Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes
I already know my realtor is not investor friendly...
I am using the BRRRR strategy to determine how much to offer on a property.
She pretty much told me she does not want to waste her time because “it is still a sellers market, no one is going to accept your offer.” keep in mind properties where built in the the 1950/60s and will need renovating. And offer is not off compared to other unrenovated properties(off compared to asking price).
Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2011 · 2k+ posts · 3k+ votes
6y
It's better to find out sooner rather than later. You just need to find one that's a better fit for what you're trying to do. Or better yet, get licensed and be your own realtor. Then you won't be depending on anyone else.
Investor · San Jose, CA · Member since 2020 · 5 posts · 2 votes
6y
Read David Green 's book on BRRRRing. One of the first thing he mentions is when building your team, you need an investor friendly realtor (preferably one that invests themselves) that can write offers for you. Once you are working with a Realtor, that does not mean they have a fiduciary responsibility to write your low ball offers. While a fiduciary is someone who has your best financial interest first before anything, that does not necessarily make good business sense for the Realtor because it burns valuable time and degrades the fiduciary relationship they have with their other clients.
Property Manager · Raleigh/Durham NC · Member since 2015 · 210 posts · 293 votes
6y
When I started (I'm in a seller's market) and I knew I wanted to shotgun out lowball offers I decided to get my real estate license. Best thing I ever did.
Each offer took approx 3-4 hours. That was an hour to find the property and run the numbers, 1-2 hours to drive to the property and inspect it (inc crawl spaces and attics). Then another hour to write and submit each offer. I quickly realized that every property I looked at was closing at or above list price. I quickly changed my tactic, however in the 1st year I wrote approx 50 offers (150-200 hours of my time) to buy only 3 total properties.
Learning the process, being able to talk to listing agents on a professional (inside level as a fellow agent) having additional resources like the MLS had helped tremendously. I enjoyed managing my properties so much I became a residential property manager working with like-minded investors and fellow BP members.
The more you can get involved with the process yourself whether it's buying or managing the property I think the more you will enjoy your results.
Best of luck with your house hunting, I hope you find success.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes
6y
@Joanne Eriaku
Good question. I initially started looking for rent ready properties until I realized I would only make 3% or less return on my investment in the markets I was looking. Long story short, my strategy changed along the way
Rental Property Investor · Woodstock, GA · Member since 2017 · 517 posts · 772 votes
6y
You submit low offers to uncover if there's motivation to sell fast at a discount.
In this case, if you plan to submit a lot of MLS offers (and you're in ATL like I am) be ready to make it rain a lot.
That's why, I recommend just calling the listing agent yourself.
Here's why:
1) You can articulate clearly without anyone else in the way what your value proposition is and WHY you're offering a low number
2) The listing agent gets two sides of a commission
3) You're not getting 'hearsay' about the seller or agent. You'll have listing agents spill everything
4) You get your name out there. People will start seeing it more and more especialy as you get to talk to them and not through a realtor
5) I'm maybe in the minority when I say that buyer's agents for investors aren't worth much. You should already know how to run numbers to know what a deal is (most agents don't know this anyway). "Oh, well buyer's agents can negotiate better for you." You gotta learn how to negotiate RE at some point...especially if you ever pivot to offmarket transactions. Might as well learn now.
6) You can follow up more often without bothering your realtor who's probably not interested in following up for the 10X on that lowball offer you made 6 weeks ago.
7) You may end up talking to another investor...who may want to work with you on other deals...or private lend to you down the line (yes, it's happened to me)
Personally I have not had this experience. As your agent, she has a fiduciary duty to write up and submit your offer. And the seller's agent has a fiduciary duty to present it to the seller.
Have you signed anything with this agent? The cleanest way would be to remind her that she has as duty to submit all offers on your behalf. And use her for anything related to this house. Then find a new agent going forward.
If you fire her, whether you have signed any agency agreements with her or not, and have another agent submit an offer that is accepted for this property, your current agent may have some type of claim to the commission, since she first showed you the house.
Southeast · Member since 2019 · 23 posts · 4 votes
6y
not sure the real estate agent has a required duty to write and submit offers when representing a buyer. Maybe Georgia real estate statue requires but I've never heard of it.
Personally I have not had this experience. As your agent, she has a fiduciary duty to write up and submit your offer. And the seller's agent has a fiduciary duty to present it to the seller.
Have you signed anything with this agent? The cleanest way would be to remind her that she has as duty to submit all offers on your behalf. And use her for anything related to this house. Then find a new agent going forward.
If you fire her, whether you have signed any agency agreements with her or not, and have another agent submit an offer that is accepted for this property, your current agent may have some type of claim to the commission, since she first showed you the house.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes
6y
@Will B. Is refusing to initiate an offer from buyer enough grounds to terminate contract with agent in your state? Not sure what the laws are, but I would guess that should be more than enough to terminate.
Real Estate Agent · Astoria, NY · Member since 2016 · 60 posts · 55 votes
6y
@Adah None I’m a realtor. You’re not dealing with a good one. And it sounds like you two did not have a thorough consultation to make sure your aims and needs are in alignment.
Your realtor may be correct that you are barking up the wrong tree in your offer strategy, in which case you should be asking — or he should be telling you — what strategy would be more successful. But a realtor telling you you’re a waste of time is not trying hard enough and isn’t worth YOUR time.
Find a realtor who works with investors and/or has invested themselves, and who is willing to be a guide to you making a successful investment rather than just a “deal-maker” who just wants to get you under contract. And make SURE you sign them to an exclusive so that they can actually be your fiduciary and legally give you pricing advice.
Real Estate Agent · Cleveland OH · Member since 2015 · 213 posts · 275 votes
6y
If you want to continue to work with this agent for some reason, just ask her to call the sellers agent and ask her to present a verbal offer. If they show any interest then she can write up the offer.
I just closed on a property that was listed for 1.5 million. I called the agent and told them my buyers were willing to offer 1 million cash. We closed at 1,050,000. You never know.
Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2020 · 294 posts · 142 votes
6y
@Victor Ong
Agree, showing the property and doing the paperwork. No offense to realtors, most of the information is out there on MLS, Zillow and the county websites. Some county websites will even give you a list of homes sold recently along with addresses and square footage and permits pulled.
Doing the paperwork is the only one I would still not want to be bothered with if I go get a license. And the listing agent would be more than happy to do that bit in exchange for another 3%.
Even FSBO listings get multiple offers these days, because there are lots of investors out there seeking investor prices.
Real Estate Agent · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 782 votes
6y
A lot of agent do not know about investing. They are listing agents,and they list homes, or they buy homes for owner occupants.
For one, it is your mistake @Adah N. if you did have that conversation. ( May be you did I dont know, then fire her/him)
Also, a lot of new agents, jumps on the first person that says I want to buy a house thinking it is easy, then they realize they are wasting time.
The second thing, your agent might be right. None of us know him/her. May be your offer is seriously too low and agent might be teaching you the market. I personally would write the first offer to show you, then sit down and talk,cause I am an investor/ agent.
The third , yes being an agent is easy, but not cheap. You pay a lot of fees, commission, and possibly taxes so if you end up buying one house for 70K end of the year, you will be losing money :D))
Lastly,low ball offers are good, but just low balling for sake of low balling does not work, and your agent might not want to waste time. I would not either.