My conscience and pocket are not agreeing right now. I'd like to get some input from the BP community. I am going to be wrapping up a flip in a few weeks. The Realtor who worked with me to buy it was amazing in every aspect. He helped me place offers on 2 other properties that didnt pan out before this one. I bought it for $62k so his commission was not impressive. Now that it's fixed up and worth around $150k, I'm struggling with the decision to use him to sell it. My hang up is that he's not local. He works all over but is based out of a town 45 minutes away. I think I would be better served by a local agent to sell it who has local buyers. Especially given the time of year and cool down of the market going into the holidays. I feel guilty though being as he worked so hard and was always a pleasure to work with and for such a small commission. SO... I DO plan to buy my next property with him. Do I explain my reason to him for going with a local agent to sell? Do I just list it with him to avoid possibly ruining the working relationship? I'd like to hear from some agents if possible- would you be offended in this situation? thanks in advance!

@Darci Minshall - The LOCAL agent thing is a MYTH. We ALL get our buyers from MLS / other websites and the LOCAL buyer agents. You should list with your agent just make him or her promise you that they’ll host at least two open houses a month and do professional photos you like. That’ll sell the house. I worked with some flippers who hired a “more experienced, local agent” who had a terrible description, terrible blurry photos, no open houses, and it took 4+ months to get under contract.

@Darci Minshall the chances that any local listing agent connects you with your buyer is almost zero.

You want a listing agent who hosts open houses, prices your house right, negotiates for you, and markets the heck out of your property with great photos and descriptions.

@Natalie Schanne I appreciate your response! It makes me feel better about sticking with my original realtor. Thanks!

One thing you should consider is staging the house.. this is very effective.

at least soft staging at a minimum

also you could split the difference have your agent refer to another agent and get a referral fee and have both working on it. 

Open houses are not mandatory in hot markets.. in slow markets they help and for open houses most top producers have their beginner agents go sit at those or you can do them yourself..

also if you expect this agent to bring you any new deals this could sever that and he or she will just give the next flipper the great deal he comes through.

my SOP is to always list back with who brought me the deal.. I will deal with multiple agents in a market and those agents know that.. but I am loyal on the list back.

Money does not have a conscience and neither should you when making business decisions. Never allow any emotion to impact business decisions. Choose the best fit regardless.

In this situation it would seem it does not matter who you choose.

Personally I prefer to use different agents for selling and buying. I never want them to be conflicted in their motivation and this can sometimes happen when both, sell and buy, happen together.

Originally posted by @Thomas S. :

Money does not have a conscience and neither should you when making business decisions. Never allow any emotion to impact business decisions. Choose the best fit regardless.

In this situation it would seem it does not matter who you choose.

Personally I prefer to use different agents for selling and buying. I never want them to be conflicted in their motivation and this can sometimes happen when both, sell and buy, happen together.

 well in practice its the exact opposite if your buying either lots or flips that you need either pocket listing off market or someone that is very connected to bring you..  if you don't list back they simply wont bring you the deals.. and that is biting off your nose to spit yourself.

for instance my Charleston agents I get first crack at everything off market etc.. we provide them over 150 to 200k a year in commission income just off my activity.. so who's going to get the deals..   I know who and its me.. :)

Same in Portland were you have UBER competition for lots you don't list back your not going to get the deals most of the time.. 

if its basic market retail then i agree with your thought process.. or maybe in the landlord arena but in flipping and building.. this is a quid pro row that is quite established and creates profit for those in the flipping business without them needing to spend untold thousands on trying to procure their own deals.

@Jay Hinrichs

I see it in your situation. I am more basic market. Flips are few and far between. Very low volume in my case. As I assume would be the case for most on here. In the case of  having a larger volume of flips I would have the same agent(s) buying and selling Money talks..

I may be wrong but when dealing with buying/selling in the past using the same agent I feel the pressure of them pushing the price of one against the other to close the deal. Trying to talk down the selling price or talk up the buy price to move it along.

I never have that when using separate agents. But again I am small potatoes in the market.

Go with the agent that brought you the deal and cultivate that relationship. 

Thank you all for the advice; I do appreciate it! I will be staying with the same agent.

Standard procedure in my market is you use the same agent to list that you bought the property with. Many of the flippers are licensed themselves and this still holds. They got you the deal, they get the listing. The ones who dont observe this practice simply make too many enemies to stay in the business.

@Darci Minshall   If you want that agent to continue to bring you deals, give him the listing.

You go home with the one who brought you to the dance.

It should be a given, they buy they sell! Realtors all talk l wouldn’t want to get a bad name and not get any help from them.

Totally agree with @Natalie Schanne and @Morgan Klein

Go with the agent that has already proven they can bring you deals. Build a strong relationship with them and they will continue to fill your pipeline. They've already invested in you by taking such a low commission on the 62k sale. Don't waste it!

Plus, the agent is the one that has to drive back and forth.

A solution to this problem would be communication between you and your agent. Don’t be afraid to express your concern. Conversations like this is what builds trust, regardless of what you decide to do. Just going out and hiring someone else will burn that bridge.

@Darci Minshall Remaining loyal to your realtor is the best thing for your business