New Agent with a couple questions for the seasoned professionals
Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts 路 Member since 2018 路 8 posts 路 10 votes
New Agent with a couple questions for the seasoned professionals
Most Popular Reply
Real Estate Agent 路 Livermore, CA 路 Member since 2016 路 173 posts 路 74 votes
7yCongratulations, Christi!
My bit of advice is make sure you ask how much it's going to cost you to be an agent in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire with each brokerage. Ask questions like will you pay a cap to your broker in both states, what is each cap, is there an extra brand fee (sorry I don't remember what the official term is for this, but some brokerages charge 6% more) and is this extra fee for each state essentially doubling your expense?
I'm with eXp Realty, we're in all 50 states as one company. There is no extra brand fee, no local market center extra costs, or any of what I consider a money grab from agents pockets. And bonus is there is one cap for an agent regardless of how many states you're licensed in. So you can meet your cap goal regardless of which state your transaction occur in.
10 Replies
- 7yAbel CurielBusiness MemberReal Estate Agent 路 Queens, NY 路 Member since 2016 路 2k+ posts 路 1k+ votes
Originally posted by @Christi Nicolet:
Hello Bigger Pockets community!
I just received my real estate license in Massachusetts and plan on attaining my New Hampshire license soon, since I live right on the boarder of MA and NH. I was wanting to get some advice from those within the Bigger Pockets community since most real estate agent education is focused around helping people purchase primary residents.
I'm more interested in helping investors as my niche and would love to hear from both agents and investors on a couple questions.
Agents:
1. As I am interviewing brokerages, with the goal of being investor focused, what questions should I be asking?2. What do you suggest for resources (besides Bigger Pockets) on being an investor friendly agent?
Investors:
1. When looking to add an agent to your team, what do you look for?2. What would an "ideal" agent look like to you?
I look forward to reading your responses and feel free to add any other advice you wish you would have known when you were first getting started (as and agent).Hello Christi,
Congrats on your license!
1. I don't know of any brokerages (aside from Commercial brokerages) that would offer you anything different for being an investor-friendly agent. My brokerage actually has a component that incentivizes agents with the investor mindset by offering equity in the company.
2. BiggerPockets is an excellent platform to utilize so I would recommend using the 'keyword alerts' function, 'search' function and lastly, stay active on the forums! Let people know where you operate and what value you can add to them.
As for working with investors, they are mainly concerned with your market knowledge and ability to negotiate on their behalf.
Best of luck to you and feel free to reach out if there is any way I can help!
Abel
REbuild Team - eXp Realty5234 Reviews - Residential Real Estate Broker 路 Crystal Lake, IL 路 Member since 2012 路 124 posts 路 94 votes7y
Originally posted by @Christi Nicolet:
Hello Bigger Pockets community!
I just received my real estate license in Massachusetts and plan on attaining my New Hampshire license soon, since I live right on the boarder of MA and NH. I was wanting to get some advice from those within the Bigger Pockets community since most real estate agent education is focused around helping people purchase primary residents.
I'm more interested in helping investors as my niche and would love to hear from both agents and investors on a couple questions.
Agents:
1. As I am interviewing brokerages, with the goal of being investor focused, what questions should I be asking?In my market I see a lot of investors working with "meat and potatoes" type brokers, not so much the "full concierge" type of broker- and the costs associated with such. Therefore I would want to know if your broker will have a minimum commission you will charge, of if they will allow you to negotiate your commissions as you see fit.
2. What do you suggest for resources (besides Bigger Pockets) on being an investor friendly agent?
Know good local wholesalers, hard-money lenders and investor friendly contractors.
Investors:
1. When looking to add an agent to your team, what do you look for?Intimate market knowledge and experience is something that should be valued. If you don't have that right away, hustle would be something you can provide. Most established agents don't want to run around with investors because they are too busy selling with Mr & Mrs Homeowner.
2. What would an "ideal" agent look like to you?Tough for me to answer this one, since I am my own agent.
I look forward to reading your responses and feel free to add any other advice you wish you would have known when you were first getting started (as and agent). - Real Estate Agent 路 Livermore, CA 路 Member since 2016 路 173 posts 路 74 votes7y
Congratulations, Christi!
My bit of advice is make sure you ask how much it's going to cost you to be an agent in both Massachusetts and New Hampshire with each brokerage. Ask questions like will you pay a cap to your broker in both states, what is each cap, is there an extra brand fee (sorry I don't remember what the official term is for this, but some brokerages charge 6% more) and is this extra fee for each state essentially doubling your expense?
I'm with eXp Realty, we're in all 50 states as one company. There is no extra brand fee, no local market center extra costs, or any of what I consider a money grab from agents pockets. And bonus is there is one cap for an agent regardless of how many states you're licensed in. So you can meet your cap goal regardless of which state your transaction occur in.
- Lender 路 Charlotte, NC 路 Member since 2019 路 59 posts 路 60 votes7y
Disclosure: I'm not a seasoned professional in the industry.
