Is it typical for RE Agents to be unresponsive?

Question

New investor in Southern California here. Looking at two different areas a couple hours away from me to venture into both the STR and LTR game.

I have reached out to two RE agents in separate counties to spark up a relationship with.

Both interactions started with me checking their reviews on Google first, then reaching out via email to introduce myself and give some details of what I am trying to do. First agent responded a day later, to which I responded back the same day asking some follow-up questions and to see some properties. CRICKETS. Called a week later, had a good conversation, and sent some properties I found on zillow to get his thoughts, then CRICKETS. He texted back a few days later saying he is busy. Then CRICKETS and he is not sending any properties my way.

Second RE agent, no response to my email, so I called a couple days later and had a good conversation. Scheduled a second time to chat further, which he apparently forgot about and I ended up calling him. He said he would get back to me to crunch some numbers on some LTR properties, but nothing.

Is this typical for RE agents? Am I supposed to be the one chasing them? Or have I just had two bad lucks despite reaching out to highly reviewed RE agents?

Anthony Dooley · Answer

@Fred K. Absolutely! That is a very typical response of many agents. I am an agent. One reason I got my license is that I couldn't get a response from agents when trying to make an offer on their listing. As an agent, I have been on a listed property and ready to make an offer, but only got voicemail. By the time they called me back, days later, I had moved on to another property. I have found that a lot of agents are lazy. There are probably 20% that actually hustle and work hard.

Russell Brazil · Answer

Honestly agents get contacted by dozens to a hundred people per week. Out of the area, you are going to the bottom of the list. If someone doesnt take the initiative to schedule an in person meeting with me, Im probably going to forget who you are til Ive met you in person.

Joel Owens · Answer

Fred it can depend on what strategy you are trying to do. It sounds like when you talk to them on the phone and explain what you want they are not that interested.Some brokers/agents and even buyers avoid confrontation so hope when they ignore people they will go away naturally on their own.If the broker/agent perceives tons of work and time involved for a low return they tend to run away.Example if I had a commercial investor call me for retail value add at 1 million purchase price I would politely decline. The amount of time will be a ton to review and the payout to me will be very small and not leave enough time to service my larger clients buying bigger properties. If someone comes to me for value add but price is 4 million then I stand to make 100k or more.Serious brokers/agents successful for many years look at the value of TIME/ MONEY. They want to see how much they can make and how hard to make it just like an investor analyzes the risk/reward of buying a property.Being states away is tough as the broker/agent might feel you will try to buy and then see an area and pass on the property OR you might want to do a ton of research upfront to get acclimated to an area which is understandable. The problem is if there are already lots of LOCAL investors in that market that know the areas ready to make a decision fast and perform. If that is the case then an out of state buyer has to have some kind of positive differentiator to stand out from the locals to make the broker/agent want to spend time with them.

Matt Pastier · Answer

@Fred K. No that’s not normal. Like any other profession, you’ve got people who will be responsive and others that won’t. I would try to get referrals from other investors in your area. The danger with using ratings is that sometimes you are just seeing agents who do high volume. That doesn’t necessarily mean you are going to get the time/attention you need. Get referrals and then tell them exactly what you’re hoping to accomplish and what’s most important to you in working together. Good luck!

Joshua Tessier · Answer

Honestly in my experience yes! My question to you is why do you want to work with an agent. My last two properties were both purchased with no realtor on either side. So that’s a potential in my case buying one for $280,000 and $231,000 that’s $511,000 typically commission is 5% in my area so that $25,550 in commissions that weren’t paid. Meaning that if can reach the seller and get the broker out Someone’s saving a whole lot of money! I know it may not be a popular view but it’s the most cost affective.

Matthew Couto · Answer

@Fred K. No, that is not typical of a good REA. Go to the Network tab on BP, click on Real Estate Agents and there you will have better luck finding a more motivated agent. Personally I wouldn't sign a Buyers Agent agreement until the have proven there worth to you! Good luck on the search!