BiggerPockets

I'm curious how many people use a Buyers Agent to flip REO's instead of going directly through the Listing Agent? If so, are you having success?

I'm NOT trying to go the route of making 100's of lowball offers and burning out a realtor...I know a buyers agent that is ok with wholesaling and basically just wants to get deals done. Before talking to him I was curious if anyone has had success going that route.

Jeff

You're not crazy, Dwight, you had a bad agent.

I do use an my own agent to make offers like this. Perhaps it makes my offers less attractive, but I have managed to get a couple of good deals. Its a ton of work, even so, and I do wonder if the REO agent do hand off their better deals to their direct investors and take both sides of the commission.

I literally just got off the phone with a "buyers agent" to put in 9 of my offers today...

Let me give you my experience. I first worked with his partner which is my brothers friend... he didnt want to work so he passed me off to his understudy agent who's been an agent longer than him? anyway.... So i went out the last week and met all these investors in a target area. talked to them on what they want, what they paid, i even had the list of cash purchases from the last 2 months. thats how i knew where they were.

then i got an reo list. figured out what things are selling for retail and i knew what investors paid. It came out to an average of $71 per sq ft. just because a few sold for more but most sold between 60-70k. 3/1/1 and 3/2/1 or 2.

I take the list and drive around all day yesterday (by the way the guy wouldnt show me properties? probably cause he didnt have faith already) to look in windows and see what kind of damage was done on the homes. Most needed atleast 20k in work! floors along would be $5k and then you have the cabinets, paint in AND out. all appliances and counter tops.

i sent him the list of how much i wanted to offer on each, proof of funds for each, and what to put in the addendum. Well he emailed me with each property i felt was kind of rude. Putting things like SOLD at list price. Most people wouldnt take it that way. Well i knew, because then he called. he also sent along a list of properties that sold in the last 6 months.

Well i looked over the list and the entire first page had 50 properties that sold under 78k to 45k!! my offers were all at 50-70k depending on the property. WELL there was another page where you start to get to conventional buys and FHA buyers where it goes to 150K.

he tries to tell me im "Crazy" because my offers are 50-70% of list price. Then tries to say look at the properties they all sold withing 80% of list price and most around 100%. and a good amount over. But the probelm was he was comparing a property the bank lists at 50k and sells for 50k or 51k and then a property listed at 100k and sold conventional for 100k. So this makes every property thats listed worth 100% of list price.

How could this be? Whats that have to do with it i said? then i said, ok so if i had a 3/1/1 at 1000 sq ft completely remodeled what would you list it at there? 125-135k? he agreed. SO why would i buy a house listed at 116-125k that needs so much work? Why would any investor?

he went on to say show me a property that sold for 50-70 of list price! IT DOESNT MATTER is what i was trying to tell him because i could simply list a property at 126k that needs 20k in work and only worth 130k and im suppose to pay 126k? or even 80% at 107k.. How does that work for an investor? Then he tried to tell me its not an investor area and like almost 1 or 4 houses has been rehabbed. and there is contractor after contractor there workin on flips that i drove around and met!!!

So basically he thinks my offers are out of whack because the places i offered on arent 100% of list price. So he said if he could get them at 50-70% of list then he would be buying to. So i told him no, he wouldn't be able to get them, because he wouldnt try. So we parted ways and LUCKLY i found a broker here im looking to work with thats working on reo flips too! FINALLY!!! i just waiting on the DRE for my paper so i can take my test to be an agent and for not i hope to work with her since she understands and is doing the same thing PLUS give me access to the MLS and properties.

I would suggest you either find a broker that IS an investor and has done fix and flips OR be an agent yourself. Otherwise use a listing agent. Sometimes they wont put in your offer though because they say the bank wont take it. Dont know if its ever true or not but its better than the pitch of a buyers agent that you need someone to negotiate because the listing agents wont give you the best price.....

Lol please someone tell me im not crazy? would you buy a house that needs a ton of work and is only worth 125k but you have to buy then sell to a rehabber via back to back for 90k? including all your holding costs?

then its like shameful if i build in the "cost of money" because it drives my price lower to buy at if i sold to someone that is using hard money. I had to tell him there is always a cost to money. No matter what. Right?

I literally just got off the phone with a "buyers agent" to put in 9 of my offers today...

Let me give you my experience. I first worked with his partner which is my brothers friend... he didnt want to work so he passed me off to his understudy agent who's been an agent longer than him? anyway.... So i went out the last week and met all these investors in a target area. talked to them on what they want, what they paid, i even had the list of cash purchases from the last 2 months. thats how i knew where they were.

then i got an reo list. figured out what things are selling for retail and i knew what investors paid. It came out to an average of $71 per sq ft. just because a few sold for more but most sold between 60-70k. 3/1/1 and 3/2/1 or 2.

I take the list and drive around all day yesterday (by the way the guy wouldnt show me properties? probably cause he didnt have faith already) to look in windows and see what kind of damage was done on the homes. Most needed atleast 20k in work! floors along would be $5k and then you have the cabinets, paint in AND out. all appliances and counter tops.

i sent him the list of how much i wanted to offer on each, proof of funds for each, and what to put in the addendum. Well he emailed me with each property i felt was kind of rude. Putting things like SOLD at list price. Most people wouldnt take it that way. Well i knew, because then he called. he also sent along a list of properties that sold in the last 6 months.

