Locating and Working with Quality Real Estate Agents
May 19, 2010 · 3 Comments
Good real estate agents are a vital part of your investing team. Finding and training them on how to effectively work with investors, is extremely important. Many agents will have predominantly worked with retail buyer and sellers and may need more guidelines as to how they should fit into your team. Even if you are already an agent, you should still be working with other agents to send you leads. No one person can look at everything and you want an army of people combing the MLS and beyond, to help you put more deals your funnel.
First lets talk about were to find them. Agents are everywhere and you just need to know were to look. For starters, look inside your sphere of influence, who you know, family, friends and who they know. You should also be taking note of the For Sale signs you see in front of yards when you are driving neighborhoods. Look for the same names and companies that are doing a lot of volume. That can be a good indicator of a quality agent. It can also mean that they may be to busy with their current business to effectively help you. Real Estate club meeting, local agent association meeting and networking events can be another source. Just getting out there, looking at open house, looking at deals, talking to people in the business you will run into agents. Be excited about what you do, investing in real estate, and have that come through with everyone you talk to.
Once you have located agents, you then need to effectively communicate to them how you will work together. Here is a great list of talking points that you can adapt to fit your own personality;
1. We work with multiple agents but if they send you the lead first, that you do buy or make money with, you will honor that relationship and make sure they get paid.
2. When they send a property lead, they need to include MLS comps, active, pending and sold, all within 3 months and a ½ mile to 1 mile of subject property (if applicable)
3. This business is about speed and volume. Deals do not last long so the faster we communicate, the more money we can both make.
4. I do what I say I will do and expect you to do the same. I will not waste your time, so do not waste mine. If I can’t trust you I can’t use you.
You will not work long term with every agent you meet, that is just a fact. You only need a few really good agents to help fill your pipeline of deals. Remember, they do not get paid until you close on a deal. So you will always need to monitor them and keep their motivation level high. Good agents can mean good deals and more profits!
I read your post and wanted to comment on the fact that you are correct that it is important to select a real esate professional that not only is committed to staying with you through the process of selecting and closing on a property, but also one who is familiar with the process and the complex transaction that is so prevelant in today's real estate market. Having a commitment to the Buyer is similar to the commitment that the listing agent has to the seller. It is called a Buyer Broker Agreement and is one of our many contracts that are available for use during the transaction. It is also for the Buyers protection and spells out exactly what the real esate professional will do in the course of working with the Buyer during the real esate transaction as well as being beneficial when the offer is submitted it shows that the buyer is serious and pre-approved to purchase the property and can put the buyer at the top of the list in the case of multiple offers. Hiring an agent to get the job done and get you your property is the goal. Hiring the right agent is imperative if you want to buy and sell in this complex market. Choose your agent carefully and you will reap the beneifits of this buyers market.
This is great – because as an agent I want to know how to work more effectively with investors. I want to be the resource for them and want to be able to anticipate what my investors are looking for…
I love that you posted this! As an agent that works primarily with investors, its refreshing to hear that someone is weeding out the lesser agents out there. There is definitely a difference in working with investors and working with general buyers and sellers. I work in the Cleveland area and there are awesome investor opportunities out there for investors!