I'm currently networking with realtors in my area hoping to find a great deal to either BRRRR and/or Flip. So far the realtors I've talked to are just sending me listings on the MLS without vetting the deals based on my criteria. Sometimes they don't even provide market rent or recently sold comps for the subject properties. How am I supposed to efficiently analyze a potential deal without having any of the pertinent information? Are you guys taking the time to research every listing that gets sent to you to find the most recent comps, find out what similar properties are renting for in the area, etc? Or is your realtor digging into the listings to vet out the junk and then only sending you the properties they think could work for you? I'm trying to figure out if my expectations are too high or if the realtors that I've connected with are just lazy and trying to take the easy way out without having to put much time or effort into making deals happen. For example last week I had a realtor send me 67 properties on the MLS. After looking at the first 2 I quickly realized they didn't meet the criteria I had sent them. I didn't even bother looking at the other 65 since I know the deals were not vetted at all. So I guess what I'm asking is should a realtor be vetting out properties based on your criteria or is it typical for them to just send you everything that's out there and leave it up to you to do the due diligence, research and analysis yourself?

So you wanted them to pull sales and rental comps on all 67 of those properties? That is not a realistic expectation. What is realistic is for you to look at those 67 properties, pick 2 or 3 of them out that you might think work, then ask for the comps on those 2 or 3 properties.

My first question is why are you working with multiple realtors (unless you're shopping in multiple markets)? Find a experienced, knowledgeable, and investor-friendly buyer's agent who you "click" with. Meet (or have a phone conference) with them and make sure they understand your search criteria, and then have them send you listings that match those criteria. If the listings don't match your criteria, update the criteria, not the realtor! As far as research and due diligence, that's a 2-way street. We realtors can only screen for so many things in the MLS (#beds/baths, square footage, price, location, amenities, price per sq ft, etc.), so at some point you have to review the listings carefully and do some research yourself. Come up with a short list, research what you can, drive the properties to come up with an even shorter list, then ask your realtor to pull comps and maybe schedule showings on a handful of properties to maximize your time. Ironically, the best real estate agents are also the busiest real estate agents, so be respectful of that just like you would with any other professional. That's not to suggest they shouldn't lend you their expertise and provide good customer service. But to expect a realtor to research and provide comps, rehab, and ARV estimates on multiple properties in advance of you even expressing an interest in those properties is unrealistic, and would be a colossal waste of time. So you have to learn to be a realtor-friendly investor! On a related note, you'll probably have people chiming in saying "Don't waste your time, there aren't any deals on the MLS anyway". This is absolutely not true. Even here on Bigger Pockets, in a recent poll, almost 72% of new investors purchased their first deal from the MLS. The other argument is "95% of deals on the MLS are a waste of time". This may be true. But guess what? There are currently 2,812 single family homes listed in my county (Pinellas) on the MLS. 5% of that is 140 deals that might be worth looking at! I'd also argue that 95% of wholesale deals are a waste of time as well. And wholesale deals are usually "cash or hard money only, take it or leave it, close next week, no inspection contingency", whereas I can negotiate MLS listings (for example, I recently bought a property listed on the MLS for $120k. My actual purchase price was $96,200...you can't do that with a wholesaler). Bottom line, find one great real estate agent, and that's all you'll ever need!

