Tips for Building An Investor Focused Real Estate Agent Team???

Question

I've been thinking about starting my own agent team within my brokerage. I only work with real estate investors, and lately have had so much business that I really need to bring at least one other agent in to help soon. There are other agents in my office that would be happy to help on one off deals, but what I really want to do is to have an agent(s) that work exclusively with investors, like I do. I find specializing makes it easier to really add value to the transaction, and I don't want agents on my team that are going to be distracted by their retail clients and the different marketing that is required for that segment of the industry. I'm having a difficult time finding agents that I think would fit well into this model, and am curious if any of you are running a similar team. I'd be interested in knowing the answers to any of these questions:

If you manage your own team, do you have any tips on attracting like minded agents?

Are you doing recruiting all through networking, running adds, or something else?

Is asking agents to forgo having retail clients too much of a detriment to them?

What value do you provide to team members as an inducement to join your team?

I'll definitely have leads for them, and plenty of experience to share, but what specifically do you offer for members of your team?

What else should I be asking?

If you manage your own team, do you have any tips on attracting like minded agents?

Are you doing recruiting all through networking, running adds, or something else?

Is asking agents to forgo having retail clients too much of a detriment to them?

What value do you provide to team members as an inducement to join your team?

I'll definitely have leads for them, and plenty of experience to share, but what specifically do you offer for members of your team?

What else should I be asking?

Joseph Cacciapaglia · Answer

@Anson Young thanks for the input. I just find that it's a very different person that excels with the analytical side of investing compared to the more emotional side of retail sales. I know there are some people that are great at both, but I find those people are pretty rare.

@Jonathan Greene glad to hear you're seeing the same opportunity. I don't work with many flippers, but I see why that would attract a lot of retail buyer leads. I like the idea of them just handling the retail clients on their own. I know I don't add much, if any, value on that side.

@Cassi Justiz it sounds like your business is very similar to mine. I work exclusively with investors, and almost all of my investors are out of state as well. My typical client is a numbers driven buy and hold investor. Most of my income comes from fully occupied fourplexes, but I also have clients that like single family and some that like slightly larger (but still pretty small) multifamily. Letting my team do retail deals on their own may be a good solution. I just believe that the more of your time spent on the investor side, the more familiar with that segment of the market you are, and the more value you can add.

Cassi Justiz · Answer

I'm working on building up a team right now. I was in a similar position with enough qualified leads that I needed someone else to help me efficiently service them. The first team member I brought in was a transaction coordinator that is paid a split out of the closed transactions. That was a tremendous first step for me. My husband left his W2 job and is currently my first buyers agent. If you want more details about how I've structured the "buyer agent" role, I'm happy to give you that info.

I wouldn't ask agents to give up retail clients, but they really need to primarily want to work with investors.  I would say if they want to work open houses or pick up retail clients on their own time, that would be great. I almost exclusively work with investors, so they need to know that if I send a lead to them it's most likely going to be an investor.

I would probably go to the investor and Realtor meetups in your area and find new agents. I'm sure many new agents would gladly join a team if you could help mentor then on how to be an investor and work with investor clients. I've agents that think of the out of state investor as a mythical being and are blown away when they hear my percentage of OOS to local clients. (I'm holding steady at about 75% OOS clients right now). So I know if I were to try to recruit agents based on training them how to run numbers and work with investors (especially out of state), they would probably jump on it.

Joseph Cacciapaglia · Answer

Thanks @Eudith Vacio and @John Warren. I have a VA that is pretty great, and I agree that getting out to showings is my number 1 bottleneck. I don't necessarily want an agent that is an investor, just one that is committed to working with investors. I find that when I've had a typical residential agent help with my investor clients, they have a difficult time answering questions related to operating the property as an investment. It's just a mindset shift from talking with owner occupants. I realize this is a training issue on my part, but I don't want to spend the time training, if the agent is then going to spend a large portion of their time with retail clients anyway.

Anson Young · Answer

This is great advice for sure.

John Warren · Answer

@Eudith Vacio thanks for the shout out! I just started a team, and the results will be amazing for my clients. I believe that at some point no one agent can keep up with it all and you have to hire help. The first hire is normally an admin person and then a buyer's agent. This is the formula everyone is using. @Joseph Cacciapaglia I would focus on finding someone who is incredibly talented and wouldn't be so stressed that they are an investor. The analysis all happens up front, and what I found is that my biggest bottleneck was getting out to show properties. Once I hired help, that bottleneck went away.

Eudith Vacio · Answer

@John Warren - might be helpful?

Jonathan Greene · Answer

I am about to launch the same thing and think that the niche is ripe. My agents coming on are all flippers in the beginning so we have set parameters and deals going. For new agents, you will still need a regular buyer's agent or two who does on-market non-investor related stuff for the Open Houses and unrepresented buyers. I offer the agent/investors the coaching and skills to know how to really work with investors, evaulate the numbers and flip potential, etc. I think it's viable, but you don't need to preclude them from working with regular buyers. I let them do that on their own and I take nothing because I don't want them. If the buyer comes from me, they pay a referral and work it. There are other splits for listings, etc., but I think it can be done.

Anson Young · Answer

Its going to be MUCH harder to get agents that ONLY work with investors to get on board.  I dont think agents that work with both (as long as they have good management/balance) are a detriment to EITHER type of client.

Tips for Building An Investor Focused Real Estate Agent Team???

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