Hi guys! Fairly new investor here, interested in MFH buy and hold and interested in (but haven't yet used) the BRRRR method going forward.

A little background - I currently own a 4plex in Waterbury, CT where I’ve lived in one unit and rented the other 3 for the last 14 months or so. Not the best area, but not so bad that I couldn’t tolerate living here, and cash flows beautifully. I’m hanging on to this one.

I’m relocating back to Tampa, Florida where I previously lived for about 9 years. I bought my first property outside of Tampa (new construction townhome, worst idea ever, I had no idea back then). I tried to sell this townhome when I first moved up north, and used a co-worker at the hospital I was working at who was completely horrible, was a realtor as a side hustle and had no idea about the market temp, and listed my townhome waaaay above where it should have been which resulted in it sitting on the market forever. I ended up paying to get out of the contract with him (ugh!) and using a new agent who seemed to be passionate, detail-oriented, organized, and all of that. He sold my place pretty quickly (for a loss, but only a slight loss and I was already out of state by then and just paying a mortgage on a vacant property that would not have made sense to keep as a rental).

I decided to work with him again now that I’m moving back down, but I want to buy another MFH this time and “house-hack” again, like I’m doing now. The market is still definitely a sellers market, though it’s a little confusing because I’ve seen some properties sitting for quite a while (though he told me that with investment properties you can’t really focus on ‘days on market’, which I’m not sure I understand). He went to check out a duplex for me (I’m trusting his judgment and as long as the big stuff checks out, I’m not super worried about seeing it myself since I’m still in CT, and this is an investment property not a forever home). I put in an offer at asking price but asking for 4% concession toward closing costs (this one was on the market about 52 days), and they ended up accepting a cash offer instead so I didn’t get it. No big deal.

First, he suggested that maybe we should start submitting offers just based on the pictures and use the inspection period to get out if necessary because by the time he gets to go see them it may be too late. Second, he said that offering below asking, even just in the form of concession, is likely to result in a lot of rejected offers, so if I don’t need the concession then just offer at asking (I don’t NEED the concession but I want to stay as liquid as possible so I can get into my next property sooner). I don’t think he’s wrong necessarily, but the thing is also that I’m not in a rush. I start my new job the first week of September, but I have friends that I’ll be staying with when I get there for as long as I need.

This will only be my third time buying a property, so I want to be realistic with my expectations - I’ve had friends tell me they feel it’s laziness for him to not go physically see the properties, but I also understand how fast things are flying off the market. Like I said, I’m not in a rush so I’m okay with having some offers turned down, but I don’t want to be a jerk and expect him to just spend all his time writing offers that he doesn’t feel have a shot at being accepted.

So....... how do I know if he has my best interests in mind or if he is trying to cut corners to make his life easier? I want to develop a good relationship with a local realtor because I plan on continuing to invest in MFH but being a rookie, I also don’t want to be taken advantage of.

Thanks in advance!