Not only do I not expect it, I wouldn't want anybody but me vetting my own properties - not even as a first pass. Your realtor is there to filter properties based on the criteria you set as far as dollar amount, neighborhood, layout, etc. It is completely and totally up to the purchaser to then go through and start weeding out properties that won't work. That is never going to be your agent's job. The agent is going to be awesome at negotiating your deal, handling all the deadlines, working with and recommending vendors like inspectors and all of the details. But choosing the property, or even whittling the options down to a short list? No. I have a property that I bought about two years ago. I called my agent and asked him to submit an offer. He said, "Linda, that is a turn-key property. You told me you wanted fixer uppers." I said "I know, but that price is about $15,000 under market. I want it." He never would have picked that property out for me, not because he didn't know it was under market, but because I never told him that I was looking for a property like that. It's now one of my best performing properties. If I gave my agent a list of everything I'm truly looking for, it would look something like this. Properties in these 12 communities Any property less than $x. Except I'll go a little more if it's a good deal. Any property that is a fixer upper and meets these Y criteria for price and remodel level (how the hell he'd find this, I have no idea, so I just tell him "fixer uppers") Any property at more than x% under market Any property that I get a great feeling about when I see the ad (again, impossible for him) You've got to be dynamic enough to look through what you're sent and understand, within the first few minutes, whether or not the property will work. Nobody expects you to work through all of the calculations for 71 properties. I also wouldn't expect a realtor to do it either. I feel bad for my agent. I have bought properties when I told him I wasn't looking. I've bought fixer uppers when I was looking for turn keys and turn keys when I was looking for a project. Finding a great deal is about 90% gut and 10% research. If your agent is throwing away 75% of the properties before you even get to see them, you are at a severe disadvantage. I also think you are way over-estimating the number of pocket deals that occur in any given market. Even if the 10 realtors you're working with each have one, you're unlikely to ever hear about it unless you've already proven yourself to be a good customer. Those pocket deals go to a select small list of people that the agent knows can and will perform. Pocket listings that are offered outside of that group are languishing because there is something wrong with them. So unless you're that guy, then the 10 agents really are going to feed you the same data, for the most part.

@Brian Garrett - It sounds like you are misunderstanding the role of a buyer's agent and the function of the MLS. The single greatest tool at a realtor's disposal is the data contained within the MLS - which we pay handsomely to access, and are responsible for maintaining ourselves (by way of entering listings and sales data). Here's the thing, all ten of those agents you're stringing along are looking at the same data, from the same source. Find one agent who understands your needs and can mine that data for you, and the other 9 become redundant. And what if three of those agents pitch you the same deal? You'll quickly burn those bridges when the other two realize you bought it through someone else and were just wasting their time all along. I'm on the side of quality over quantity in this case (which, ironically, is probably the root cause your original complaint).

@Brian Garrett Realtors should set up a search for you based on criteria such as list price, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, square footage, single or multi family, etc. etc. That should be basic enough for any realtor to do. Is this what you're referring to? Or are you expecting them to run an analysis on the property and tell you "buy this one it will give you a xx% return." In my opinion even if the realtor did provide this feedback you'd be a fool to follow it without really scrutinizing how they arrived there. Regarding sales comps, they should be able to give you some help with that, but keep in mind they have other clients so maybe they want you to trim that list of 67 down to the ones you have real interest in before doing so. If you don't want to look at that many listings why do you expect that they will? For rent comps, they can pull mls data on that as well, though that tends to be more limited. Depending on the market Craigslist, Hotpads, Zillow, etc. can be the best place to look to compare rental amounts.

It isnt 1977. Buyers find their own properties these days from looking through an MLS portal of some sort. The agents job is making the offer, negotiating, connecting you with lenders, attorneys, contractors, inspectors, shepherding the transaction to close, using their relationships to get you the property. An agent finding the property for you just isnt how the business works anymore since the advent of the internet. If you are relying on your agent to pick 2 or 3 properties for you...they are going to likely just pick the 2 or 3 with the highest commission. If you want the list they are giving you narrowed, give them a narrowing criteria. Im not only speaking as an agent, but also as an investor who uses other agents for my out of state purchases. I find the properties I want myself, then I have an agent write my offer.

I really think you are expecting WAY too much from an agent. An agents job is to show properties, provide some information on the few properties that you are interested in, and guide the sales process to closing. That's it. He is not going to scrub through the MLS and calculate each one to see if it meets your particular financial goals of a 1% rule. YOUR job as an investor, is to properly screen what is available, and find the properties that meet your criteria and select the one that best fits your needs. If you are expecting an agent to scrub the MLS like you are wanting, then you will never be satisfied with an agent. You shouldn't need to have your realtor run rent prices on a bunch of properties, because you should already know within roughly $100 of what any house rents for based on the raw stats of the house (sq footage, bed bath count ect), a few pictures, and the homes location. You should be able to look at the list of 67 places that he sent you, and almost immediately narrow it down to a few that sound promising because you already have a rough idea what the rent, and sales price should be. Then you ask for specific details on those 2-3 properties that look promising and I'm sure any agent would gladly run whatever comps you wanted on those select few properties. Secondly and equally as important, lets reverse the roles here for a moment. Lets assume there is an amazing agent, or wholesaler out there, who always has a knack for finding deals. Why should they work with you? You already admit that you work with a dozen different realtors, so there is no loyalty. And when it comes to investors, there are always bigger fish in the sea. You will never know the name of this mythical amazing wholesaler because he takes ALL of his deals to the same 3-5 investors who he has worked with in the past who buy dozens, or hundreds of properties per year and are guaranteed to not waste his time by going through the motions only to fail to be able to close at the last minute. This amazing wholesaler has no interest in talking to someone he has never worked with before, and is only able to buy 1 or 2 units per year. This amazing wholesaler has other, better investors already lined up. He doesn't need you, you need him.

