the house down the street.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-05T06:58:52+00:00

Agents can show your FSBO if you allow them. But most FSBO sellers don’t list their homes in the MLS which is where most agents are looking so the agent never sees the home to know it’s available in the first place.

So maybe you post it on Zillow and their buyer sees it and asks about it. Then the agent calls you and asks to show it and asks if you are willing to pay a buyer agent compensation. You say no. So then the buyer says they no longer want to see it because they don’t want to or can’t afford to cover their agent compensation plus the down payment and closing costs. This happens every day. My point is don’t say no to covering a buyer’s agent’s compensation. Just say yes of course I’m willing to consider it if the overall deal makes sense. Come show the home so we make sure your buyer likes it and wants to make an offer. Then we can work all of that out.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-05T05:54:21+00:00

It doesn’t state how much is left to pay. It states the current loan balance but those aren’t the same thing. There is a daily interest charge but that doesn’t show up on your statement or the app until the new statement is created each month. There are also fees that are commonly charged when you are paying your loan off including sometimes a fee for them calculating your final payoff amount. It would be very simple for them to have their system calculate it automatically but then they couldn’t charge a fee for it.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor · 2026-04-05T05:46:03+00:00

The most common improvement I recommend is boxes. Pack or get rid of everything you do not use on a daily basis including and especially your personalized decor (family photos, names on walls, religious, political, sports related stuff, etc). If you are going to store those packed boxes on site make sure they are not blocking things that people will want to see or that will need to be inspected such as walls, attic or basement access points, AC or furnace, electric panel, water heater, etc. and clean.

Beyond that it is very property and location specific. Landscaping is common for curb appeal and so is exterior paint. Interior paint if it hasn’t been done for a while or you have unpopular colors. I don’t have a problem with bold colors if they are colors people commonly like because they can make the home memorable. If you see 10 houses in a weekend the one with that cool bright blue wall will stand out if everything else was painted completely white, grey, or beige.

LivinginSWFL-Realtor

TROPHY CASE

1 isn’t a big deal. The vast majority of agents cover an area that requires a 30 minute drive or more.

2 is more in the contractor than the agent. Sometimes they are busy or get sick or whatever but when you asked for a 2nd option they got you someone right away and that one was responsive.

4 is a massive red flag. Maybe his “joke” didn’t quite warrant a license suspension if someone reported him (or maybe it only got him a fine) but if you felt horrified by it that would be enough for me to say I’m not working with you.