As of January 1, 2020, every real estate wholesaler in Illinois is required by law to be a licensed real estate agent. As you can imagine this has caused quite a stir in the real estate investing community. Wholesalers are coming out and accusing the Realtor lobby and the state of Illinois of a money grab. Others say the wholesaler community has brought this on themselves by their repeated lack of professionalism and willingness on the whole to take advantage of homeowners. Coming up in a few minutes I have Bob Floss the Second, a lawyer from Chicago who has extensive experience and practice in real estate law and even has his own YouTube channel. We are going to talk about this development.
When you combine this law with the recent NAR ruling that all licensed Realtors can no longer carry pocket listings but all properties must appear on the MLS within 24 hours, they are possibly are undermining the entire business model of the wholesaling industry. And before you shrug and say, “well that’s the Democratic Republic of Illinois – I’m not moving there and it doesn’t affect me.” I would have you know that lawmakers in other states are paying attention and the issues are not different in those other states. This law is very possibly coming your way soon.
Shut up and Dribble.
When I was in college, I had a class called Persuasive Speaking. This was a part of my double major in Speech Communications and Theology. We learned the principles of rhetoric as it is formally known, studied great persuasive speeches in history and then wrote and delivered our own. It was nerve wracking and difficult. The professor was extremely difficult to impress and for this I’m grateful. As a part of the course we surveyed the rules of logic. It was not a course in logic – that would be later on. But we were expected to understand and apply the basics.
For one of my assignments I delivered a speech on an alternative cancer treatment. During the speech I quoted a nationally known politician speaking favorably about the treatment and encouraging the FDA to approve it. That move got me a C on this assignment. Why? I appealed to authority, which is a good move, but the authority was not qualified to speak on the subject. Why? The politician was not a scientist or a doctor and his opinion on the treatment was not based on any scientific process or clinical study. Obviously I’ve never forgotten the lesson I learned.
Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion. And each person is, in this country free to share his or her opinion with whomever will listen. That doesn’t mean the person, no matter how famous or well-loved is informed, intelligent, or correct. It ONLY means they have the ear of a lot of people. For example, there are those in our society who have a special ability to run very fast while bouncing a ball on the floor, jumping very high and throwing that ball into a hoop. Of course I’m talking about basketball. The NBA has about 400 of the best in the world at this special skill. Believe me when I say it’s a lot harder than they make it look. It truly is a special and marvelous skill. But the mere fact that a person possesses this special skill does not guarantee that they are smart, that they ever think things through, or even know how to read. In fact many of them, if not most barely have a high school education. And that’s ok. They have a skill that will enable them to make millions. And they are entitled to their opinion. But I’m not obligated to take their opinion seriously, unless its about their area of expertise. There are others whose special skill is convincingly pretending to be someone else. I’m talking about actors. This is far more difficult than you could imagine and those who are truly proficient in this are rare indeed. But the ability to pretend to be someone else and recite clever lines someone else has written, or even ad lib your own, does not make that person an authority on anything other than their area of expertise – pretending to be someone else. And now I’m going to prove to you that being a great athlete or actor does not automatically make you smart. If you’re smart you know that the public is about evenly divided in the political debate. You should also know that if you publicly express your political opinions you are going to alienate about half of the population. And if you were truly smart, you would know that although you have a right to express yourself, doing so might be a bad business decision. The fact that so many actors and athletes now feel it is their duty to express their thoughts about issues unrelated to their expertise and genuinely believe people should listen to them simply because they are famous reveals precisely how smart they are NOT.
You are all entitled to your opinion. You are all entitled to express it. But NO ONE is obligated to take you seriously.
On the other hand, I have my own special skill. I think and talk for a living. I research, study, analyze, consider history, ponder possibilities, and express these things as a part of my career. I know a few people who think my skills in this are at an elite level. If you should listen to ANYONE who wants to express their thoughts, it seems like you should listen to someone who actually thinks at a high level for a living, right? But even then, you will notice that I studiously avoid political debate on this show. Why do I do that? Because a) this show is not about politics and 2) I see no reason to alienate half of y’all. I realize that the occasional expression of my faith may be off-putting, but I’m pretty sure I’m don’t take an “in-your-face” type posture about any of this. Why? Because I’m not here to fight. I’m here to inform, inspire, and entertain.
So the next time you see some outrageous or provocative comment from someone famous, ask yourself whether this person has the standing or authority to speak knowledgeably on the subject.
You’ve heard the expression “haters gonna hate”? Well here’s a corallary to it: “Dummies gonna dumb”. Then let it go.
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News:
Topic: Wholesaling and Licensing, with Bob Floss, Chicago area attorney
Your Questions
Rhonda, Pottstown, PA. “I’m about to buy my first rental. There’s a guy at the local REIA who says he can do rental loans. Why wouldn’t I just go to my bank and get the loan?”
Geraldine, Villages of Ocala, FL “How many properties to I need to own in order to retire? I have three.”
Vince, Covington, GA, “Looking at a deal right now. The guy wants $160,000. He’s pretty much finished the rehab. It just needs appliances, which I can put in for about $3,000. The ARV is $180,000. Is this too tight? I want to wholesale it.”
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Motivational Thoughts for the day
- “Being realistic is the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity.” Will Smith
Expected Air Date: Monday 1/11/20
Guest: Bob Floss