I’ve had mixed experiences working with realtors and agents. Like any profession, there are some who do the job well and others who don’t.
Maybe it’s because as an investor, I’ve had to take it upon myself to find great deals and get them sold without waiting for a third party to do the work for me... but even so, I’ve encountered the occasional realtor who was able to do the job better than I could (which, honestly, is how it should be).
Has anyone else ever had an exceptionally good experience with a real estate agent? If so, what made them so good to work with (and how did you find them in the first place)?
I've definitely worked with both good and bad agents.
I feel like the biggest distinction is promptness, communication, hustle and knowledge.
If an agent doesn't get back to me quickly, I won't work with them. I define quickly as within a few minutes, to a few hours tops.
If it takes days for them to respond, or a day or two to get comps on a property for me, that doesn't work.
They also have to be just as eager to move my property as I am.
They need to be proactive and go the extra mile, because this relationship is something I need to be able to depend on, and in exchange I'm going to continue giving them listings.
I think you hit the nail on the head @Jarenb - I actually had a really good agent when I bought and sold my primary residence a couple years ago. He had a good handle on what mattered. This guy didn't waste time. He hustled like crazy and followed up very quickly, every time. He wasn't JUST hungry. He wasn't JUST responsive. He wasn't JUST a nice guy. He wasn't JUST knowledgable. He had it all and used his talents well. I think that's when you can get a superstar, when they're sharp on every edge and they use their strengths to their client's benefit.
What's your top 3 things you look for when selecting an agent? I have very small experience in it but I used Zillow to see what realtors had a large number of land sales in the area over the past year.
@AllenB - that's a great question. I think looking at the top sellers is one way to gauge a good one, but probably not the only thing worth considering.
In the past, I've cut deals with agents who agreed to NOT charge a commission if I found the buyer on my own and closed without their involvement (whereas a lot of these contracts entitle the agent to their commission even if they do literally nothing to make the house sell within the term of the agreement). Even though their willingness to do this doesn't make them a great agent, it makes them flexible enough to work with.
That's a very good point @retipsterseth. I enjoy the process of acquiring properties, but marketing my property personally is not a strong suit for me and finding a highly motivated realtor also seems to be a struggle. I'm pretty sure @Jarenb also requires them to only write up 3 month contracts which seems like an excellent idea to me.
1. Go to Zillow and pull up the area around my subject property.
2. Look for listings that have real professional pictures of the property - not aerial map screen shots!
3. Look for listings with real professional pictures AND a well written thought out description.
4. Look up the listing agent's profile on Zillow (see example) and look at their past listings. If there are more land listings than house listings I give them a call and loosely use the script you can download from this blog post: https://retipster.com/landagents/
I consider myself one of the agents that has the hustle, drive, and creativity to get the deal done at a high level. Customer Service, follow through, honesty and open-mindness are important. I work hard for my end users and my investors alike. Seth is correct that there are some [agents] that will do a job well and other who don't. I have experienced it as a customer and an agent. I pride myself on representing the industry well and raising the bar as an agent. My adrenaline gets pumping when I run into an agent with the hustle and drive I respect. It is so refreshing. I get disgusted to watch clients get underserved by their agent and really not even know it.
The way I know I have done a great job with an end user will be if they invite me to supper after the transaction is over. Here is raising the bar in the industry!
In reality Real Estate agents specialize in a vast array of different types of properties. Most residential agents only work for the traditional family home buyer and seller and not technically the investors. There are actually agents out there who are investor friendly and know how to look for an investor. Usually those types of agents are the ones that are investors themselves. Ask them if they've ever worked with investors before or if they invest themselves.
@Jarenb I am personally in the Baton Rouge, Louisiana market. I am setting up Flip agent partners in other markets to expand our reach and have flip field agents so our investors can have more reach. I love partnering with the wholesalers to get first choice of their deals before their mail list gets to pick over the deals. Excited about what 2020 has to offer. It has been our Market Center's best year so far.