My thoughts further than the obvious knowledge of the market is learning exactly what the investor is looking for and why. Learn about their strategy. Only place properties in their pipeline that you are certain meet their criteria. Avoid presenting deals that could cause headaches when possible. Try not to waste their time by flooding them with deals that won't cash flow.
Connections with Rockstar performers within other areas of the industry will be a vital tool. Lastly, don't drink too much of the Kool-aid, and get your brokerage license sooner than later. 馃榿
Best regards,
- Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts 路 Member since 2018 路 8 posts 路 10 votes7y
Thank you @Abel Curiel, @Eddie Egelston, @Maria D'Aura and @Jonathan Killam for your thoughts! I really appreciate them.
- Investor 路 greater Boston and greater Tampa areas 路 Member since 2013 路 101 posts 路 25 votes7y
Congrats Christi!
I鈥檓 an agent as well as in investor so maybe I can give you the perspective of both.
While many brokers are investors themselves, they may not have the time or the system to train you to be an investor friendly agent. One thing you can ask is how many agents in the office are investors themselves and how many investors these agents have. The office may or may not know this answer but it鈥檚 a good start. There is no better education, however, than being an investor yourself. Our office has at least five investor agents if not more (I don鈥檛 know all of them as it鈥檚 a big office)
As an investor, if I were to choose an agent, of course I need someone who鈥檚 really knowledgeable and knows very well the asset class that I鈥檓 investing in. The agent will also need to know the area that I鈥檓 investing in. I would not hesitate to change agent if I am going out of my regular area. So for you to succeed, you also need to network with other agents so you can refer business out and get referral fee. I have, as an agent, referred investor client to another agent because I do not know the area as well. Besides if it鈥檚 outside of my area, sometimes it鈥檚 just not worth my while.
Feel free to message me directly as I鈥檓 in the area and can give you a few pointers in terms of what meet ups to attend and such. Being an investor鈥檚 agent is not all glamorous. Many winters I had to go to vacant houses with no heat and 2 feet of unplowed snow. I didn鈥檛 mind because I am an investor and I am looking at these for myself as well (of course I would not compete with my client).
In terms of company, if you work for one of them near the border, very often the broker has license in both states and you can conduct business in both states with a single broker. Had I obtained my New Hampshire license, I鈥檒l be able to conduct business in both states with my company.
- Real Estate Broker 路 Manchester, NH 路 Member since 2014 路 630 posts 路 420 votes7y
Hi @Christi Nicolet, congratulations on getting your license! My primary business revolves around working with real estate investors with only a small percentage of my business being strictly residential (representing friends/family usually in buying or selling their primary residence) or a slightly larger percentage which is commercial (representing landlords in renting vacant commercial spaces). Initially however, I cut my teeth by working on a high-producing residential real estate team. At the time I joined them, they were selling about 60 houses a year and I ended up joining on and being the guy that went to all the showings, inspections, appraisals, appointments, etc. and learned as much as there was to learn about the process.
Your main priority as a new agent should not be to learn specifically about real estate investing, but it should be to understand the process of a real estate transaction extremely well. Having the investment knowledge is important as you continue to work with more investors, but priority number one should be learning how to be a good agent. I'd encourage you to seek out a larger brokerage that offers strong training opportunities for new agents and try and find a mentor within that brokerage that works more frequently with real estate investors as a supplement to your knowledge. To continue learning about real estate investing, I'd encourage you to attend local meet-ups to hear speakers, network with other investors and agents, and to get a more local look at real estate investing in your market.
Best of luck!
- Member since 2018 路 5 posts 路 7 votes7y
@Christi Nicolet find a brokerage that supports you working both states for one fee and no outside fees to minimize your expenses and keep more commission for your business
2. Biggest resource is yourself - know what you are talking about - create or buy spreadsheets to share with your investors, analyze the properties for them and provide them with info - whether they use it or not they will appreciate it and learn to respect you as their agent which will allow you to keep them forever.
I work predominately with investors and can gladly speak with you anytime about how my team goes about this.
Cheers and rock on! Former masshole myself :-)
- Southern New Hampshire and Northern Massachusetts 路 Member since 2018 路 8 posts 路 10 votes7y
Thank you @Marina Wong, @Matt and @Carl Gentile. Its been very helpful to hear from you all! Lots of great insight as I figure out what is the best path forward for me.
- Residential Real Estate Agent 路 Grand Rapids, MI 路 Member since 2013 路 803 posts 路 689 votes7y
@Christi Nicolet I work with several investors in my market and 90% of them originated from Bigger Pockets. So needless to say this is a great resource. However, I don't know the investor market for your area. I live in a town that constantly gets promoted on several publications how its one of the fastest-growing markets in the country so investors flock here anyways. How is the investor market in your area? I wouldn't solely focus on just investors as sometimes they don't keep me busy enough. I work with retail clients as well to fill in the gaps and it works well for us.
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