As an agent, I don't get paid to find deal. I get paid to close the deal. Getting a property under contract is a cake walk, a monkey can do it. Getting the deal to close is 90% of the work. You have no idea how to handle that. Sometimes it is an easy transaction and sometimes it is very complex and requires hours and hours of work with various trades to get it done.

Except you need to understand how the numbers work, that's where you the investor comes into play. You should analyze the property, figure the numbers out, then get conformation form the realtor. If your stuck ask them for help.Like this:You: Realtor what areas(zipcodes) to be strong rental? What kind property do you see as most in demand for that area? What's the rent range I can expect from that area.Now you will have a idea of where to search. They'll send you listings that meet your criteria (size, prop type, price range). Then that's on you to find out what makes one better than another in terms of your investment, it's subjective. Then you find something to put an offer in and the agent will tell you hey let's do xyz to make our offer stand out/stronger. Or agent will say hey so an so is a ahole and always does best and final so lets offer low at first... You the investor need to take ownership of the investment part.... lean on the agent for technical/local knowledge or off market deals.

Does your realtor analyze and/or vet potential deals first?

Brian Garrett

OP

Real Estate Investor · Palm Beach County, FL · Member since 2017 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

9y

Originally posted by @Poem Turner:

Oh my, lots of opinions here!

My two cents:

As an investor: I have an understanding of tax rates in each area, ballpark rents, and overall what criteria works for MY specific requirements.

As an agent: I've run the numbers on enough properties, I can tell at a glance what the monthly cash flow will be (taking into account location, taxes, HOA, schools, condition, appreciation trends, local job markets and coming opportunities) and even if it doesn't fit MY criteria, it may be just right for a client. We've all got different tolerances. If it passes the first glance screening, yes, I do run an analysis, and if it looks right there, I'll pass the listing, analysis, sold and rental ballparks to my client. That's for pockets and off-markets as well as what's officially on MLS. Almost all of my investors have their own analysis they'll run after they have that info. I'm not offended, they don't think I'm pushy, but I've helped narrow the field for them and don't swamp them with dozens of listings a day.

As a techie: I've developed a script to "scrub" the local MLS for combinations of criteria that may have allowed a property to escape my notice (can't look at EVERY ONE), and fit a range of cash flow and ROI tolerances.

So, yes, I think a good investment realtor should do a preliminary screen for you. But they should be experienced enough and have processes in place that make that not as hands-on for them as individually analyzing every property that fits 3/2/2 of a certain age and size within a zip code or school district. Keep looking and networking and you'll find them! Probably lurking here ;-)

Bingo finally someone who gets it!

Thank you for both your input and for providing real value to your clients.

0 Reply

Jay Leisten

Real Estate Broker · Louisville, KY · Member since 2014 · 362 posts · 232 votes

9y

The one thing I will say, is its a bit demotivating if the buyer who is asking for the extra effort, analysis etc is also wanting a discount and to not be atleast semi exclusive. I also source off market deals for clients but expect to list them on the back end and if possible also list the ones I didnt find via wholesalers, auctions or whatever other sources, If they want me to run numbers on those as well.

6 Reply

Account Closed

Earth · Member since 2017 · 297 posts · 187 votes

9y

One of the the solutions, go get the Realtor license and you become the Realtor yourself, then you can find deals for yourself and satisfied with all the work you (Realtor) have done for yourself.

5 Reply

Dustin Frank

Real Estate Agent · KS · Member since 2017 · 157 posts · 71 votes

9y

I can't speak for other agents but I personally only show my investors something that I expect them to put an offer on. I've had agents call me and ask if I can bring cash offers. Most of the time i respond something along the lines of " I can bring you cash offers but I'll tell you right now all of my investors offers are going to come in around x. I don't want to waste either of our time so if that range works for you I can bring you multiple offers." Whenever I first start working with an investor it's not uncommon for me to send them less than ideal investment properties in an effort to find out what they typically pull the trigger on. I guess the moral of my story is to start a relationship, communicate, keep in touch, and if you pull the trigger every time your presented with a particular property "run your own numbers and make an offer based off of what works for you of course." You will become your Realtors first go-to-person every time they find something.

