Starting Out! Need Help w/Buying Order of Events

[Misti DelMar]

I have the dumbest of all questions... but believe it or not, it's not easy to find.

I am buying my first investment property (and first property ever) this summer, and I have no idea who you contact first. It's so newbie, it's not even on the internet, haha.

*When I'm ready to buy, who do I contact first? A realtor, a bank, a mortgage company (does it need to be local?), a broker, etc.?

*How do you get "pre-qualified"? Who does that?

*What is the correct order of events? 

Thanks!

[Dave G.]

@Misti DelMar Good news - a good realtor is worth their weight in gold and can help you with all of this. That's where I would start. Bad news - good realtors are extremely hard to find as the 80/20 rule does not apply. IMO it's more like 97/3 that only a tiny percentage of realtors are truly experienced and successful, especially in today's market. And by experienced, I don't mean 2 or 3 years, I mean 10-20 years or more experience. When I was a new 23 year old realtor long ago, I actually sold some properties. Looking back, I can't believe anyone trusted me then to help them as I would definitely not hire my 23 year-old self now to do this. 

Anyway, you'll need to shop around and interview realtors to find one worthy of hire. You could add your location to your BP profile and cast a net on BP for ones local to your market. Or join a local REIA (actually do this anyway for other benefits). If you are in Arizona, I can offer my recommendation.

Good luck to you. 

Dave