Originally posted by @Joe Kim:
This thread is getting out of hand...a bit.
I think my initial post was misleading. I"m not just trying to "save money". But the flip side of the coin is getting the most for your buck. - VALUE. Am I getting the best service for what I"m paying for. That's it.
So let's reframe my question: How do you motivate your agent/PM to provide the best service to you?
I already know most of those answers. I was trying to see if anyone else had other ways to motivate the people they are working with.
At the end of the day, I was really asking for more novel ways to MARKET my properties (and not your DYI type of way), but by paying good people to work for me.
I'm a big believer in paying people well for good work. In many cases, you cannot know if someone is going to do good work or not until AFTER the fact.
By the way, I really like my agent. I'm just looking for a NEW way of doing it.
Why do we all have be like sheep and follow conventional wisdom?
Lastly, I don't think any or most of the respondents have owned expensive SFR for buy/hold.
That move of buying SFR >300K is something I'm trying for the first time when most investors are buying at 50K - 150K range.
I'm not trying to pose this question for my 125K properties. But 300K+ value properties which is in a different category with more risk, more cost, but hopefully some equal benefit.
Just saw this piece added to the thread... This post definitely clarifies things! So let me give an updated response...
I invest and I'm also an agent. When working for my clients as an agent, I am motived by their promise of loyalty and repeat business. If they are satisfied with my work, if I can answer questions, get the job done well, and I know they'll come back to me again, then I really focus on their needs. However, if I'm one in a million agents and I know they are going to just use some other guy because his commission is less, etc then that's a relationship I don't want to nurture. Loyalty is what I'm after.
When trying to get inventive in terms of marketing a property, I'd suggest that it really boils down to the basics. Answering the questions: Who is your demographic and where can you find those people? Once you know where to find them, then you can think of different ways to reach them. Trying new and inventive marketing strategies is something I'm always trying to brain storm; and it's difficult to try and come up with something new sometimes. Some times I'll do a "brain dump" - I'll take 5 minutes and just jot down all the ideas I have (good, bad, and crazy) on marketing for a specific property. Once the 5 minutes are up, I've got a long list of ideas I can work from and try out. I mold them into something workable (how can I fit this into my marketing budget, do I have the time for this, etc) and give it a shot.
So, in terms of marketing, it's a lot less "risky" per say to be inventive or try new things. In my previous post, however, I mentioned that most people do not stray from those tried and true methods due to the financial risk at stake. This would be why so many "act like sheep". Understandable to a degree.
And unfortunately you are correct in saying that most of the time you do not know the quality of work someone will provide until after the job is done. Even word-of-mouth referrals from your most trusted partner can steer you wrong or even just happen to have all the stars mis-align and get a bad experience. Par for the chorus. If it happens, take the lesson and move on to the next. (I'm sure you already know this!)
Best of luck with your new endeavor! If I have any brilliant marketing ideas, I'll be sure to share them! :)
