How can I help my real estate agent out?

Question

Hey agents,

Let's say I want to build a relationship with my real estate agent who I'd like to learn from because they are more advanced in real estate than me. What do you guys do that you don't like to do? How could I provide them value and reduce their work load a bit? Thanks!

Noah McPherson · Answer

Thanks for the feedback guys. Basically what I gather from your responses is to be respectful to your agents time, which is understandable. A lot of people in real estate are sensitive to wasted time. I will make sure I review sales contracts independently, look at properties independently, and know get an understanding of the numbers on the deal independently.

Mark Hove · Answer

@Noah McPherson

Be organized and attentive. Review and know the sales contract so they don’t have to explain it to you over and over again. Be an easy buyer, don’t ask for little stuff that bogs down the transaction. Send referrals! Hope this helps

Thomas Corley · Answer

@Noah McPherson being as prepared as possible and being respectful of there time.

Preparation is huge knowing your numbers and looking for neighborhoods and areas you like. Most agents operate buy word of mouth so if there a good agent ￼referring￼ them to friends and family goes a long way.

Bruce Lynn · Answer

Know your numbers......get to know the prices...so you're not sending them deals that interest you only for you to back out because the numbers don't work.  I've got a long time customer that almost never looks at the good deals I send them, but send me deals that are trash.  I send them back the numbers and ask if that ROI works for them....and it almost never does.  That's why I didn't send the property to them in the first place because I know their metrics and that deal didn't meet it.   You should be able at some point to ballpark ARVs, rehab, rent and then work backwards to your maximum allowable offer.

Know your rehab numbers.  We can guess, but you know your contractors and you should know what kind of rehab you want to do and what that costs.   My number and your number may be different.   You might be the GC and your numbers will be lower than mine....because I am going to give you GCs to work with, not try to figure out how you can save by doing your own labor.  You can do that, but I can't hit that number for you.

I'd say go drive the properties if you can to save us time....if you don't like the neighborhood or the house or something about it, saves me an hour of time.

If you are marketing for deals, give us those of interest you don't want.

Nick C. · Answer

Good question and good for you trying to add value. But I think to find the answer to your question you’d be better off asking your RE agent directly.

Noah Blum · Answer

You can always recommend new technology that can help support their rental business. I've strengthened relationships in the past with the landlords I worked with by telling them about sites like Cozy. I started using new and free platform for my rentals called RentBase.

Abel Curiel · Answer

Hey @Noah McPherson,

Great advice on here so far!

Offering to handle some of the time consuming tasks is always a great value add - i.e. showing homes, hosting open houses, drafting contracts, etc.

Referrals are great and I'd even go a step further and ask if you can be involved in the transaction to learn as much as possible. An agent in my company referred a listing to me & my team. We showed him what goes on from beginning to end during a transaction and they walked away with a %25 referral fee. Paid education!

Lastly, I'd recommend thinking outside the box here. Does this agent have any interest in being a panelist/speaker at any local events? Would they benefit from a new mastermind group of entrepreneurs where they can be edified as THE go-to Real Estate professional? @Nick C. had a great suggestion. What the agent may need could very well fall within a category that you have more experience than he/she does - i.e. Social media account management, content creation/production/editing, other marketing/advertising related tasks.

All the best!

Abel

Sherri Stokes · Answer

Know your numbers. Return calls/texts/emails promptly. Be open to professional advice. Don’t waste my/their time. Good for you for caring enough to ask!

Noah McPherson · Answer

@Nick C. Thanks for the feedback. There's a reason I didn't do that first. It's because asking them to find a way to assist them is more work than you finding the way you can assist them and asking if you can do it for them. At least that's what I've heard successful people say.

Doug Spence · Answer

@Noah McPherson Real estate agents love referrals! Also, if they're an investor-friendly agent, they like getting folks added to their buyer's list as well. Good luck!

How can I help my real estate agent out?

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