1 Reply

Nick Rutkowski

Rental Property Investor · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9y

Matt K. I like this approach. I'm an Agent and I think that would be helpful if my clients did that on both ends. Zillow, Redfin, and Trulia makes the local RE market accessible to everyone but not everyone can analyze a property correctly.

0 Reply

Account Closed

Frisco, TX · Member since 2017 · 201 posts · 95 votes

9y

So you are asking a realtor to do things that an AGENT does - vetting properties would be acting as your agent- but then you are saying you are acting as your own agent and want to work with whoever brings you the deal. You have no loyalty. Why would an agent spend time pulling comps etc to "teach you the market" when they have no contract with you to be your agent?

5 Reply

Shawn L.

Rental Property Investor · Natick, MA · Member since 2015 · 128 posts · 188 votes

9y

Originally posted by @Chase Gochnauer:

@Brian Garrett I think it'd be helpful then to know what criteria you are expecting your agent to vet. I don't think you clarified that.

I essentially asked the same thing on page 1 and it was not responded to; all I have seen is frustration that a vague set of criteria is not being matched. If you're not giving your Realtor specific, quantifiable criteria, I don't think you can expect them to know exactly what you're looking for. I don't rely on my Realtor to do much other than get me into properties on short notice, give me his general thoughts on the properties, and facilitating the transaction. Maybe I'm doing it all wrong but as the investor I expect to do the analysis with some support and feedback from my Realtor. If it were as easy as asking every Realtor in a market to find good deals, we'd all be sipping umbrella drinks on the beach every day.

2 Reply

Ron Dayley

Clarksville, TN · Member since 2016 · 238 posts · 96 votes

9y

Brian Garrett pick a Realtor and sign the forms to use him and him only. Show some commitment to a Realtor and you will be surprised how much info they/we are willing to help you with. Most Realtors don't invest or understand what investors need or are looking for so ask around and find an investor friendly agent.

2 Reply

Sean Cole

Investor · Cincinnati, OH · Member since 2012 · 506 posts · 331 votes

9y

I wouldn't trust MY real estate investing business to any real estate agent. If an investor wants their agent to do ALL of the work vetting a deal, the agent would be much better off finding some capital to do the deal themselves. Lots of investors have come to me asking for this kind of arrangement, but they typically are looking to buy properties in the $20k-$60k range. Maybe at a different point in life we'd chase that business, but many of these investors:

1. are brand new to investing and they don't really know what their criteria is
2. don't have cash, so they're not even the decision maker. it's some other investor or HML or bank that is
3. have unrealistic expectations for the margins that exist in the market (they want to pay 1/2 of what they should pay)
4. are complete PITA and demand the agent drop whatever they're doing whenever the investor calls/texts/emails, while having no loyalty to the agent
5. will likely NEVER do a single deal, but will spend plenty of time on BP complaining about how they can't find a good agent

...and they expect the agent to do all of this for essentially minimum wage.

Here's the thing, those of us that have been in the business for more than a year or two have heard your pitch about "all of the business" you're going to send our way. When we're new, we fall for that. After a year, we start counting the number of people who have said that and delivered and the number always comes up 0. It's not always intentional on the investor's side, it's usually the 5 things I listed above with a heavy emphasis on #1.

6 Reply

Account Closed

Earth · Member since 2017 · 297 posts · 187 votes

9y

From the previous post, if I understood correctly, I think Brian G criteria is, the deals need to meet the 1% rule. He wants the Realtor to find good deals that meet the 1% rule. That’s why he ask for the rental comps as well. IMO, it would be easier if he become a Realtor himself, so he can find the 1% rule deals for himself. Also, he can find the 1% rule good deal for me (or us), so he can “earn” the commission from me (or us - Investor). Isn’t it great? We can hire Brain as one of our two agents (the agent we normally work with, and Brain), I will have Brain earn our commission whenever he can bring and close us a good deal with 1% rule. I want Brain to be one of my two agents because he will be a very hard working Realtor who bring us 1% rule good deal. This can save us (Investor) a lot of work and time.

