Buyers Agents Have Worked Well

[David Moore]

Correction: Buyers Agents Have Not Worked Well

I'm an investor in Southern Minnesota. When I first started here, I wanted a buyers agent, and found one who was an investor and also a property manager. She helped me find a community banker whom I use today. But I found quickly she would never respond to emails and phone calls. Opportunities would slip by because she was so busy running her side business, she couldn't get me into properties.

I then continued without a buyers agent, and found a property my wife and I liked, and contacted the sellers agent, and voila, the service was great, and I knew full well the agent was all on the seller's side..but I got the property.

We liked the selling agent, so we retained him, and found opportunity after opportunity was followed slowly. He was good at showings, but slow at strategy. Other investors kept beating us to bids, and I was going days between asking for purchase orders and following up with phone calls. I finally got him to get a PA in today, but it is the last straw.

My experience leads me to think...much better off with out Purchasing agent. It adds an unneccesary level of hoops to jump thourgh. With a sellers agent, you have one communication, not an email, and then another email or voice mail in between. Your thoughts?

[Joel Owens]

The brokers/ agents should be honest with you. Many take on clients and see what sticks to make money.

A broker/agent in demand only has so much time in a day.

For me on the commercial side I have to allocate time to only serious buyers and sellers.

I think the issue might be in the beginning outline in writing what you expect.

For instance I am a buyer looking for 3 bed 2 bath buy and holds with a 2 car garage for 900 in rent for 80,000 purchase price. I am looking to buy 1 a month and I am qualified with a loan person and here is my banks statement.

The broker/agent if they are any good on the residential side will see 12 deals a year at 80k is 960k at 3% commission equals a 28,800 book of business annually for that client. Next the broker/agent needs to define the time it will take to accomplish the goal to see ROI. Especially if an investor is buying a flip where they will make 30,000 they can't expect a broker/agent to have the same enthusiasm to make 2,000 to 3,000 commission for the same work and effort.

I will give you an example. Years and years ago I would work on the vacant apartment buildings. A 30 unit was a gut job and I spent 4 months negotiating that short sale, water lien, waiver of deficiency to make a paltry 6,000 because the sales price was 3k and change a door.

Every deal I work on now makes me 5 to 6 figures in commission. I don't waste time on low income and high work properties as it reduces my ROI.

Hope it helps.