Current realtor doesn't seem to be a great fit
Hi everyone,
I'm in the process of finding a good house hack and am using a realtor referred to me by a coworker. At the time I was looking for SFH, but I have since changed my approach to look for duplex, triplex, or 4 plex. Basically, I want to do a house hack.
After meeting with my realtor a few times, she seems to not understand house hacking or my goals and seems to be more focused on selling Scottsdale high priced homes. I really want to work with a fellow investor that can help walk me through the process and give better advice.
I'm in a bit of a bind because the realtor has a lot of good connections and I'm worried about severing the connection if I want to do flips in the future. Any advice on this issue?
My best idea at the moment is to let her know I want to work with a realtor more familiar with Multi family investments and that I will continue to use her for my personal residence loans.
Thoughts??
If you haven't signed any buyer broker agreement then you are not locked to him and can have other agents help. I would however let the agent know that you are looking with other agents as well. I would also like to add that to get great service most agents would require you to be as dedicated to them as they are to you. Honesty will get you much further, the agent may be upset when you tell them, OR what they should do is start working with you a little more aggressive to make sure you are getting what you are looking for.
Hope this helps!
Explain what you are trying to accomplish again. If she doesn't get it, look into finding someone who wants to help you reach your goals. Any Realtor who has a good amount of investment experience will have a contact list of pretty much anything you need.
@Colton Harris we definitely haven't signed any type of agreement, but she is under the impression I will only work for her at the moment. I'm now realizing that may have been a mistake. You're right that honesty is probably best and I should just let her know how I feel. I really think I could be making better progress with a realtor that is hungry to help me out and teach me the industry.
@Jeff Schneider thanks for the advice. I will try one last time to explain to her my goals and see if she gets it. She definitely has good contacts, but maybe more in the luxury housing area which is way out of my price range as a beginner.
Hi Sawyer,
First congratulations on getting into the business. I will agree that the best bet is to be straight forward. An agent that does alot of high end homes is different than one that works with a lot of investors (generally speaking). Find an agent that fits your needs. I would rather get the "We should see other people" than the "drag along".
You also have to decide what you really want. I have left more than 1 client that started looking at 3 bedroom them went to a cabin on the lake and then wanted no less than 5 acres.... Then thought a duplex would be a good idea.
I'm an agent but I can't tell you what you want. I know which clients to call for a 1300 square foot in Brockport and who to call for an 8 acre farm house in Kendall... I have no idea what to present to "I'm looking for a deal".... "ummm not that one, but similar with a pool and more land, in a different district with a basement but not a gravel driveway and a bigger barn and less money but maybe more if it is nicer but I want to invest, but could live there. My mom should like it oh and aunt Betsy and I am open to a Ranch but kind of want a Colonial with a separate ranch unless it is next door to a Cape Cod" ..."
Good luck and find the right fit!
@Mike Cumbie Thanks for the advice. As a new investor I am not going to be certain what I want immediately. That might be a bit foolish. Instead, I'm learning every day and with that certain things come up which change what I'm looking for. After the initial SFH search I have settled on MFHs and she is working with me on that now and doing a decent job. My main concern is if she is selling homes worth millions of dollars then she may not have the incentive to help me chase down deals when her commission will be tiny. You make a good point though that I should have her running all around town for different types of deals. I will be cognizant of that in the future.
I just sold a house that resulted in less than $300 in commissions after splits etc (A HUD we got for value of the land +$200). I took my client out there 3 times once with a structural engineer, once a furnace guy and once with village building inspector (don't ask). I had previously taken him to about 5 properties (Add in paperwork and hunting time a huge bust). I am happy as a clam to close that deal. A main reason is that when it sells I will be pulling in another $2500. I also know this guy will perform and I have an eye out for the next one.
Keep in mind an agent is a marketing genius and hunter of items their clients want to procure. We are not generally educators. Try and establish a goal and any good agent will be able to help you find the property to reach it. Pick something like a duplex with enough cash flow to cover PITI/vacancy/capex/expenses within $300 a month (You expect to over the rest with your unit, when you move out its big cash flow).
You can do this but as the owner of your business your job is to pick a direction for it to go. You can't rely on someone else choosing the path your business should take. Not trying to pick on you at all or anything in a negative, however business owners do not have a road map unless they franchise. That's your task, then send out the agent to find what you want to fit that mold.
Hope it helps some and good luck!
To conclude this post, I ended up letting my realtor know I'm looking for a more investor friendly partner. She was totally fine with it and understood my situation. My lesson learned from this is that I should have just been honest with her from the get-go and resolved the situation earlier.
Being honest means that we may still work together in the future and I can send her leads in the future for personal residence inquiries.