Off market deal etiquette question

[Joe Meares]

Hi guys and gals,

I'm looking into an off market deal that was brought to me by a colleague, and I'm wondering what the etiquette is around getting your agent involved. 

From what I've heard, you can get these deals done without involving any agents, and avoid commissions. 

However my agent has been very helpful to me in the past, so I don't want to offend them if this is something that is a big no-no in the real estate community. I frankly just don't know what is considered acceptable or looked down upon in this type of situation. 

Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. 

Thanks!

Joe

[Kurtis Green]

@Joe Meares

While I appreciate and respect the others opinions on giving the agent nothing, to an extent I agree with them; I will however propose an alternative. 

If this agent has a good reputation, good contacts, has done a good job for you in the past, you plan to use them in the future and especially if they work with other investors who are competitors, I would think it would be a good idea to be upfront and honest with them and explain the situation.

You could offer to give them the listing on the back end, or when you have the conversation with them you could say "I appreciate your efforts so I wanted to do something for you, it's not much, but hopefully it's enough to let you know I care and value your time, I really hope we can find another deal in the future together soon" and give them $500 in cash or a gift card or something... If you're making thousands on that deal, that $500 "loss" to you now, could be tens of thousands of lost profits in the future if you burn a bridge and they start giving all of their future pocket deals to other investors. Conversely, it could be tens of thousands of dollars in gains because they might go to you before ever talking to anyone else, because you showed them you respect and value them and their time and didn't act shady.

I wouldn't bite the hand that feeds you, all I'm saying.