Finding the Right Real Estate Agent for You
First, the key is letting the agent know you do want to make a lot of offers, right up front. Sometimes in my first or second conversation with an agent I tell them I'll need them to make 5-10 offers a week. This can weed some out before I even get too invested in them.
Secondly, I follow up by saying I want to make this easier for all parties involved so I want to template the offers so that it will save us both time. First they send me listings, I review and send back offer amounts. For the first offers I've usually meet them in their office and go through their board of realtors sales contract and add my terms and contingencies to it. Once we have a finalized contact we can save and use over and over again. The only thing that will have to change for my offers is the Date, Seller, Address, and Offer price. I've also given them copies of an earnest money check or letter from my title agent stating they have earnest money in escrow and a proof of funds letter. This template system allows them to be able to make each offer in less than 10 minutes, eliminating some of the burn out.
Next, I search for realtors usually through a website called ActiveRain.com It is a Social Media site for Realtors. I do not use the search box at the top (that is for searching properties). I click on the Search button and type in Area and the work Investor (ie Los Angeles, CA Investor). I don't have to put anything in there for Real Estate as it is a Real Estate website. Now you'll get tons of returns and several will be news articles and blogs. What you are looking for is Profile pages which will be listed like: activerain.com/jdoe Just a slash with their profile name. Email a handful of realtors a basic description of what you want them to do and see who writes back. If you email 10 you might only hear from 2, but that eliminates 8 calls and can save you some time.
Additionally, I also find houses online that meet my search criteria. For example, I’ll go to Realtor.com or Zillow or Redfin and find a property that looks vacant and needs work based on the pictures and description. I then request information from the site. This request usually goes to multiple realtors. I’ll hear from a few, but usually only 1 or 2 follow through. At this point, I have a solid group of agents to work from.
Bonus, almost all of this can be done remote (including a Zoom/FaceTime/Skype call for the first offers. Now get to work!
Best of Success ~Andrea
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