Hi! How do i know which agents to reach out to and what do i say?

[Angel Aguilar]

I feel like the first step to networking is getting to know the agents in my area. which ones are investor friendly and how do i find out? should i call them or send them an introductory email?

[Jim K.]

Sometimes you have to be creative.

I'm a low-income landlord in western PA and I typically buy single-family in my target area. One of the general requirements for selling a house in much of my county is that a dye test has to be done on the drains to see if they're working properly or if the water off your roof is going into the sanitary sewer system, which is a no-no. A county-licensed master plumber has to carry out the dye test.

So let's say you're selling your house, and let's say you call up an agent. Let's say the house is kind of like the majority of properties that I buy, typically where the occupant has aged out of independent living or has died and the kids live elsewhere. The ideal situation for me is a pocket listing, and that's how we've acquired our last three properties.

Who's going to be taking care of setting up the dye test on a pocket listing? Who's going to be on-site when the plumber's there? The agent is, of course.

So this is what I do to find agents in my target area: my county has a list of master plumbers broken down by municipality. I get the phone number of every master plumber and I call them during normal business hours. And I ask them, "Do you have any agents you work with regularly to do dye tests on houses? Do you know any agents who work a lot with investors?"

If two or more plumbers in a municipality give me the same name, THAT'S WHO I CALL.

Keep in mind, these agents are typically very well known within their generation in a small area. They've been farming this tiny area for many years. They typically have their shingle out at the broker who will charge them the least commission, and these small independent real estate agencies aren't easy for an outsider to find.