Well i looked over the list and the entire first page had 50 properties that sold under 78k to 45k!! my offers were all at 50-70k depending on the property. WELL there was another page where you start to get to conventional buys and FHA buyers where it goes to 150K.

he tries to tell me im "Crazy" because my offers are 50-70% of list price. Then tries to say look at the properties they all sold withing 80% of list price and most around 100%. and a good amount over. But the probelm was he was comparing a property the bank lists at 50k and sells for 50k or 51k and then a property listed at 100k and sold conventional for 100k. So this makes every property thats listed worth 100% of list price.

How could this be? Whats that have to do with it i said? then i said, ok so if i had a 3/1/1 at 1000 sq ft completely remodeled what would you list it at there? 125-135k? he agreed. SO why would i buy a house listed at 116-125k that needs so much work? Why would any investor?

he went on to say show me a property that sold for 50-70 of list price! IT DOESNT MATTER is what i was trying to tell him because i could simply list a property at 126k that needs 20k in work and only worth 130k and im suppose to pay 126k? or even 80% at 107k.. How does that work for an investor? Then he tried to tell me its not an investor area and like almost 1 or 4 houses has been rehabbed. and there is contractor after contractor there workin on flips that i drove around and met!!!

So basically he thinks my offers are out of whack because the places i offered on arent 100% of list price. So he said if he could get them at 50-70% of list then he would be buying to. So i told him no, he wouldn't be able to get them, because he wouldnt try. So we parted ways and LUCKLY i found a broker here im looking to work with thats working on reo flips too! FINALLY!!! i just waiting on the DRE for my paper so i can take my test to be an agent and for not i hope to work with her since she understands and is doing the same thing PLUS give me access to the MLS and properties.

I would suggest you either find a broker that IS an investor and has done fix and flips OR be an agent yourself. Otherwise use a listing agent. Sometimes they wont put in your offer though because they say the bank wont take it. Dont know if its ever true or not but its better than the pitch of a buyers agent that you need someone to negotiate because the listing agents wont give you the best price.....

Lol please someone tell me im not crazy? would you buy a house that needs a ton of work and is only worth 125k but you have to buy then sell to a rehabber via back to back for 90k? including all your holding costs?

then its like shameful if i build in the "cost of money" because it drives my price lower to buy at if i sold to someone that is using hard money. I had to tell him there is always a cost to money. No matter what. Right?

I literally just got off the phone with a "buyers agent" to put in 9 of my offers today...

Let me give you my experience. I first worked with his partner which is my brothers friend... he didnt want to work so he passed me off to his understudy agent who's been an agent longer than him? anyway.... So i went out the last week and met all these investors in a target area. talked to them on what they want, what they paid, i even had the list of cash purchases from the last 2 months. thats how i knew where they were.

then i got an reo list. figured out what things are selling for retail and i knew what investors paid. It came out to an average of $71 per sq ft. just because a few sold for more but most sold between 60-70k. 3/1/1 and 3/2/1 or 2.

I take the list and drive around all day yesterday (by the way the guy wouldnt show me properties? probably cause he didnt have faith already) to look in windows and see what kind of damage was done on the homes. Most needed atleast 20k in work! floors along would be $5k and then you have the cabinets, paint in AND out. all appliances and counter tops.

i sent him the list of how much i wanted to offer on each, proof of funds for each, and what to put in the addendum. Well he emailed me with each property i felt was kind of rude. Putting things like SOLD at list price. Most people wouldnt take it that way. Well i knew, because then he called. he also sent along a list of properties that sold in the last 6 months.

Well i looked over the list and the entire first page had 50 properties that sold under 78k to 45k!! my offers were all at 50-70k depending on the property. WELL there was another page where you start to get to conventional buys and FHA buyers where it goes to 150K.

he tries to tell me im "Crazy" because my offers are 50-70% of list price. Then tries to say look at the properties they all sold withing 80% of list price and most around 100%. and a good amount over. But the probelm was he was comparing a property the bank lists at 50k and sells for 50k or 51k and then a property listed at 100k and sold conventional for 100k. So this makes every property thats listed worth 100% of list price.

How could this be? Whats that have to do with it i said? then i said, ok so if i had a 3/1/1 at 1000 sq ft completely remodeled what would you list it at there? 125-135k? he agreed. SO why would i buy a house listed at 116-125k that needs so much work? Why would any investor?

he went on to say show me a property that sold for 50-70 of list price! IT DOESNT MATTER is what i was trying to tell him because i could simply list a property at 126k that needs 20k in work and only worth 130k and im suppose to pay 126k? or even 80% at 107k.. How does that work for an investor? Then he tried to tell me its not an investor area and like almost 1 or 4 houses has been rehabbed. and there is contractor after contractor there workin on flips that i drove around and met!!!

So basically he thinks my offers are out of whack because the places i offered on arent 100% of list price. So he said if he could get them at 50-70% of list then he would be buying to. So i told him no, he wouldn't be able to get them, because he wouldnt try. So we parted ways and LUCKLY i found a broker here im looking to work with thats working on reo flips too! FINALLY!!! i just waiting on the DRE for my paper so i can take my test to be an agent and for not i hope to work with her since she understands and is doing the same thing PLUS give me access to the MLS and properties.

I would suggest you either find a broker that IS an investor and has done fix and flips OR be an agent yourself. Otherwise use a listing agent. Sometimes they wont put in your offer though because they say the bank wont take it. Dont know if its ever true or not but its better than the pitch of a buyers agent that you need someone to negotiate because the listing agents wont give you the best price.....

Lol please someone tell me im not crazy? would you buy a house that needs a ton of work and is only worth 125k but you have to buy then sell to a rehabber via back to back for 90k? including all your holding costs?

then its like shameful if i build in the "cost of money" because it drives my price lower to buy at if i sold to someone that is using hard money. I had to tell him there is always a cost to money. No matter what. Right?