What exactly does "Investor Friendly Agent" mean?

Real Estate Agent · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2014 · 13 posts · 15 votes

Hey guys, I've been contemplating this when I see it but what do YOU mean when you say you're looking for an investor friendly agent? In my experience working with investors they usually mean they want discount agents to work for a fraction of the price that the resale market pays... So what do YOU look for or offer as an Investor-Friendly agent?

2 Reply

111 views

Most Popular Reply

Michelle Bright

Realtor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 137 posts · 103 votes

Hi @Josh Rowland!! I am an "investor friendly" REALTOR in Fort Wayne, IN. I actually prefer to work with Investors rather than someone who plans on actually occupying the property. Honestly, it is more fun for me and that is why I prefer it!! I am an investor myself so working the numbers with other investors, making connections with people that have similar goals/ interests and enjoying going through some crazy houses makes me investor friendly. :) It also helps a lot that I work at a property management and realty company not just a real estate company!! A LOT!! I get to meet and talk to a lot of investors that already have property in Fort Wayne or are looking to acquire property here. If you have access to such a company in your area I would recommend contacting that team/ individual. No, I am not afraid of submitting a low offer, making offer after offer, bugs or hoarder houses. My Daddy always said it never hurts to try and I just make sure I always keep a pair of sneakers in my car.

6 Reply

See this reply in the discussion

36 Replies

Jump to latestLatest

Sort by

Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
9y
@Russell Brazil I getcha.. I remember one of my very first sales as a 18 yo pup... I was selling land in Northern CA 3 hour drive from SF.. my clients were in SF.. so they are excited I booked the sat. appointment.. and then they said what bus line do we take to get there.. LOL.. I just looked at them.. there are no bus lines to rural N. CA other than a greyhound... I said no drive your car.. they then walk me down to the basement there is an old 50's beetle all covered up and they inform they have not driven it in 10 plus years plus they don't thing they can drive anyway.... shocking for a kid from the burbs of Cupertino were we had no bus lines.... Anyway... cousin drove them up .. I sold them 2 lots... 5k each made 500.00 on each one... 1k for the weekend.. and this was when my last job of bagging grocery's was paying under 2 bucks an hour... I was hooked for ever on commission income. And of course over the years especially here in PDX I have run into folks with no car.
So lets just say as a general rule we don't haul them around.
Podcast Guest on Show #222
JLH Capital Partners51 Review
Website View Page
1 Reply
Anise Fargesia
Phoenix, AZ · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 1 vote
9y
who is aware of the mind set of the investor and wont waste time... the investor mindset is very different from the regular buyer
0 Reply
John Warren
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
9y
I think an investor friendly agent should be an investor as well. Before I became a broker, I tried finding investment properties with brokers who did not own anything other than a personal residence. They didn't understand what I wanted in an investment, and they didn't have the contractor contacts I needed to get things done for reasonable prices.
0 Reply
Iverem Rose
Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 152 posts · 44 votes
9y
Imo an investor friendly agent is someone who understands the mindset and the lingo that investors use when trying to find a good deal such as ROI, cap rate, ARV, etc..
0 Reply
Jeff B.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Sean Cole:

As an agent (and investor/wholesaler), I think "investor friendly" agent means an agent that can walk through a house and put together a realistic rehab budget, determine ARV accurately and knows how to negotiate with bank AMs to successfully close transactions.
Any agent performing rehab budgets and negotiating with your bank is just out having fun as that's not in the job description at all. It's unrealistic to have this expectation. A GOOD agent has too many clients to play patty-cake like this. If he/she doesn't then IMO you don't want to be working with them.
The school of hard knocks will broaden your perspectives.

0 Reply
Patrisha Leybovich
Real Estate Agent · Chandler, AZ · Member since 2016 · 53 posts · 34 votes
9y
Okay, so I was an investor long before I was an agent. "Investor Friendly" can mean different things to different people. If the one asking for an "investor friendly" agent has no experience investing but wants to buy their first gold mine, then "investor friendly" means something I don't have the patience or time to explain.
HOWEVER, when an experienced investor is looking for an "investor friendly" agent, then the answer is simple. It means an agent who knows the current market conditions, especially relative to the market cycle. Knows scope of potential economic influences that may be occurring in near future, doesn't mind writing a million offers that will go absolutely nowhere, and (most importantly) isn't embarrassed to lowball on behalf of their client. Make sense?
0 Reply
Sean Cole
Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2012 · 506 posts · 331 votes
9y
Originally posted by @Jeff B.:

Originally posted by @Sean Cole:
As an agent (and investor/wholesaler), I think "investor friendly" agent means an agent that can walk through a house and put together a realistic rehab budget, determine ARV accurately and knows how to negotiate with bank AMs to successfully close transactions.
Any agent performing rehab budgets and negotiating with your bank is just out having fun as that's not in the job description at all. It's unrealistic to have this expectation. A GOOD agent has too many clients to play patty-cake like this. If he/she doesn't then IMO you don't want to be working with them.
The school of hard knocks will broaden your perspectives.

It takes much less time to do these things that you think. We've invested money in our Salesforce build and have gotten the time to write and print an offer down to under 1 minute. Building a rehab budget takes me as long as it takes to walk through a house and keeping track of negotiations with sellers is built in to my email and SF.

I've got well over 500 sides, and bought/sold nearly 100 houses last year so I'm pretty busy. I don't let busy work keep me busy, though. I've worked with too many new investors to agree that an investor-friendly agent doesn't need to know how to do rehab budgeting. It's a far bigger time waste to go through a house that'll never be a deal because you can't look at the listing photos and get a ballpark idea of rehab budget so you can determine how close to list price is realistic. Doing this, I'm able to keep track of 157 houses right now that we're targeting without having to go see 157 houses.
0 Reply
Mindy JensenPro Member
BiggerPockets Money Podcast Host · Longmont, CO · Member since 2014 · 7k+ posts · 10k+ votes
9y
When I was in my 30s, I paid cash for a house - in a time when this was extremely uncommon. I asked the agent the next day if she had anymore like the one I just bought.
She said, "Well, I can put you on an email list."
She was NOT investor-friendly.
[email protected]Podcast Guest on Show #261
1 Reply
Jeff B.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
@Sean Cole I would rather have a professional contractor who is methodical and thorough when making a bid for work - - he has a license at stake and knows when the work is well done, he'll get repeat business from me. A ten minute walk-thru isn't worth $0.10 to me and it's not binding and of no risk to you.
0 Reply
Sean Cole
Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2012 · 506 posts · 331 votes
9y
@Jeff B. maybe contractor license laws are different in CA than OH, so please help me understand how a contractor doing a rehab budget has a license at risk?
0 Reply
Jeff B.
Buy & Hold Owner · Redlands, CA · Member since 2015 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
9y
Originally posted by @Sean Cole:

@Jeff B. maybe contractor license laws are different in CA than OH, so please help me understand how a contractor doing a rehab budget has a license at risk?
Not it forming the bid but accepting the work - - therefore he'll be more careful.
0 Reply

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