0 Reply

Account Closed

Earth · Member since 2017 · 297 posts · 187 votes

9y

Forgot to answer the main title on this topic. Do my Realtor analyze or vet the potential deals first? No, my Realtor does not analyze or vet any potential deals for me. I found all the deals myself. If it is a deal I found on the MLS, I ask my Realtor to make offer. If I found the good deals off market myself, I made offer to the seller directly without using Realtor to save the commission. I know my Realtor sometimes found good deals off market, but she keep the good deals for herself. She flip / buy and hold the good deals herself instead of passing it to her clients unless she does not want those deals.

0 Reply

Justin BrownBusiness Member

Real Estate Agent · Allentown, PA · Member since 2017 · 343 posts · 156 votes

9y

Sorry if I’m jumping in on this late but I love this question and have some strong thoughts on it. I fall in the camp of strongly encouraging not going with several realtors and just building a strong relationship with one good one. There are definitely unquestionable pros and cons with both sides but here are just a few points I think of. 1.) As a realtor when I come across a good deal who do you think I’m going to send it to? The guy who I know is using several other people or my friend who I know is loyal and I can work with to close a deal. 2.) When I get to know you I can learn your finical and investment goals, what works for you, what you would be interested in taking on and so forth. If you have time todo that with 20 agents go for it! But more than likely that will be more successful with just one. 3.) Realtors ethical and legal duty is to sell listings. There are various reasons to have listings exclusive or “pocket” but the goal is to sell all listings at the best price and that means marketing it to as many people as possible. So just be cautious relaying too heavily on a large group of realtors because they have access to off market deals. All of my in-house transactions have been where they are still posted on the MLS. Also keep in mind if it’s off market for a short period till the agent posts (waiting to take photos, sellers moving out, etc) it you will not have a good chance of getting a good deal because they will want a near full price offer sense they have not had a chance to see what the market says. If it’s been on the MLS for a bit of time then they will be more likely to entertain lower offers. Hopefully some helpful points to think through, great question Brian Garrett!

[email protected]484-273-2414

Light House Realty LV4.972 Reviews

Website View Page

2 Reply

Marc Nespoli

Real Estate Agent · Berwick, PA · Member since 2016 · 43 posts · 6 votes

9y

Speaking as a Realtor and investor here...

As an investor, I don't want anyone else to vet properties for me. I will lean on others and ask questions, but I want help accessing what I need to do my own analysis on the property and that's it.

As a Realtor, I try to go above and beyond in helping investors (particularly new ones) as much as I can with what to look for, but that's not really what my job is. My job is to my client listings, help analyze when asked, negotiate deals, and keep everything moving smoothly (inspections, appraisals, lending, timelines). It's my observation that a good portion of realtors don't really know enough about investment properties to help you analyze a deal anyway. So it's in your best interest to do your own research.

0 Reply

Guy Yoes

Rental Property Investor · Springfield, MO · Member since 2017 · 266 posts · 312 votes

9y

Brian-

Your profile says you have experience in "Single family and multi-family rentals and flips."

My questions are:

1. Did you buy these from one or two agents or from 6,8 or 10 different agents? I'm just wondering how successful it is to use so many agents.

2. Do you also have have a list of attorneys and title companies competing for your business?

Have you considered hiring an agent on retainer to do all your leg work for you?

This could reduce the amount of time you spend running your own numbers and looking through so many listing. They could bring you properties each week matching your criteria and have the contract prepared you, then all you would need to do is write the check.

This would streamline your approach and allow you to build your portfolio faster. With the added growth of cash producing properties, you could easily justify the cost of the retainer. They could do all the buying and selling of your properties.

If you currently are using just one attorney, title company etc. why not add the realtor to the team?

2 Reply

Rito Altamirano

North Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2015 · 77 posts · 27 votes

9y

as an agent I can tell you i wouldn't trust 95% of Realtors with that task. most Realtors I talk to can't even tell you what r.o.i is or tell clients "yes this place cashflows 1200 a month" and they're literally just quoting the current rent rate. id also say your expecting to much from a Realtor especially if your just "shopping" if you signed a buyers-brokerage agreement and duties owed and upfront gave them your expectations, then I'd say your expectations definitely arent high.

