BiggerPockets

I would have to say the time/effort/energy would be better spent elsewhere.

good luck,

Tommy

I'm going to come out of left field and go against my normal recommendations here and say it's worth it in 'most' cases.

I used to do this a lot when I didn't have a pipeline. Of course it's much better to deal with homeowners directly.

Here's exactly how I would do it.

I would call up a listing agent that had a short sale and ask them if they've received any offers on the property yet. Of course they would say 'No' b/c so many of them do it the wrong way. I would ask them if they would like an offer on the property, guess what they would say?

I would then tell them that I was an investor interested in making an offer on this property they had listed only if I was able to negotiate the deal myself. I would tell them it was nothing against them but if I were to use my own money I would obviously feel comfortable being in control. I would point out the benefit that they wouldn't have to worry themselves with the tedious work as I knew they were trained to get more listings so it worked for the both of us. I never actually had money when I was doing this so I would tell them that I would need all offers sent to me instead of the bank and that we would just do a double close.

Some baulked, some were receptive, some got hung up on and some got my time. More importantly the some of them earned commissions I would bet that they wouldn't have gotten if it weren't for me.

For me cold calling these listing agents were no big deal to me, I'd go through 5 or 6 before I'd get one, but I could guarantee that I could get a new short sale deal every single day by cold calling. I haven't had to cold call Realtors as of late, but if you seriously want to fill your pipeline QUICKLY then consider cold calling these listing agents.

You'll have to be very good at closing the Agent though but once you do and you actually close a handful of deals you won't have to be cold calling anyone anymore and your pipeline will stay full.

Thanks for the butt kissing Lance :mrgreen:

More importantly, thank you for your service to our great country!

To answer your questions.

Yes, it is a great way to quickly fill your pipeline and yes, you are correct to say the hardest part is to find agents willing to work with you. Most agents are incapable of thinking outside of the box and fail to see the benefits of working with investors. You just gotta keep moving on until you find one that is smart enough to see the value you bring to the relationship.

I do keep everything with the same agent. When I come in as the buyer, I have the listing agent rep me as the buyer on the A-B side so they get 6% of a smaller amount which usually ends up being more than 3% of the larger amount IF and only IF they were able to sell it retail. The bank pays for their commission anyways so I don't personally care because I'm not actually paying them the 6%. Some agents will pull the 'Its unethical to dual rep' card. That's an opinion of the agent, obviously the seller doesn't give a crap, all they want to do is sell the house, of course I don't care! I'm making a boatload of money from it.

The same agent then lists the property for me on the B-C side collecting another 3%. I do this by having the seller give me permission to re-list the property for profit prior to COE. This way, I can get an end buyer lined up to double close.

Lastly, I make the agent do everything. I make them get the info needed from the seller because they've already built a relationship with the seller and sellers generally do whatever their agent tells them to do which of course I think is completely retarded unless it's benefiting me :mrgreen: which in this case it is.

Again, thanks for the butt kissing, I'm glad someone likes me :cool:

Hey Nick.. couple of questions for you my man
1) do you add yourself to the original listing agreement that the agent had with the home owner? I mean it will be the home owner AND Nick on the listing agreement. If so, do you withdraw that listing and start over with you on it and the home owner? OR it is just you on the listing agreement and by doing that you withdraw the old listing and then relist it with you on the listing agreement this time?
2) When you submit the short sale package to the lender, they want to see the listing agreement. Do you send the listing agreement with just YOU or the one with just the home owner OR the home owner and you on it?
I know the option contract gives you the right to sell and market, but I want to know what is the right way to do that from a realtor's perspective

If the agent is just being facilitator (better legally here than dual agency) on the A to B and being able to close both sides, but then when they represent the investor on the B to C, wouldn't the agent have to relist the home to be able to have a new listing agreement to represent you in the B to C?
It is a bit confusing how one listing (1 MLS number) can go through A to B to C with the same agent. Clarification on these steps will be of great help !!! Nickster!! LOL

PS: I forgot to add that if you find the end buyer before the bank approves your investor offer, then you can't withdraw and relist.. or you've done this?

I'm not sure I have a bad side so you're good there. I just like actually doing deals with others that are not time wasters. I find value in helping others help myself.


Another question, assuming you are using the agents standard PSA, what additional clauses/ disclosures/ addendums if any do you use to ensure transparency as well as cover yourself legally? I'm assuming the contract is subject to bank approval, anything else needed?

Thanks again

the biggest one I use if an agent is involved on the A-B side and I'm using a standard PSA is an addendum that the seller gives me permission to re-list the property for a profit.