Advice on working with realtor to find first rental

[Ming Ming Liu]

I'm local to Knoxville, and am looking to purchase my first rental in the Knoxville market. I'm looking at properties on MLS, because if my only access right now. The market here is such that it's hard to cashflow unless I'm offering 20% below asking on MLS properties. I found a couple of properties that sat on the marketing for close to a year. The couple of (buyer) realtors I've worked with seem to be very reluctant to make a 70-80% asking offer. They became slow to respond after seeing my offer amount, and it has limited my ability to make offers.

I would like to make some deals that makes sense from cash flow perspective, and not count on appreciation on a market that has passed its pre-recession peak.

What strategies have my fellow BPers employ to get realtors engaged? And/or ways to get offers through.

[Victor Jernigan]

@Ming Ming Liu Although the market in Knoxville is competitive, there are still good opportunities for both flippers and the buy and hold investor. However, @Aaron K. is giving good advice about adjusting your expectations. 

There is a new YouTube video on the housing market in Knoxville - Real Estate Investing: Simply Not Enough Houses - It will give you a good overview of why the Knox Metro Area is getting stronger and help explain the reluctance a Realtor has in making a low offer. 

If you want to meet with many other rental property investors, there is a 2 Day Multifamily Mastery workshop this coming weekend, Nov 11-12, in Knoxville. It is hosted by @Gino Barbaro and his partner #Jake Stenziano. The information is on their website JakeandGino and KnoxREIA. They are stars here on Bigger Pockets, and have one of the top real estate podcasts. 

Also, the topic at next week's Knoxville Real Estate Investor Meeting is about Wholesaling and Finding Deals in This Market. 

In addition, there is also a real estate networking group meeting at Mimi's Cafe - They have a Meetup page.

Happy Investing