can you work with more than one agent at the same time?

Question

hello BP guys! I am trying to purchase my first multi-family deal. I recently moved and I dont know the area very well. however, I would like to buy a house soon.

My question is: is it ok if I work with multiple agents in my area? or do I just work with one?

Bob Okenwa · Answer

@Bruce Woodruff

Bingo. This is it right here. Time is a valuable resource and no agent likes to waste it. Most agents work for free until the commission check comes in. Not much sense in working with a client when there isn't a guarantee that they'll use you to close on a property because said client also employs other buyer's realtors.

@Michael Weis

As for David Greene, employing listing agents to bring you deals is a different/more advanced strategy than interviewing multiple agents to work for you and using them as your buyer broker.

It's supposed to work like this: You call up a listing agent about a property they have on the market. You tell them they can write the offer for you and get both sides of the commission representing you and of course the seller. If they do, great. You have a deal and they get paid 2x. If not, you tell them to bring you any deals like the one you're calling about and they can get both sides of that commission and represent you as a buyer. You do this with a few agents (and close on deals to show that you're a real investor and not a tire-kicker) and then you have agents who'll keep you in the pipeline if they have any more listings because they know you'll close and they'll get a double commission.

The thought process behind this is that as an experienced investor, you don't need anyone to hold your hand or show you properties. You see something that works for you, run the numbers, and make an offer. Rinse and repeat. The listing agent is more of a transaction coordinator for you than an actual buyer's agent who is required to have your best interest at heart.

So to recap, a regular buyer's broker who works directly for you will take your calls and texts and emails, drive out to properties with or without you, walk them for/with you, give you feedback on rehab scope and pricing, rental rates, comps, etc. Using the listing agent is simply for having someone write the contract for you and keep you in mind whenever they have investor-friendly deals for you and all they have to do is write the contract for you in most cases. This doesn't work everywhere (dual-agency isn't lawful in all 50 states) and won't work with every agent but is used as a tool to increase leads.

Michael Dumler · Answer

@Alixon Herrera  you technically can work with multiple real estate agents if you haven't signed an exlusive brokerage agreement, however, the act is somewhat unethical. I understand your logic, the idea is you'll cover more ground and more opportunities will arise if you are working with multiple agents, but it's actually quite counterintuitive. Keep in mind, all real estate agents have access to the same information sourced from the mls. Also, the real estate investing space is tight between agents, meaning, we work closely together on deals/transactions. If one agent finds out that you are working with another agent and you never informed them of the matter, that will more likely then not kill your credibility moving forward and there is a solid liklihood that neither will work with you. There is nothing wrong with interviewing multiple agents, but at the end of the day, I advise that you pick one you think will work well with your style and criteria. Hope this helps! Please, feel free to reach out anytime if you have other questions or just want to chat.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Think like an agent.....why would you put 100% into finding a house for someone when you know they have other agents working for them? Unless they are a new agent with not very many clients and nothing else to do? So if you want that great agent, they will be busy and in demand.....they will definitely just move along if they know you are working with multiple agents. Plus it's just rude IMO....

Bob Okenwa · Answer

I routinely call listing agents to get info and will then shape my offer based on this or decide if it's even worth my buyer's agent going to check the property out. My agent is aware I call listing agents. It makes his job much easier as he has other clients and cuts down on his time having to play phone/text tag with listing agents to get information. I do this as not to waste his (my agent) time running around chasing bad deals on my behalf as I invest out of state.

I am an agent myself and have experience dealing with listing agents and I know what to ask and what to look for. I use my buyer's agent to go see the property in person, get me more photos and video, and get me a rough rehab number to shape my offer. My agent always gets the deal as he does a lot more work than simply writing offers for me. It is a mutually beneficial relationship as I respect his time and effort and ensure he gets rewarded for doing his job.

Moral of the story: respect your agent and work with him/her as a partner and not as an employee and you will both reap the rewards of real estate.

Jonathan Greene · Answer

Why would you want to work with more than one agent instead of just finding the right one. If you arent' satisfied with what one agent is doing, you need a different one. But you would be shooting yourself in the foot to use more than one because why would any agent worth their salt work with you if you were seeing homes with someone else. It's just like dating. You may want an open relationship, but the agent has no value play there and can spend their time better working inside of an exclusive relationship (does not and should not have to sign anything though).

Michael Weis · Answer

@Bob Okenwa that's very useful. So even though you are contacting the listing agents, your buyer's agent is still getting all the deals. He's working for them even though he might not be the one making the initial contact, if I'm understanding you correctly.

Michael Weis · Answer

Thanks @Bruce Woodruff. I guess that make sense, but still not totally clear why it would be rude if it's done above board. People can make their own decisions. But I'm here to learn, so appreciate your input. I'm sure I will learn more about this as I progress in my own licensing process.

Michael Weis · Answer

Thanks @Bob Okenwa. This is very helpful. But what I still don't understand is, if you're out there contacting listing brokers on your own anyway, why would that buyer's agent want to work his butt off for you if he thinks you're just going to go make your own deals anyway?

Michael Weis · Answer

This is a very interesting thread. I've been wondering a lot about this lately because David Greene makes a lot of noise about working with multiple agents in a given area and he's an agent himself. So I'm wondering why would he say that when every other agent responding to this thread says something else?

A little background about me: I currently own a duplex and multifamily property and want to get deeper into investing. I am studying for my RE licensing exam in my area, but that is not where I plan to invest. We worked with a friend of a friend to find our multifamily property, and it took quite a while before we found anything that suited our investment goals, but find it we did and he worked hard. Now, we want to keep investing in this particular area, but it really isn't his geographic area of specialization. I know there are plenty of other more local agents who we could use, but he seemed a little put off by the suggestion that we might want to use someone else.

He's a good guy, he worked hard for us and he's willing to continue to work hard for us even though he doesn't really know our area that well. My tendency is to want to help him along by making sure he knows our goals give him a chance, but he's not a rock star. He's just a good guy who's willing to work hard.

Who do you pick and why? And most important, why can't you use multiple agents, if there's no exclusivity anyway, and everyone knows what's going on?

Joshua Janus · Answer

I would say contact multiple agents initially and see which one is the best in terms of knowledge and experience on the investment side and go all in on that agent.

can you work with more than one agent at the same time?

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