1 Reply

Robert Schumacher

Investor · Campbell, CA · Member since 2016 · 76 posts · 91 votes

9y

Brian - How many transactions have you closed on so far? You seam to be very set in your ways, but I️ would encourage you to really LISTEN to what so many here are trying to share with you. I️ have learned that working with a broker that does invest in real estate has been better than a realtor that’s specializes in working to help someone buy a “Home” they plan to live in for the next 20 years. At first, I️ was afraid the broker would hog all the good deals and when I️ shared my fear he explained he can’t buy everything which makes perfect sense to me. I’m not a real estate agent. I️ am an investor. I tried using 2 brokers and they knew each other (most know each other in the area) and found that it took longer to get traction. I️ currently work with only 1 broker and he knows “I️ need his help”. I’ve had 14 offers accepted during the last 22 months and 13 closed. I️ currently have 113 units in my portfolio and he is happier about helping us get here than I️ am. I️ cannot stress to you enough that this business is about building friendships and not about only closing transactions. I️ closed on Tuesday with an apartment building for $310,000. Rents will be $8,245 per month. My realtor told me he would have bought it if I️ didn’t. This is the POWER of a relationship. I’m the near future, I’ll be looking to expand into a new area (in addition to my current area) and I️ have a feeling that when I️ share with my next new broker that I’ve closed on 13/14 transactions with 113 units in 22 months, that I️ will probably get a little respect. (Of course, my current realtor will probably be a good reference too).

5 Reply

Llewelyn A.

Investor / Broker · Brooklyn, NY · Member since 2016 · 665 posts · 1k+ votes

9y

As an Investor, I would love for a Realtor to give me ONLY what I want.... but then am I really the Investor?

Then again, if I am finding the deals, what do I need a Realtor For since I'm doing the important work (or so it seems from the Investor's point of view).

Now, I happen to be getting my Broker's License soon and I've learned a lot about the law from studying the Broker's Exam.

There is a lot about illegal Market Allocation, where Realtors are accused of just marketing certain locations or properties, etc.

There is even a case study where a Brokerage was sued for not looking at ALL the properties when a Buyer Client bought their home missing some important Listings that were similar but less expensive.

I can see why Realtors want to give a full list. I have to say there are liabilities that I did not know when I was strictly an Investor but I am starting to learn that now.

However, that being said, it's given me ideas on how to work within the scope of the Real Estate License Law and still give the Investor a great service! That will be my secret sauce to my clients when I get started :)

0 Reply

Matt K.

Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2015 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes

9y

Originally posted by @Robert Schumacher:

Brian - How many transactions have you closed on so far? You seam to be very set in your ways, but I️ would encourage you to really LISTEN to what so many here are trying to share with you.

I️ have learned that working with a broker that does invest in real estate has been better than a realtor that’s specializes in working to help someone buy a “Home” they plan to live in for the next 20 years.

At first, I️ was afraid the broker would hog all the good deals and when I️ shared my fear he explained he can’t buy everything which makes perfect sense to me.

I’m not a real estate agent. I️ am an investor. I tried using 2 brokers and they knew each other (most know each other in the area) and found that it took longer to get traction. I️ currently work with only 1 broker and he knows “I️ need his help”. I’ve had 14 offers accepted during the last 22 months and 13 closed. I️ currently have 113 units in my portfolio and he is happier about helping us get here than I️ am.

I️ cannot stress to you enough that this business is about building friendships and not about only closing transactions.

I️ closed on Tuesday with an apartment building for $310,000. Rents will be $8,245 per month. My realtor told me he would have bought it if I️ didn’t. This is the POWER of a relationship.

I’m the near future, I’ll be looking to expand into a new area (in addition to my current area) and I️ have a feeling that when I️ share with my next new broker that I’ve closed on 13/14 transactions with 113 units in 22 months, that I️ will probably get a little respect. (Of course, my current realtor will probably be a good reference too).

Impressive, let me know if a mentor spot opens up lol. Nice score on the apt bldg...

0 Reply

Paul B.

Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2015 · 503 posts · 504 votes

9y

Originally posted by @Robert Schumacher:

I️ closed on Tuesday with an apartment building for $310,000. Rents will be $8,245 per month. My realtor told me he would have bought it if I️ didn’t. This is the POWER of a relationship.

Wow, sounds like a great cap rate!

0 Reply

Paul B.

