Evaluating a realtor

[Kyle McCane]

Hi all, 

So I'm working on my network and had a chance to meet with a realtor today. He happens to be an old friend of mine that I hadn't seen in years. I'm still new to the REI world. I would be doing more fix and flips and maybe some wholesaling.

A little about him. He has only been an agent for about a year so I'm concerned about his level of experience. On the positive side he has run (and still is) a current electrical contractor. He's run that business for the past 20 years. 

What should I be looking for in a realtor that will help me?

[Account Closed]

Hey Kyle -

It all depends on what you need him to do.

• If you need a realtor to just run comps based on your criteria and make tons of offers (assuming he is good with it), then he is your guy.
• If you need someone that has knowledge of a particular market, then clearly he isn't.
• Like you said, the + is he's got the electrical background which is awesome.

I personally would rather have a realtor that can send me comps (which takes significantly less time than actually doing the valuation) and make tons of offers on my behalf. I think the experienced guys/gals get busy with a lot of other clients and don't necessarily share an investors vision of success (which most likely includes making more offers than are accepted). But again, it all depends on what you need from him.