Question On Finding A Real Estate Agent

[Danny M.]

Hi, 

I am looking to buy my first property this year (traditional house hack). I have found a contractor I trust should any repairs be needed, secured a cheap month-to-month rental in the area I will be looking for when I start my search in April 2024, and am in the process of interviewing lenders recommended by BP and friends who own property in the area. However, I feel the search for a real estate agent is not going as smoothly, and I am seeking some advice.

So here's the question:
I connected to a few agents through Bigger Pockets. I keep having agents reach out to me, explain their credentials, and then pass me off to some other agent they work with. I understand I am not the biggest fish, seeking my first property and all, but should this concern me? Is this a reason to dismiss the idea of working with the agents doing this? Or is this a normal thing to have happen when seeking an agent? At the very least it feels like the agents could be a little more transparent about handing me off to a colleague, often they don't even ask or tell me, they just set up a call with me, causing me to think I'll be talking to them, and then they are like "Here's my colleague he'll be handling this". I just had one of the agents I was handed off to hand me off to another person because I asked a question over the weekend and he was out of the office. The thing is, I like one of the agents I connected to in this way. Should I seek an agent who is available early in the morning, late at night, weekends included? Or is that an unreasonable thing to expect out of an agent?

Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

-Danny

[Bruce Lynn]

@Danny M.   A couple of things you can ask up front in your interview questions.

1.  Will I be working directly with you, or will I be working with a team member.  How does that work?

2.  Who will I work with when you are out of town/unavailable?  Do I need to wait for you, for example for showings or making offers, or do you have someone to assist you?

You're the customer, so keep looking until you find someone who is willing to work the way you want to work.  You can connect with the right person.

Just a thought, is if you have found a lender, have you been preapproved yet for your loan?  That might help when you're interviewing realtors and help you solidify the relationship.  Show them your preapproval letter.  I'm not sure this is your case, but based on your post if you have interviewed a bunch of lenders 3-6-9 months out, searched for a contractor, and kind of kicking tires with real estate agents, there may be some that don't think you are all that serious, or they are looking for more immediate business.   There could be some agents who are trying to manage or control their time so that they are most productive.  So if they get the impression you're way off in the future, or shopping around for an agent, or not 100% sure you can buy, or going to take a lot of their time, they may be trying to trade you off to someone who is a better fit for you.  Maybe a newer agent that has more time to spend with you.  Or maybe a long time agent that isn't real busy, who they think has the time to spend with you.

Hope that makes sense.

By the way I'm kind of in the same boat.  There are a couple of places internationally that I want to buy.  I am not ready to buy there today, but also need to get an idea of prices, what things look like inside, do my research, take my time.  I very well could be on a five year plan.  Maybe 3, maybe 1, so I try to compensate in some small way the agent who spends some time with me.  Knowing it very well could take 1-2-3-5 years before I buy.  Most agents just don't have that time horizon.  Rightly or Wrongly, it does make some sense they don't want to spend a big amount of time with me.