Finding deals - do you solely rely on realtor or look for deals yourself?

Question

tl;dr:
 realtor only seems to only respond for deals he sends now. Is this 
normal or should I look for new more communicative realtor?

I'm a new long distance investor based on the east coast with one SFH
 in the midwest. So far I've only really worked with one realtor and one
 team so bear with me if this is a noob question.

The team I work with has a email list for investors where they send 
deals, but lately they've been drying up. Due to this, I've been taking a
 look on zillow here and there. Here's the things I verify quickly:

• - price/rent ratio based on estimated rent on rentcast
• - crime heatmap
• - general research of the area

If those check out and I feel I can cash flow, I then email my 
realtor to get his thoughts on neighborhood, etc.... My thinking is I'd get his opinion and if 
neighborhood checks out in his mind I'd verify rent with my PM and go 
into contract.

My realtor was much more responsive a year ago, but now seems to only
 reply to listings they send out to the investors email list.

My question is, am I not doing enough due diligence on the properties before sending it to the realtor and maybe they're not good deals or do most realtors only trust what they find for you? Or is my realtor just bad at communication and I should find a new one.  I've emailed my realtor clarifying what he 
prefers too because last year it seemed like he welcomed me finding 
deals that I felt were good as well.

Ray Hage · Answer

There could be a lot of factors on why your realtor is not communicating so well with you. I think you are doing fine on your own research. Frankly, most noob investors don't even do that and just send stuff blindly! If I were in your position, I'd consider finding another realtor within the Midwest markets you're looking for and I am going to be very specific here. Find a realtor that is also an investor him/herself (not just an "investor-friendly agent"). They are going to provide the most value.

For properties that my clients really like in south Florida, whether they are investments or primary residences, I give them a very detailed estimate on the numbers (mortgage, insurance, taxes, repairs, etc) because I have my own experience in this. An average realtor with none of his/her own properties can't do that unless maybe he is also an experienced PM.

Lydia S. · Answer

@Kevin Zh

Based upon what you said, a couple things come to mind.  Sounds like it’s been a year that you have received property options from your Realtor and haven’t placed any offers, and it’s unclear whether you provided any proof of funds.  I suspect your Realtor doesn’t see you as a serious buyer at this point and is directing their time towards those clients who are taking action.

Regarding Zillow, you might be surprised how many properties are not accurate i.e. have already sold or are pending sale, so those may not even be options.

If you are a serious buyer, call your Realtor and have a discussion again about your timeline and funding to refresh your position in their priority list.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Realtors are not going to push off market deals that they will not make a commission on. You can either spend your own money to market direct to seller, or utilize wholesalers.

Bob Stevens · Answer

Realtor NEVER, ok maybe once or twice 10 years ago for maybe 5 deals. Since than I have done more than 500 deals, ( all cash purchases ) nothing I have not done. ALL off market, no realtor involved. I can get as many as I want. Its all about your network and knowledge. You are working much to hard. Impossible to do it all over the internet. All you need to do is connect with those doing deals vs researching on the internet.

All the best

Sam McCormack · Answer

Haha, of course. Good thing that worked?

Sam McCormack · Answer

You said last year, is it because he stopped taking you seriously because you are taking so long? I am just asking because it would make sense. Mot investors forget that agents have a limited time to do this too, so maybe after a bit he "gave up on you", in a sense. Have you shot him properties recently telling him you like them? That is normally people get to the top of my list, is if they send me something they like, all realtors love that. Let me know!

Blake Peterson · Answer

Hi Kevin Zh! This sounds frustrating to you and seems like you may need to have a conversation with your Realtor in order to get what you need from them. If you're looking at SFH in Minnesota, and if things don't work out with your current Realtor then feel free to reach out to me. I work with Keller Williams and have a fantastic team behind me to assist with anything.

Carlos Ptriawan · Answer

simply because if it is MLS listing, in theory you could use any agent and if you are the one that find the house in particular not them, then you could even use the seller agent as your agent so your agent doesn't get commission. Now question to you, is the deals from your agent has better cap rate than the MLS zip rate ?

Finding deals - do you solely rely on realtor or look for deals yourself?

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