Working With Real Estate Agents and Protecting Deals

[Will Kaufmann]

Hi all! I have a question regarding working with real estate agents and protecting deals that are not under contract from being taken by another party. By way of quick background, my name is Will Kaufmann and I am new to BP and relatively new to REI. I own a primary residence in Raleigh, NC and self-manage our rental property in Philadelphia. I am an attorney, so I am always keeping risk in mind, hence the following question:

I am getting ready to contact a motivated seller in another county and would like to have some numbers beforehand. I would like to contact a local real estate agent to get some market information on comparable sales, rentals, and the overall market picture. Is it okay to simply reach out to an agent and request help? What do I owe an agent who does help? Should I be concerned about the agent shopping the potential deal to others, and if so, how can I protect myself?

Thanks in advance for the assistance!