Am I Annoying My Realtor???

Question

Hey. I’m new. In a position to submit offers to sellers. Looking for a house hack for FSU student rentals. The market is tight, and I’m not pulling the trigger on anything that doesn’t cash flow. This means, of course, I’ll be submitting a lot of borderline offensive offers. I have a great realtor, he has personal investments, gets the biz. I’m anxious, however, that I’m asking too much of him. Everyday I request disclosure docs and ask him to submit offer after offer. My question: is this normal? Am I going to *** off my realtor with all this work and unforeseen commission?

Russell Brazil · Answer

Are your offers realistic for your market? If not, then readjust your expectations to what your market offers.

if your market has say a 5% prevailing cap rate, you'll need to put down 40% just to have rent cover PITI. So if you were say putting down less than that and wanting to cash flow, your expectations are not realistic

Benjamin Aaker · Answer

Sounds like a good time to have a conversation with your realtor about expectations. He knows the investment side of things, so at least gets it at baseline. But, he won't work for you for long if the work/benefit ratio is poor. You really can't be throwing out a ton of low balls hoping for one to stick.

Ethan Whaley · Answer

Sorry yall, to clarify, it WILL be my primary for the first year. I don't have the capital to put 20% down, and frankly I wouldn't want to anyway. My analysis is based on AFTER I move out and rent the remaining room. I am anticipating a hit for the first year. This first purchase is to just get me in the game, get some experience, and cash flow a bit. Meanwhile, I'll save up for a larger down payment and start investing 20% in my local town which is perfect for SFH investing.

To answer your question Bill.....I haven't been giving my realtor the option, just been sending him what I want to offer. Since posting, and since reading all your wonderful replies, I've been asking him what HE thinks. What HE thinks the offer should be. This is one of those solutions that makes me feel really stupid. Thanks guys, I can't wait for my next facepalm moment.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

If've made the same mistake when I started out.

Ask you agent to set up a search for sold comps similar to what you want to buy, you'll see the range of accepted offer prices and if you are actually within the range. And then discuss what is realistic. The biggest variable is future rent, if you are guessing a couple hundret bucks conservative no deal will ever work.

You are also giving your spreadsheet way to much power. If you offer 230k or 239k is totally insignificant compared to the condtion of the property (furture repairs) and how desireable it is in general. Don't buy a piece of junk, just because your spreadsheet looks better, your future self will thank you!

Steve K. · Answer

I encourage having direct conversations with your agent about this, and nurture that relationship. Don’t be scared to just ask them this question directly. As an agent I prefer blunt communication and no BS personally. And I prefer a client that makes lots of offers over a client that looks at a lot of properties and doesn’t make any offers.

Every market is different so your mileage may vary, but the way it typically works in my area is most active agents know each other and we talk a lot. Before I actually write up a lowball offer, I usually float it verbally to the listing agent as smoothly as possible “How many offers have you had? Uh-huh… do you think your seller would be offended if we offered X amount?” and they can usually just tell me if it will be worth writing it up and submitting an official written offer or not. I don’t mind doing that many times for a good client. If the offer is completely bonkers I will just tell my buyer that up front also. It might not work this way in your market, or your agent might not work this way. Just keep the communication open and direct. Good luck!

Nadeem Alamgir · Answer

The top buyer agents I know are great at structuring offers with price and terms that favor the client but still have a real chance of getting accepted.

Some agents will just write whatever the client asks for and hope it gets accepted. If he’s experienced, he should be advising you based on days on market, inventory, competition, and demand (basically having a market pulse).

It’s normal to send multiple offers before one gets accepted, but if it’s been months with no movement, that’s usually an expectation issue more than an agent issue.

Alecia Loveless · Answer

@Ethan Whaley I ask my realtor to send me information on any deal that I’m interested in. Once I run the numbers on those deals with consideration for their exact location and prevailing market conditions I do not offer on most of them.

I generally try not to waste my realtors time on daily offers and additional paperwork beyond the listing.

I do ask him to show me properties that I’m interested in frequently but solely based on his availability around his other clients.

I make reasonable offers when they are warranted based on the ability of a property to appreciate and cash flow.

I don’t feel like the current market situation is such that many lowball offers will be considered or accepted and thus do not make lowball offers anymore.

My most recent offer was $10,000 under asking which was very competitive and the sellers agent stonewalled me and never got back to me. Less than 3 weeks later that building had a price adjustment $15,000 below the amount I had offered. And the terrible listing agent never reached out to us to try to get the sale tied up. My realtor actually thanked me for refusing to do further business with those clowns.

Don’t waste your realtors time making crappy offers. Be realistic about the existing market and you will get more closings and make your realtor much happier.

James McGovern · Answer

Your realtor if he typically works with investors should be okay with submitting lots of offers

Bill B. · Answer

If your realtor “has personal investments, and is in the biz”. Shouldn’t he be telling you what to offer. Unless you think you know more than him already? At least ask him before you throw out a number what he thinks the number should be. Make sure you’re close to realistic. He’s obviously the kind of buyer you’ll be competing with. So you have to be competitive with him.

Ps. As mentioned above run your numbers with 20% downpayment if this is going to be a rental. Unless your plan is to live there and rent out rooms? You’re not getting the FHA loan without living there or committing very obvious mortgage fraud. Hopefully your realtor would have shut that down right away.

Pps. To answer your other question. Yes, in most markets it is unrealistic to offer 10-20% off asking. Try 5-10% on properties listed over 60 days.  That should give you a shot.  And not wishing a few days of a price drop. That’s not usually when sellers are in the best mood. :-). Good luck.

Denise Supplee · Answer

As a realtor myself, I can say that submitting multiple offers and requesting disclosures is common for investors who are serious and detail-oriented. Most experienced agents expect this, especially if they understand your strategy and know you’re looking for deals that truly make sense financially. The key is clear communication—letting your agent know your expectations, strategy, and willingness to be patient goes a long way. If your agent shares your investment mindset, this level of activity usually isn’t a problem; in fact, it often strengthens the partnership because you’re both aligned on finding the right deals.

Am I Annoying My Realtor???

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