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 shit 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?

@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

@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.

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

@Brian Ellis Good point and will do!

Lost deal due possibly to Inadequate Realtor?

Jeremy Hostetler

OP

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

7y

Agreed and thank you! I am finding that out.

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Pratik P.

Flipper/Rehabber · Sacramento, CA · Member since 2016 · 807 posts · 815 votes

7y

I think you and your agent need to be more aggressive when you're going after a good property on the MLS. I recently listed a fixer upper in a good area with my agent and he was FLOODED with phone calls, texts, emails. I know because he was sitting right next to me for most of that week. We immediately disregarded people who wanted to see the property because we were getting written no contingency cash offers.

Like a few suggested, maybe do a quick drive by and put in a written offer with a solid EMD (10k or something) and a short due diligence period.

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Russell Gronsky

Specialist · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 388 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.

4 Reply

Bill Plymouth

Real Estate Agent · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2018 · 416 posts · 396 votes

7y

@Jeremy Hostetler Realtor should have attempted to schedule same day. If you sent the property late at night, he should have called first thing in the morning. In this regard, I do believe he dropped the ball.

As an agent, there have been times where I have called agents/owners inquiring about a property only to see the property has pended a few hours or even a few days after my call. Sometimes, people just don't feel the need to respond if they are already working on getting a deal pended. I don't agree with this philosophy, but it happens!

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Aaron Gordy

Real Estate Broker · Austin, TX · Member since 2012 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

7y

That sucks. If you feel like you were not adequately represented and you lost out on a deal then you should fire him. It could be the kick in the pants to get him to be more productive with other folks and a blessing in disguise. There are always deals out there for the keen observer, though. Don't stress.

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Jeremy Hostetler

OP

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

7y

Thank you all for the amazing perspective. I have learned a few good tips. Mainly, how I need to view properties, making quick offers, and what I need to do with my realtor.

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Lost deal due possibly to Inadequate Realtor?

Lost deal due possibly to Inadequate Realtor?

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