BiggerPockets

As a newbie Investor, what qualities do I need to look for in a Realtor? Maybe some experienced Realtors can shed some light as to what kind of service a new investor can expect to receive from a Realtor.

What services should I ask my Realtor to perform without being out of line and actually expect them to perform those services to earn my business?

What are BPO's? How do they differ from CMA's and ARV's?

Looking forward to your input.

Thanks,

Pierre

Jason,

I would want a Realtor to do CMA's and update me daily regarding any possible deals that fit my investing criteria. I would also think that having an experienced Realtor on my side that can spot flaws in properties, just based on their experience. Since I'm still new, maybe have the Realtor give a fair estimate of repairs that need to be done. Of course I know the Realtor is not a Home Inspector, Appraiser, Contractor, Etc. Etc. But I want to be able to ask the questions that can get me a Realtor that will go that extra mile to work for me.

As an Investor I would say that a Realtor in general is not looking for your best interests as they want to receive a commission from you.

Realtors know properties in the area or at least they should know them. Especially in these times, Buyers can expect that the part-time Realtors have taken other jobs and the experienced Realtors will work harder for their Clients. They should be looking out for my best interest because I may become a streaming source of income.

I will not fault you this time :D

I agree with you as well ... there are Realtors out there that just do as you said and don't waste their time to " help" someone if its not in their best interest, ie. commission. Some of these Realtors have been burn before. Working for little or no money is not fun most of the time. :D

How/What do I ask a Realtor to see if they are competent in investing? What qualities do you look for in a Realtor?

Jason - As a Realtor, What do you think your best qualities are?

Again thanks for your input

Pierre

Very good input BlueStarHomes.

What did you look for in the Realtor other than being young and Hungry? Don't you want a Realtor with experience?

I'm starting to understand your point. I'll take those two pennies and cash in. :D

thanks for your advice.

Any specific questions you think I should ask?

Good Advice OcBroker.

I appreciate your input on this topic.

As a Realtor, if you were approached by a new investor, would you give that new investor some of those good deals or would you have some obligation to first run those properties by your investors (ie. past clients)?

As a REI, wouldn't you want to act on these very good deals?

An experienced realtor that understands investing is probably going to be already working with investors. You may be able to find one like this to work with you, but in my head they aren't going to spend a lot of time with a green investor. My opinion.

I think this is why bluestarhomes chooses a young and hungry Realtor.

Pm_Broker

Not all realtors are investors. I would expect most young and hungry Realtors not to recognize a good deal. I would expect most experienced Realtors to send their good deals to previous clients.

I don't know ... just my opinion. I have a few choices either go with a green Realtor that may not be able to get me the best deal or go with an experienced Realtor that will most likely guide me in the right direction but not offer any real deals.

What do you think?

Random observations:

There are ethical and unethical people in every profession. An ethical RE agent can be a tremendous asset.

People deserve payment for services rendered.

People deserve Full payment for services rendered regardless of 'potential' future business.

All things being 'equal' - Knowledge and experience from an 'ethical' professional (in any field) trumps young, eager and hungry.

Money 'wisely' spent today will save you a fortune in mistakes later.

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Are there lazy, unethical RE agents whom you should avoid like the plague? Absolutely!

Are there hardworking, knowledgable, ethical agents who can and will save you a ton of money, time and aggrevation and be your best ally? You'd better believe it and you can take that one to the bank!

Are there investors who are unethical and take advantage of RE agent's time, knowledge and resources and then leave them high and dry? Yep... it happens.

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Consider this: " We teach people how to treat us."
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Analogy:

A person hears a strange sound coming from his car and brings it to a reputable mechanic and asks what is wrong. The mechanic takes time from his busy day to check it out; locates the problem and tells the person what needs to be done to correct it. The person thanks the mechanic and drives home where he proceeds to fix the car.

A week or two later the same person brings his car back to the mechanic with another issue... again the mechanic identifies the problem, tells him how to fix it and again the person goes home and fixes it himself.

Question: How long will it be until the mechanic stops taking time out of his busy schedule for this 'non-customer'?

Now, let's look at this same situation from a little different angle. Suppose the person leaves the vehicle for the mechanic to make the repair. When he returns to pick up his vehicle and pay for the repairs he says, " how about you give me a discount on this work you just performed and when I have problems in the future I'll bring my car back to you for repairs?"

Huh?! Nope... that's just not the way it works, does it? After all, the mechanic utilized his time, knowledge and skills and performed a service. Most people would agree that he deserves payment for those services without any discount based on any 'potential' future business.

Now, on the other hand if this car owner does continue to bring his car in for repairs and maintenance over a period of time it is very likely/probable that the mechanic will give him FREE advise and/or discounts in the future.

This is a timeless principle of life and business that is repeated time and again in all different venues/professions. Real estate is no different.
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Regarding an agent working with/for several different investors and being an investor himself -- We (my wife and I are agents and investors) have been working with several investors for a number of years and cannot recall even one time that there was any kind of conflict regarding a particular property.

The reason, I think, is because everyone's business model is a little different and everyone is on a little different schedule. Some like to purchase mid-range single family properties on the Westside; others want multiplexes on the Southside; etc, etc. Even if they/we are interested in the same 'type' of property, we are ready to purchase at different times.

Our 'practice' is to let our investors know of a property as soon as we know about it. They know that the best deals sell fast so they need to move pronto if they are interested. If none of them are interested and we are, then we make the bid for ourselves... however, if one of them wants it we ALWAYS back off. That's just good, ethical business in my opinion -- and it works for us!
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One final thought (sorry this is so lengthy) - while there are bad apples in every profession, it may be unwise and financially damaging to broad-brush any of them. If working without the help of a competent RE agent works for you, then that's great. However, don't make the mistake of ruling out the probability that a good agent is worth his weight in gold!

Here's wishing each of you the very best in 2008!!!

It's refreshing that you're being encouraged to use professionals in our business. Having been an agent for 4 years now, i haven't run across one yet (in our market) that i would depend on to bring me the hottest deals in a timely fashion, meaning within a couple of hours of being listed. If you don't believe that the best investors are working that quickly, you may as well pack it in.

you also must consider that someone is paying a licesnsed professional to perform these services for you. I can hear everyone now saying that the seller pays these fees....you're paying the seller so you may as well be picking up the tab yourself. In our market, a rule of thumb for buyer agency services is 3%...that can be the difference between taking a risk on a deal and not....

I understand Tim's hesitance to accept a lower commissions in exchange for your future business. I happened to turn wrenches professionally for 10 years and the analogy Tim made has little relivance as i worked 5 times harder for my wages as a mechanic. Many professional in this business, IMHO, feel that a handsom wage is a birth-right and they'll fight to educate the masses that taking a discount is a huge no no...

whatever!!! i'll take a lower commission in a second if i think i can sell 3 of your homes in a year and you have enough ability to produce. making a living is often a team effort but unfortnately, the investors around here with the real ability are....LICENSED AGENTS WORKING FOR THEMSELVES...go figure. if you can't find a realtor to work with you on their compensation, find another realtor.

Realtors are good at marketing your property on the back end but if you're depending on one to run your comps, provide you with info about the arera and the school districts etc, find your deal and help you get it closed, you won't be buying many deals because these are retail services....

point being, you should become a licensed agent if you plan on being successful.