First meeting with my realtor, any advice?

[Joshua Biondi]

Hello everyone! I have enough saved for a down payment and I was recently pre approved for an FHA loan of $165,000, which includes 10% for repairs based on purchase price. I'm meeting with my uncle's realtor for the first time today. She wants me to speak to another lender who may be able to offer me better terms than the bank that I recently spoke with. My uncle has been very successful in real estate, and his realtor has been a friend of the family for 30 years, so I don't think that she'll steer me wrong. My question is, is there anything that I should definitely ask her during our first meeting? I've been learning all I can everyday, but this is all new territory for me. I appreciate any help! Thanks in advance!

[Christopher Phillips]

@Joshua Biondi

It's all about setting up expectations -- for what you need and what you are hoping to get from an agent. Be clear about what you want: your budget, your criteria, your timelines and what kind of information you need to get going. And also communication expectations (text, phone, email, Snapchat...).

Some investors call up and say "just show me "XX" property" and then go away. Some investors are looking for leads, other investors will come back with specific properties they want to see. Others need help gathering as much data as possible and visits to the buildings department.

Some agents are just happy to show you properties. Others will actually run analysis for you and send it your way. An agent won't steer you wrong on purpose, but they won't necessarily keep you out of trouble. Reason why I mention that last piece, if you are only looking for the agent to show you the properties and then you run the numbers own your own and don't have a conversation about them, the agent won't be in a position to say if they numbers work for you or not.

Not all agents will have a conversation about the numbers. Most aren't "numbers" people. So, you have to understand what exactly you need at this stage and what that individual agent can help with.