New York City Newbies With Agent Fatigue

[Leon Greene]

Hello BP community,

Before I get into anything, I just want to say thank you to everyone who has given us advice on purchasing a two-family to owner-occupy in the Cypress Hills / East New York / Woodhaven area. We have learned so much from everyone.

Now to the subject that has caused me a lot of stress lately: real estate agents. Speaking from our own experience thus far, while we have met and continue to work with a few great agents, most have been less than great, many have bluntly lied to us, and one even insulted our ethnicities. I really don’t want to knock them because they are a crucial component for most home buyers, and can be a fantastic resource for investors,…

But where do real estate agents fit into the process when you are an informed first-time home buyer?

What I mean by informed first-time home buyer is a buyer that has done research on real estate investing, has read the major books, listened to countless hours of podcasts, has a good grasp of the numbers involved in analyzing and purchasing a house, knows what they want, and is realistic. Essentially, a buyer with the level of knowledge a typical BP community member possesses.

Neither party benefits from an agent “selling” the property to you because the property either is or isn’t what you want, and your calculations tell you which. There is zero room to be “sold” on the property and pressuring me doesn’t change the numbers, and also doesn’t fix the obvious poor renovation job that I would need to correct.

We have quickly become jaded by agents trying to walk all over us and assuming we don’t know any better. Have we just had really bad luck? What should we expect from real estate agents in this situation?

Thanks everyone.

-Leon

[Ken Rigby]

Leon,

   How are you.  Yeah the problem with NYC is that the Real Estate industry here is a cutthroat industry.  You have thousands upon thousands of agents trying to get a sale in a town where there are only about 10,000 deals a year (not including Rentals).  So you have to do your homework and do a lot of research before you see an agent because a lot of them are not doing well when it comes to sales.  What works for the rest of the country does not always work in NY.  So just stay with it and research, research, research. Arm yourself!!  Also try signing up for the online magazine called " The Real Deal".. Lots of good research about the 5 boros.  I love that E-zine..

[Brandon Cohen]

@Leon Greene agreed with above.  There are tons of agents out there who give the industry a bad name.  And there are a lot who bring their value to the table.  When you're making one of the biggest investments you'll ever make, why wouldn't you entrust a professional who lives and breathes the industry on a daily basis?  Plus, when you go directly to the seller's agent, nobody is representing your interests. Not everyone agrees of course!  Best of luck on your search for the agent and the property.  

[Mark Nolan]

@Leon Greene

Welcome to the Bigger Pockets community. It is a great place to learn about real estate.

[Jacob Bindler]

why do you need an agent to begin with, especially if you are buyer? Agents are of negative value. Go directly to the listing agent on a property and make a deal. I posted a couple postings on my experience with buy side agents. In short: there is negative value in hiring one. You will either lose money or property. Now, do not get wrong there are stil a lot of tasks to take carevof, but between yourself, your attorney, home inspector, Zillow, and tittle company you got absolutely everything you would ever need and more. I see sites like Zillow eventually killing buy side agents. They do not want to advertise it because they depends on their dollars and have not figure out alternative way to revenues, but that is the reality. Seller's agents are different animal. I started the service to remove them from the process. Hopefully folks will getvon board.