Lost deal due possibly to Inadequate Realtor?

Lost deal due possibly to Inadequate Realtor?

Jeremy Hostetler

Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes

Greetings,
I am looking for some advice and recommendations.

Scenario:
- Hour 2: Me: Found a duplex on Zillow
o Me: Ran the numbers, ran numbers again and analyzed the deal based on the best case and worst case
- Hour 4: Me: Sent property to the realtor
- Hour 5: Realtor “Looks good, when do you want to see it” Me: ASAP
- Hour 8: Me: I conduct a drive-by of property and neighborhood
- Day 2: Me: “When can I see it?”
- Day 3: Realtor: “I will reach out today to set it up”
- Day 4-8: Realtor: “Waiting to hear back”
- Day 9: Property: Pending offer….NOT FROM ME
- Day 9: Realtor: “If the owner was working a deal he could have ignored me, this **** happens. This has happened a few times to me”

He helped me purchase my current residence I'm currently living in with no issues. Claims he is interested in investing in Buy and Hold MFR as well. I just found out he has a second job during the winter managing an apartment complex.

I believe I have become too friendly with him. However, just to ensure I’m not being negative with unreal expectations, what does the BP Community think?

32 views

Most Popular Reply

Russell Gronsky

Specialist · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 384 posts · 318 votes

7y

@Jeremy Hostetler, cut this guy and move on. He said he will call the listing agent today...and that was day 3 after you made contact with him about the property? Unacceptable!

Real Estate Investing is a business...no matter if it's buy/hold, flipping or otherwise. Your team has to be on-the-ball.

A rock star agent makes you feel like they work 24/7. You may not always be talking to them specifically but their office teams are on point, executing on your agent's behalf when he/she is unavailable and providing you with periodic updates on the status of something without you asking them. They just do it because that's how efficient, successful, high-power teams operate.

I can understand if your offer doesn't get accepted because someone outbid you, but if your agent is too slow (3 days to reach out to the listing agent), that is unacceptable, no matter how you look at it. This means you lost the race because you were never in the race to begin with.

See this reply in the discussion

31 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Brian Ellis
Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Whatever he does outside of being a sales-person, is irrelevant to you. If you feel like he dropped the ball then I would just move on to someone else. I wouldn't be happy if my agent waited a day to reply to me, that phone call should have been made to the listing agent the same day you showed interest (at least that's what id expect).
He is right though, a lot of the times listing agents will ignore calls, especially in a market that's hot where they are receiving great offers within hours of it being listed. Many times ive called listing agents myself, numerous times, with no response.
1 Reply
Austin Andrews
Real Estate Broker · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2018 · 101 posts · 85 votes
7y
Personally, I would find someone who will put in the time to get the job done. I never treat my clients as "clients", because they aren't. They are essentially my boss, and can fire me if they aren't happy with my performance. With that being said, if there are plenty of deals out there, try him again (If you want). If this was a homerun opportunity that he missed out on, fire him and find a new realtor. If they can't respond to you within the hour with an answer, move on.
IMO: If he has a second job, he isn't an expert at what he does. Find an expert.
0 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Brian Ellis
Thank you for your feedback. The issue with "what he does outside of being a sales-person" is I don't know if him working for an apartment complex means he can't make phone calls to a seller during his secondary job. Thank you for your insight.
0 Reply
Dennis Maynard
Real Estate Broker · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2018 · 300 posts · 146 votes
7y
Most brokers do stuff outside of their agent activities. This is normal. The fact that he is managing apartments for additional income is normal, and a good sign. It means he is active. That said, yes, I have had other brokers not return my calls for showings and listings. Sometimes it is due to multiple offers, others just laziness on the part of the other broker. If the calls and effort are being made, then it's really not his fault. I would give him the benefit of the doubt. If it becomes a habit, raise the issue, then last find a different broker.
You are going to loose deals. It's going to happen. Just accept it an move on.
1 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Austin Andrews Thank you for your recommendation. This was a homerun deal and I feel like I missed out. However, this would have been my first investment property and maybe I'm feeling to attached, which I shouldn't do.
0 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Dennis Maynard Thank you for your feedback and insight!
0 Reply
Brian Ellis
Rental Property Investor · South shore, MA · Member since 2017 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Jeremy Hostetler:

