Do real estate agents like working with investors?

Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2016 · 39 posts · 11 votes

So I'm currently in the process of searching for a real estate agent in the Vegas area and would like some advice on how to vet an investor friendly agent. I'm having trouble seeing the incentive for agents wanting to work with a person who will most likely submit numerous reasonable, albeit low-ball offers. Any advice?

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Joe Facenda

Realtor / Investor · Vienna, VA · Member since 2014 · 133 posts · 114 votes

This is a great question as folks sometimes equate "investor friendly" with a willingness to submit dozens of low ball offers. I don't.

Let's look at it logically. There is only so much time in a week. If an agent has the time to submit dozens of lowball offers in a week, what does that say about their business model and production level? They obviously aren't that busy which leads a client to wonder why. A new agent without a large client base? Perhaps that can be good because they are hungry but do you prefer experience or hunger? No right or wrong answer but know a knowledgeable, experienced, respected agent does not have time to write a dozens of offers a week.

To me investor friendly means they understand the market and investors. They can recognize good deals and see where possible deals may exist vs shooting in the dark. Let me say a good investor friendly agent can use a sniper rifle instead of a shotgun.

The shotgun approach is for marketing, not contract writing.

When I work with rehabbers, I do not demand an exclusive buyer agency agreement. That would be selfish of me. I have them sign an agreement that states any property I present they will work with me on. There is no way one agent can know all of the off market deals in an area or even have insight into all behind the scene situations of every listed seller. I understand and expect that other agents will know more about a specific house or situation once in a while, just as I may have more insight than them another time.

Does this present a possibility that they will take advantage of me and work a deal behind my back? Yes, but then they are not the kind of investor I want to work with. I believe I bring value to table and, really, in any market are there more people who want to flip properties or investor friendly agents? If someone has a business model or ethics I don't like, I will let them go and know that there are many more investors out there.

But if we have an open and honest relationship, good things happen. I get a fair amount of deals. Someone else gets a few deals, But in the end, it is a win-win all around.

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JD MartinBusiness Member
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Rock Star Extraordinaire · Northeast, TN · Member since 2015 · 10k+ posts · 16k+ votes
9y
My agent likes working with me, but I actually buy stuff and make reasonable offers. None of my offers are "low-ball" in that there is a reason that I've offered what I offer, not just flinging crap and seeing what sticks to the wall. No agent is going to like working with someone like that.
Let's say a house is listed for $100k and I were to make a $50k offer. My agent knows why I am making this offer - the house needs $15k in rehab costs, is already $10k overpriced compared to the comps, etc. I back up my offers with logic and reason. Not all of them go through - sometimes we find sellers that we just can't come to terms with. The ones that are a good fit, though, are a cream pie for my agent - cash offers, usually no contingencies, short closing periods. I make it hard for the seller to say no. My agent does all his work on the front end, finding good properties and matching them up with sellers who have room to negotiate. Once we make the deal, he probably doesn't work on the deal more than an hour or two from then until closing.
If you want an agent to work with you, you need to be reasonable and buy something once in a while. Lots of "investors" are nothing but tire kickers, with no money and no plans. I have bought houses that I walked away from when I was at my limit price, because the seller's agent had two or three "serious investors" ready to pay more for the house, and then come back to me because one of them couldn't come up with the cash, another had 20 contingencies, etc. Road blocks to make sure the deal was never going to happen.
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
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@David Dachtera yup were you live attorneys have a strangle hold.. we do deals every day with NO one no attorney no title company... its a joke there in IL were the title companies wont talk to you only an attorney...
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Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
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@Will Barnard AND they are not going to waste their time generally on Newbies who just graduated a class and are looking to build their power team and when push comes to shove they have no real capacity or experience... your investor friendly agents have their known commodities and the deals are going to them plan and simple.. they know they will close with minimum effort...
I know people need to start somewhere but that somewhere but this is the reality.
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Will BarnardPro Member
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Developer · Santa Clarita, CA · Member since 2008 · 15k+ posts · 10k+ votes
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Originally posted by @Jay Hinrichs:

@Will Barnard AND they are not going to waste their time generally on Newbies who just graduated a class and are looking to build their power team and when push comes to shove they have no real capacity or experience... your investor friendly agents have their known commodities and the deals are going to them plan and simple.. they know they will close with minimum effort...
I know people need to start somewhere but that somewhere but this is the reality.
This is very true. With anything n business, people want to work on things that make them money so if you have little to no ability to close as a wholesaler if you can't find a buyer, agents and sellers alike will not want to waste their time working with you. Plain and simple reality.
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Chris Low
Investor · Redding, CA · Member since 2016 · 180 posts · 102 votes
9y
From my experience, Realtors can appreciate working with investors in many cases, but it's all about transparency. Be honest with your Realtor about your goals, how much money you have to work with, what your investment strategy is, etc. If you plan to flip properties, your agent who helps you buy should also be the one who markets that property for you. He/she can then see the benefit of helping you get into that property via a lowball offer because they know when you're done with the rehab, they'll get the listing. Make sure you're pre-qualified with a lender and share that info with your Realtor. This helps him/her understand that you're serious, not just "kicking tires" and that you have the funding in place in case you do find a deal. All of these things can help your relationship with a Realtor prove beneficial for both of you.
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Martin Z.
Glendale, CA · Member since 2013 · 303 posts · 67 votes
9y
You don't need an agent, just submit the offers yourself, you don't need to become licensed as you're working as a principle.
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Iverem Rose
Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 152 posts · 44 votes
9y
Get your own license! Have full control over your own destiny
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Clemmie Seymore
Member since 2019 · 1 post · 0 votes
7y
do real estate like working with investors?
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