My first assignment came out of a one-page form I made the buyer fill in
I don't like doing anything without paper, so before I looked at a single house I sat down with a buyer who owns maybe fourteen rentals in older working class blocks and made him fill in a form. Nine lines. Zip codes he actually buys in, max purchase price, minimum bed and bath, what he'll tolerate on roof and foundation, whether he'll take an occupied unit, how he pays, how fast he closes, which title company he uses, what he will never touch.
He filled it in wrong twice. First he wrote "any zip in the county," then crossed it out and named four. That correction was worth the whole meeting, because the four zips he named are about a fifth of the county.
Then I went looking, and it took five weeks. A 3/1, about 1,050 square feet, kitchen from the seventies, owner had inherited it from an aunt and wanted it gone. Under contract at 84,000, 21 day close, 500 earnest deposit. His form said up to 92 all in on those blocks, so I called him and said 87,500. He walked it the next morning and signed the assignment that afternoon. Fee 3,500.
The part that nearly killed it: title search found an unpaid city water balance and a sewer lateral lien from a prior owner, about 1,900 together. The seller swore it was settled years ago and stalled four days because she thought someone was trying to cheat her. Title paid it out of proceeds once she signed off. Closed day 19.
What I keep is the form. I never advertised anything and never put the contract anywhere public. I made one phone call to a man whose numbers were already written down in front of me.