@Brian Ellis
Thank you for your feedback. The issue with "what he does outside of being a sales-person" is I don't know if him working for an apartment complex means he can't make phone calls to a seller during his secondary job. Thank you for your insight.
How hard is it to make a phone call though? Just because he or anyone else has a second job, doesn't mean they cant be a good RE agent. Rather than digging into the "reason" behind missing out on a deal, get busy finding the next one with a new agent.
Good luck on your hunting!
1 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Brian Ellis Good point and will do!
1 Reply
Brad Cornell
Rental Property Investor · Northfield, MN · Member since 2017 · 20 posts · 11 votes
7y
@jeremy
@Jeremy Hostetler this definitely something that I myself and I'm sure many others have dealt with. The way I see it there are two main reasons for it 1) you need to fire your realtor. That our you need to have a hard conversation with him/her about your goals and expectations, especially when the market is this hot and competitive. Remember that they work for you and not the other way around. 2) There just isn't much inventory right now which has driven up competition. I just had a property yesterday that popped up on the MLS and I looked at it almost immediately, sure enough it was already under contract. Why you may ask? Because the listing agent pre-sold it before putting it on the MLS.
With all that said, I want to emphasize the importance of having a really good agent and communicating clearly with them what your goals and expectations are. Secondly, the importance of personal brand and networking is king in today's market. If people know you, what you're looking for, and the like you, you'll get the deals.
2 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Brad Cornell Thank you so much for the helpful feedback. I will make sure I am crystal clear with my expectations. I am new to the industry and plan on working on my personal brand. Thanks again!
0 Reply
Bob Woelfel
Investor/Agent · Kansas City, MO · Member since 2017 · 291 posts · 308 votes
7y
This is a tough one and I can see both sides. You're absolutely right that after you responded you wanted to see it ASAP he should have called to set it up. It doesn't say specifically if this was an MLS listing, FSBO, vacant or occupied so I don't know the details of the listing/property situation. With that said, you'd be amazed at how often I don't hear back from agents on the other side. It's unfortunate because it makes it seem like you're not doing your job, but it's sometimes one of the most head scratching parts of the job.
Being an investor and an agent I get it from both sides. I always ask myself what I can do to be better when things don't go the way I would like. What I would suggest to you is this. If you haven't already, make sure you're agent has a pre-approval letter or POF funds from you. Make sure he has an idea of what exactly you are looking for so if he finds it or if you find it he knows that you are serious and can perform. If you have already done this then congrats. I can't tell you how to move forward with this agent, but I can say that this won't be the last deal you lose. Just try to keep moving forward, with or without him.
1 Reply
Jim S.
Flipper/Rehabber · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2018 · 80 posts · 51 votes
7y
@jeremy Hostetler Giving your realtor the benefit of the doubt, it still seems to me that at bare minimum he should have kept you in the loop as to what was going on (the listing agent wasn't returning his calls) and also let you know the possible reasons why (multiple offers, etc.). Just because there maybe was poor communication from the listing agent doesn't mean that your realtor shouldn't have been replying to you in a timely manner. The property management gig isn't 24/7 so at some point in the day or evening he should have been able to let you know what was going on.
0 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Bob Woelfel Thank you Bob for giving your view on both sides. I posted to try and clear up both sides of the story. He does have my pre-approval. However, I am learning the fact that deals come and go. This is a learning curve and it just spike upward for me.
0 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Jim S. Thank you Jim for your take and I agree!
0 Reply
Scott Anderson
Rental Property Investor · AZ · Member since 2018 · 212 posts · 183 votes
7y
Next time make an offer immediately. Then use due diligence period to check it out.
You two can also just go door knocking. “Sorry we don’t have an appointment we were driving by, would we be able to see your home now or can we swing back in 15 minutes?”
If your agent won’t do this, they aren’t motivated. I hate doing it but it works.
1 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Scott Anderson Thats interesting. I believe most listings say please don't disturb tenants / occupants. Do you still go knocking if it says this?
0 Reply
Scott Anderson
Rental Property Investor · AZ · Member since 2018 · 212 posts · 183 votes
7y
Originally posted by @Jeremy Hostetler:

