Building rapport with realtors

[Sean Gibson]

Hello everyone, I am a new investor and wanted to get opinions on the best way to build a relationship with a realtor and what terms realtors are use to working in. Should I be expecting to pay fees or can I work with them with the understanding they will get a cut of the deals they help me close on. My goal is to get access to expired listings, distressed properties in the MLS, and comps for properties I may be interested in investing in. Eager to get started but unfamiliar with the process. Thanks in advance!

[Jerome Harrod II]

Paying Fees will most likely be the way you're going to pay, However their are investor agents who'll partner with you on deals to make their cut. This a people business and everything is doable as long as it's done legally, with the right person, under the right brokerage. The trick is finding the right person under the right brokerage.

However, If you just want leads and comps, you'll have better chances of getting that if your honest and upfront about what you want. Most investor friendlies will require Buyer Agency of some type, Some will smarten up by having a service you pay monthly for only to get Comp help and Automatic Expired and Distressed lead Delivery, while Few will agree to a $500 per bought house gift based on trust of your word alone. 

To find these agents, Attend local REIA meetings or Find local Real Estate Investing Meet Up groups to network with their agents and talk with them about their work with newbies. In my opinion, a good investor focused agent should either already have a plan for working with newbies or have a ready contact they can direct them to. Treating them to lunch is a good way to build a relationship and pick the brain of an agent who normally doesn't work with newbies, but don't always count on it.

If you aren't attending REIA meetings or Real estate investing Meet Ups, then as a new investor, drop any guru scripts that'll project you as something you're not to a Realtor. Their version of "Fake till you make it" will cause problems for you down the line as a decent Realtor will spot you out later down the line and they will drop you because you broke trust.

Call a small boutique brokerage, Ask the office for someone who focuses most of their time on investors and investment properties. When you reach them, tell them you're new and tell them about your investing strategy. If it's wholesaling, expect resistance from 80% of the people you talk to. If they're smart, instead of telling you "it's not legal and no respectable agent/broker will allow" , they'll try to share another way to invest, do try to hear them out.