All Forum Posts by: Rich Spaulding

Hey @Dmitri L., 

Stumbled upon your post and was wondering if you had an update?

The relationship between a buyer agent and their client is not really your business.  You can offer whatever you'd like to a buyer agent.  However, buyer agents expect (and deserve) 3% when working with buyers.  The duties of a buyer's agent is well beyond just locating the right property.  

I can see from your perspective (especially in a deal like the one you're describing) you may disagree and don't see how paying a buyer agent is worth it.  But they represent the buyer.  Just because you're offering commission, doesn't mean the buying agent cares about your interest.  A good buyers agent will solely concentrate on their client's best interest.  

In your example, you said the offer came in $25,000 less than asking.  It's probably because your property is overpriced.  A professional real estate agent will understand comps and make appropriate offers.  

I can tell you from experience, I've shown houses to my buyer, only to find out the listing agent or FSBO only pays 2% commission. When that happens, I inform my buyer they would be responsible to pay the extra 1%. Guess what happens? They don't want to pay and we find another house.

Congrats on the offer and I hope the deal works out for you!

Leverage OPM.

One of the biggest reasons real estate is so attractive to investors is the idea you don't use your own money (for the most part).  Getting away from that principle is a bad idea, in my opinion.  

As an agent, I disagree that my colleagues are "lazy".  It's easy to say "fire the agent" without more information.  I like what @Joel Owens said.  The agent just needs to qualify you more.  Or, the buyer needs to communicate better.   My most difficult clients are the introverts that can't clearly communicate their ideal purchase.  It's my job to dig deep and ask hundreds of questions to determine the client's wants and needs.

My advice:  Go back to your agent and remind him/her that you're an investor.  You'll be wanting to make 1-2 offers a week and many times these offers might appear to be lower than most.  Ask the agent if that's something they feel comfortable performing for you or not?  Give the agent the opportunity to work for you by communicating your needs very specifically.  This way, everyone is on the same page trying to achieve the same goal.

Hi Karen,

Missed this one, but count me in next time.

Thanks!

Two best resources I know for backlink education:

http://pointblankseo.com/link-building-strategies

http://backlinko.com/link-building

Hope that helps!

I wrote a blog post today about the impact of Google Mobilegeddon, how it affects Realtors, and how to check your website's user experience score.    

https://www.richspaulding.com/how-realtors-should-...

@Chris Ulinski try BuzzSumo .  Use their "influencer" tool.  Type in a keyword related to the websites you'd like to network with in the future.  You can even search by location (Boston, NYC..etc).  

Hope that helps!

Sounds good to me!  Hurry up and invent the game, I'm ready to play.  

@terryfree

Take a look at this game:

http://www.learn4good.com/games/tycoon/realestatei...

Not exactly as good as your idea, but any game involving real estate investing is fun to me!