@Scott Anderson Thats interesting. I believe most listings say please don't disturb tenants / occupants. Do you still go knocking if it says this?
No, that's when you use the offer first method.
0 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Scott Anderson Thank you for clarifying this for me.
0 Reply
Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
7y
@Scott Anderson your correct this buyer is new.. and does not realize that investors dont look at income property the same way a homeowner does.
first thing drive by if it looks good at the curb make offer.
Only go into the property when your with the home inspector.. thats the only time you need to see the interior.
Now i get it for houses hackers they may want to look inside.. but when I was doing some brokering or when my wife does we tell buyers up front there is no disturbing the tenant multiple times just once at inspection.
your not going to buy it without an inspection.. your just kicking tires trying to look at income property without having it in contract sub too due diligence
Podcast Guest on Show #222
JLH Capital Partners51 Review
Website View Page
3 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
I will not be house hacking and I like this idea of drive by and then submit an offer. Thank you for this insight.
0 Reply
Frank Wong
Real Estate Broker · Bay Area · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Hi Jeremy,
How many days on market has this been listed when you saw it and initiated the call with your agent? If it's been 7+ days it could be in the contract already. A lot of times on a hot property they go fast. I know when I buy, I put offers within 24hrs of it hitting the market.
Like @Brian Ellis said many listing agents will ignore calls. Most likely there is a ratified contract already and they just won't return calls. In my area, this is very common. I know it's not professional but this is part of the game. But for your timeline of asking your agent "When Can I see it?" to 4-8 days of hearing back. That's a long time. Your agent should have been able to find out if it was in contract or if no response just asked you to submit a contingent offer.
1 Reply
Kyle J.
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
7y
I wouldn't be so quick to place all the blame on your agent. If it was a "homerun deal" the listing agent was probably inundated with calls/offers and didn't bother returning any calls or feel he had to show the property to sell it. Happens all the time.
Most investors (myself included) wouldn't have waited and would have just submitted an offer without needing to see the inside (but subject to inspection).
1 Reply
Jeremy Hostetler
OP
Rental Property Investor · Tacoma, WA · Member since 2019 · 43 posts · 12 votes
7y
@Frank Wong I contacted my agent within 5 hours of it being listed. I will use the faster contingent offers from now on. Thank you for your insight.
0 Reply
Caleb Heimsoth
Rental Property Investor · Durham, NC · Member since 2016 · 7k+ posts · 7k+ votes
7y
@Jeremy Hostetler. I would say your realtor doesn’t seem to have much experience with investors and you probably need a new realtor, one with such experience. It’s not a big deal he has another job.
You also need to realize though that good deals go fast so you need to understand what’s a good deal and what isn’t. When you find a deal, make it happen, often if that’s on your own.
I’ve done deals with and without realtors. There are pros and cons to both. I don’t have a preference one way or the other.
0 Reply
Frank Wong
Real Estate Broker · Bay Area · Member since 2018 · 1k+ posts · 3k+ votes
7y
Originally posted by @Jeremy Hostetler:

@Frank Wong I contacted my agent within 5 hours of it being listed. I will use the faster contingent offers from now on. Thank you for your insight.
That's fast. Sounds like an issue with your agent. You need to investigate further.
0 Reply

Join the conversationCreate a free account to reply, vote on answers and follow this thread.

Log In Join for Free