Looking for investor friendly agents in Indianapolis Indiana

[Matthew Bonaski]

I'm looking for recommendations on agents for the Indianapolis area. I've used the agent finder here on BP but also want to see what people have real life experience with. 

I want to find 3 agents and property managers to connect with and then meet 2 in person. 

Thanks for your recommendations!

[Michael Smythe]

@Matthew Bonaski

Be careful asking for investor-friendly agents!

+95% of agents only have experience dealing with owner-occupied transactions - which are mostly EMOTIONAL decision based.

These agents will NOT find you "deals", just pretty houses on the MLS☹

They are really just, “commission-friendly”, looking for a payday.

An investor wants an agent that sticks to logical numbers like ROI, Cash-on-Cash, etc.

You can differentiate between these different types of agents easily by asking them:

1) If they are RE investors themselves.
--Many will say yes, so ask them for proof! They should be able to send you an address of a rental they own.

2) If they plan on sharing a BP Calculator sheet for each and every property they send you.
--Many will state that's your job, but then what value are they truly offering as an "investor-friendly" agent?

The more questions and request for proof you ask, the better!

FOR PMCS'S
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We’re a Property Management Company (PMC), with 25+ years of experience, and we’ve seen owners make the same mistakes, over & over again when looking to hire a PMC – which drives us nuts!.

In our experience, the #1 mistake owners make is ASSUMING all PMCs offer the exact SAME SERVICES and PERFORM those services EXACTLY THE SAME WAY.

So, owners mistakenly think price is the only differentiator – and look for a PMC like they’d shop for groceries☹

We encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others by reading posts here on BiggerPockets from owners that picked a PMC solely by price and regretted it.

We recommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.

Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.

Even if someone gives you a referral, do NOT make the mistake of assuming that just because a PMC met their expectations, they’ll meet your expectations. We all have our own expectations and what works for someone else, may not work for you.

If you’re new to all of this, it's often a case of not doing enough research, as you don't know what you don't know!

So, ask more questions!

EXAMPLE: PMC states they will handle tenant screening – what does that specifically mean? What documents do they require, what credit scores do they allow, how do they verify previous rental history, etc.? You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

This also leads owners to ASSUME simpler is better when it comes to management contracts.

The reality is the opposite - if it's not in writing then the PMC doesn't have to provide the service or can charge extra for it!

A well written management contract should clearly spell out what is expected of both the PMC and the owner, to PROTECT both and avoid misunderstandings. Why do you think purchase contracts are so long and have such small print?

We recommend you get management contracts from several PMCs and compare the services they cover and, more importantly, what they each DO NOT cover.

EDUCATE YOURSELF - yes, it will take time, but will lead to a selection that better meets your expectations & avoids potentially costly surprises!

P.S. If you just hire the cheapest or first PMC you speak with and it turns into a bad experience, please don’t assume ALL PMC’s are bad and start trashing PMC’s in general. Take ownership of your mistake and learn to do the proper due diligence recommended above😊

Here’s some articles we’ve contributed to BiggerPockets about screening a PMC BETTER than you would a tenant!

20 Questions to Ask When Vetting a Property Management Company: Processes

13 Questions to Ask to a PMC: Communication and Documentation

24 Questions to Ask When Evaluating a Property Management Contract