Rental Property Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2015 · 503 posts · 504 votes

9y

Originally posted by @Sean Cole:

Here's the thing, those of us that have been in the business for more than a year or two have heard your pitch about "all of the business" you're going to send our way. When we're new, we fall for that. After a year, we start counting the number of people who have said that and delivered and the number always comes up 0. It's not always intentional on the investor's side, it's usually the 5 things I listed above with a heavy emphasis on #1.

I'm not a realtor, but I have wondered how often you folks hear from people who want you to jump through hoops for them on their first deal, because they are going to do hundreds more in the coming years (or at least that's the plan). In this thread, the OP has made it clear that he doesn't want to commit to one realtor, so hopefully he is not dangling the carrot of potential future business too much.

0 Reply

Brian Ploszay

Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes

9y

Real estate salespeople don't always have their interests aligned with the investors. It is what it is.

Apartment brokers provide financial analysis with their sales packages.

Absolutely do not accept the financial analysis that a broker gives you. Scrub it and make sure that all expenses are in there. For example, leasing / rental fees are left off of the pro-forma.

A good strategy is to use your agents to accumulate information, but to analyze it yourself. You will find the occasional professional who will underwrite the deal properly.

0 Reply

Lydia Ford

Realtor/Investor · Ft. Lauderdale, FL · Member since 2014 · 74 posts · 21 votes

9y

Hey Brian,

I'm a realtor in South Florida and I must be transparent and let you know that most people in my field will not spend time vetting property after property with no real commitment or assurance that you'll actually purchase the property. Thats counterproductive. Most REI in the area are not serious buyers, they have no designated time-frame and they are just "waiting" for the right deal to fall into their laps. Plus shopping with multiple realtors also makes REI not desirable to deal with. This doesn't excite realtors to work extra hard either. A realtor can curtail a search based on your criteria, but essentially its your job to choose and vet the property.

1 Reply

William Hughes

Specialist · DelMarVa · Member since 2017 · 9 posts · 1 vote

9y

I like to service the hell out of my clients. Just today, I used BP's rental tool, pulled closed sales comps and historical rental data for a "prospect. Why? To win him as a client with value-added service. The prospect came to me via my brokers lead system, regarding one property. I will shop in the market you requested and bring you back what you asked for. That's if you're not working with another agent(s). Information is money."Working" with multiple agents may have an agent sue you for commission on a property you may have discussed with him/her but didn't close on with them. I've worked with clients/prospect without agreements and there is less appreciation for one's time and service in this type of relationship. Analyzing a property is a breeze with BP. But, I'm not doing it for every property.

0 Reply

Brie SchmidtBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

9y

I also never understood the mentality of a non-licensed person representing themselves as a buyer

It is free - the seller typically pays the commission to both agents
They can't get paid because they are not a member of the MLS
Even if their state allows dual agency, you get limited representation by having the seller's agent work with you, they literally cannot offer you any advice and they get 100% of the commission, so it is not like you will get a lower price
You will probably lose more money on mistakes than having somebody who has done this 100's times guide you through it

It is literally free hand holding and education for first time investors

Podcast Guest on Show #132

Second City Real Estate4.821 Reviews

Website View Page

1 Reply

Brie SchmidtBusiness Member

Moderator

Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

9y

Originally posted by @William Hughes:

I like to service the hell out of my clients. Just today, I used BP's rental tool, pulled closed sales comps and historical rental data for a "prospect. Why? To win him as a client with value-added service. The prospect came to me via my brokers lead system, regarding one property. I will shop in the market you requested and bring you back what you asked for. That's if you're not working with another agent(s). Information is money."Working" with multiple agents may have an agent sue you for commission on a property you may have discussed with him/her but didn't close on with them. I've worked with clients/prospect without agreements and there is less appreciation for one's time and service in this type of relationship. Analyzing a property is a breeze with BP. But, I'm not doing it for every property.

I had this happen forever ago. The client's contacted me to do some showings (without telling me about the agent they were also working with who was out of town) and eventually closed on one of the properties when their agent got back in town. I got half the commission and the other agent sued his client for it. Legally I could have gone through the board and gotten it all

Podcast Guest on Show #132

Second City Real Estate4.821 Reviews

Website View Page

1 Reply

Does your realtor analyze and/or vet potential deals first?

Does your realtor analyze and/or vet potential deals first?

Most Popular Reply

78 Replies