How to approach For Sale By Owner when I have a realtor

Question

I have a realtor that I enjoy working with and want to use on my deals, especially since I am very new in this. We already used her for one rental (our first) and everything went great.

There are many properties in the area that we invest that have FSBO signs in the front. Should I call them first to see get some general info or always just give the address/phone information to her to call and get me the info?

I'm not sure what's normal to do in that situation and want to make sure that by contacting the seller I would not be doing anything wrong or improper.

Thoughts?

Gavin Welch · Answer

@Therese V. You don't need a realtor to talk to the seller. However, if you do want to involve your realtor, you need to ask the seller "Are you open to working through a realtor?" Typically, people try to sell their own homes because of a couple of basic reasons. 1. They hate realtors or had a bad experience. 2. They are tying to get top dollar for their house. 3. They are not serious about selling. (just seeing what they can get for it). However, they end up with two types of people looking at their house. 1. "some day" buyers who can't afford it or just wanted to see the house. 2. FSBO hunters and investors who are going to 'low ball' them. So if they are opposed of working with your realtor remind them of that (gently) and on average sellers working with a realtor get more money for their properties. Good Luck

Therese V. · Answer

Thanks for the info everyone! I'm glad to know that I can call to just see what they even want for it, how many bedrooms/bathrooms, etc. If I were to put in an offer, I actually would want to use my realtor. Also, my uncle will be the one looking at the property since I am out of state (he's my maintenance man too). That's another reason I want to use the realtor. But I want to at least get some info to know if I'm even interested in the place! Any tips on things I should ask when I call besides price/# bedrooms and bathrooms and if they are open to working with a realtor on my (the buyer's) side?

Shawn Mcenteer · Answer

In a FSBO situation like yours you can approach the owners yourself with no worries of doing anything wrong. You do not need a realtor for this situation but you should follow same guidelines as working with a realtor i.e. title, attorney, home inspection etc. With all that being said and you saying you purchased a rental through the realtor you are using it may be in your best interest to inform your realtor of the FSBO you have your eyes on. 9 times out of 10 the FSBO will pay a fee to the realtor (it will be the realtors obligation to stipulate terms). By doing this the realtor will be confident to work with you in the future when it comes time for your 3rd rental purchase. Being a realtor my priority is to make sure I do not waste my clients time and I expect the same back from my clients.

Patrick Henderson · Answer

If I found a lead on my own, I would approach them directly. If the agent found it, I would go through them. If you don't feel comfortable with that, you could use your agent. However, if we never get out of our comfort zone it can be very difficult to grow as a person or for that matter, grow a business. But you obviously have to offer less using an agent because they have to be paid.

Franklin Romine · Answer

I would talk directly to the owner. Develop a relationship and get the scope. However depending on your level of experience you might want to use an agent. My thought is no sense on scaring off the owner or losing a potential deal with a amateur agent.

Gautam Venkatesan · Answer

@Therese V. is the property listed on any websites like FSBO.com, realtor.com or such where you can see if the owner is willing to work with and possibly pay a realtor's commission to sell their property. Some FSBO are willing to work with realtors. If there are no listings you should contact the number on the FSBO sign, get some general details about the house and in general passing inquire if they are willing to pay buyer-side realtor commission. If they are not willing to pay commission you should still probably set an appointment to tour the property and get the numbers to see if it is a deal that works for you, then if you are still interesting in offering on the property maybe make an agreement with your realtor to pay a small fee for their consulting services instead of signing a buyers rep.