Do 70% Deals exist in your market? Email from Realtor

Do 70% Deals exist in your market? Email from Realtor

Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2008 · 488 posts · 121 votes

I posted an ad on Trulia looking for a buyers agent who knew the area well. About 10 agents responded and told me they work with investors and can help me. I emailed all 10 of them with this email:

Thanks for your response on Trulia. I am actively searching for residential real estate in the Houston area. My problem is I do not have enough deals that come across my desk. I am looking to get more houses this year and need the deals to keep coming through.

The way I buy houses determines my success or failure on a real estate investment. I have specific standards for buying homes. To give you a better understand of what I buy, here is the formula I use: Max Offer = ARV x 70% - Repairs. The ARV is what I call the After Repair Value (what the house will sell for retail based on sold comparables). I take 70% of that number, and then subtract the repair amount from the 70%. This is my max offer.

I am looking for houses that are listed at or less than 50% of market value on the MLS. If the houses are off the MLS, we can discuss these individually. I am looking for houses that are in desirable neighborhoods that are selling (A/B class).

My requirements for the homes you send me is that:
- Less than 5 months of inventory in the neighborhood
- Verifiable sold comparables within 6 months
- 3 bedroom minimum
- 2 bathroom minimum
- No homes with master bedroom on 2 story

Everything else will work. I want to be as detailed as possible to outline my criteria for the home search. I've found that the best way to identify these type of deals is search the MLS for the zip codes and look at the neighborhoods that are selling. From there, find the average selling price for a 3/2 and a 4/2 in the neighborhood. Set up custom MLS searches specific to this criteria for half of the average selling price. Then you will be notified for when these type of deals hit the market.

Also, I have many friends who are real estate investors. If I have to pass on a deal because I've got capital tied up in another property, I can assure you that if its a good deal I will put you in touch with a buyer. As I stated in Trulia I can close in 7 days. I have private money to purchase and have over $1m in a cash credit line to purchase. All I need is more deals.

Let me know your thoughts,

Danny

I've had 3 real estate agents response, two of them told me they could tackle it and would start sending me deals.. and here is an email from another agent:

Danny,
Thanks for your email. I know the areas/markets well on your list. With the current market and as it strengthens, you would be fortunate to purchase 1 property with your criteria/formula within a 6-month time period. I do not have the free time necessary to do all the research/paperwork required for this kind of transaction ratio.

If your standards for buying houses change, I would welcome the opportunity to review it again.
Good luck with your endeavors.

Am I being too picky or do I just need to find another agent?

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Most Popular Reply

Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
14y

You're fishing from the wrong pond. Agents fish for RETAIL buyers and you are looking for non-retail deals. Any agent worth his salt isn't going to do 100X the effort to find you the one deal you are looking for. They will work with retail buyers, spend much less effort, and get their same commission.

You need to learn other ways to source deals. There are many BP threads on this if you do some digging. If you figure out a way to get a competent agent to do all of this work for you please do let us know about it.

See this reply in the discussion

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  • Investor · San Ramon, CA · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 569 votes
    14y

    I tend to agree with your agent. You didn't even guarantee he'd get a double commission on getting the listing to sell the property. You're asking him to essentially do all the hard work for you and offering him very little in return. That's a very hard way to start a relationship.

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 732 votes
    14y

    I think your email was pretty well written ,explaining exactly what you are looking for. I don't think you should stray from your criteria as you know what kind of price you need to get in order to make the deal work. You stated that two of the agents told you they could work with you, so I'm not sure why you care about the one that told you they couldn't work for you. Maybe I am missing something?

  • Investor · Central Valley, CA · Member since 2012 · 6k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    14y

    I liked your email message and I liked the agent's email. He's telling you that you are unrealist....per his standards. You don't have to change your criteria, but unless you do the two of you are not a good match. Kind of like "he's just not that into you." Your message was clear, his message was clear. That's a good day in my world of communication. So what's bothering you? Are you concerned that he might be right about values?

  • Investor · Round Rock, TX · Member since 2010 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    14y

    You're fishing from the wrong pond. Agents fish for RETAIL buyers and you are looking for non-retail deals. Any agent worth his salt isn't going to do 100X the effort to find you the one deal you are looking for. They will work with retail buyers, spend much less effort, and get their same commission.

    You need to learn other ways to source deals. There are many BP threads on this if you do some digging. If you figure out a way to get a competent agent to do all of this work for you please do let us know about it.

  • Real Estate Investor · Charlotte, NC · Member since 2011 · 252 posts · 56 votes
    14y

    Shouldn't the agent want more business in this type of market? You defined exactly what type of property you were interested in acquiring and how you would finance the deal. Surely the agent should realize there is the commission on the front end and possibly on the back end of the deal as well.

  • Commercial Real Estate Lender / Syndicator · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 888 posts · 309 votes
    14y

    Danny - You say you are looking for a buyers agent in Houston, but aren't you a real estate agent in Houston with access to the MLS?

  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2008 · 488 posts · 121 votes
    14y

    Carlos, I am no longer an active RE agent / no access to mls.

  • Involved In Real Estate · Columbus , OH · Member since 2010 · 68 posts · 23 votes
    14y

    I can see this from both sides. You know you are ready to pull the trigger but the Realtor doesn’t. When I was a Realtor it was not unusual to have several calls a month from “investors” giving me their criteria. There were two parts to the problem. First, they usually contacted many agents in the market. Second, the vast majority liked the idea of real estate investing but never pulled the trigger. So the agent spends time looking for a property that won’t be bought anyway.

    I think the best option is to forge a relationship with one agent. Let them know that you are working just with them. Show them what you have closed on in the past. If you want them to do the homework, you need to show some commitment. Otherwise, you will end up with a inbox full of auto sent email messages about irrelevant listings.

    Respectfully,

  • Real Estate Investor · Salem, OR · Member since 2011 · 422 posts · 149 votes
    14y

    Learn your market & find your own deals... Take control of your own business. Otherwise how are you going to know the comps are correct?

  • Investor · Rancho Cucamonga, CA · Member since 2008 · 1k+ posts · 684 votes
    14y

    I think this is the wrong way to handle agent relationships. This assumes they know what ARV is. This assumes they know what things cost to fix.

    I like to do my own numbers and I tell agents "I am looking for fixers or properties that I can add value too."

    Most agents think if you buy a house for 120k and sell it for 140k you just made 20k.

  • Real Estate Investor · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2010 · 413 posts · 114 votes
    14y

    I would get set up on listingbook and pull some properties in the area you are looking. Once you find something that may work, get a buying agent to pull the sale comps. If it still works with your numbers, I'd tell them to view and take notes of all major issues. Even get them to send you pictures so you can get an idea if this property will work with your rehab budget.

  • Residential Real Estate Agent · Chandler, AZ · Member since 2009 · 1k+ posts · 928 votes
    14y

    I dont know your market, but I think the agent was being generous in finding one in the MLS after 6 months. Deals like that are very hard to find and typically require dealing with the homeowner directly and they need to very very motivated and have zero competition. If you want deals off the mls you would better to optimize your business so you can buy at higher margins.

  • Investor · Fort Worth, TX · Member since 2011 · 1k+ posts · 450 votes
    14y

    You basically said,

    "Attention everyone! If you bring me a great deal, I will buy it!"

    I know the market is soft compared to pre '07, but pretty much any great deal is going to move fast in any of the big 4 metropolitan areas in Texas. I agree that you might be looking to a less than optimal pool of "deal providers". Why not go to the local REI group and put forth your criteria and purchasing powers in that element?

  • Don KonipolBusiness Member
    Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    14y

    I have found it best to find an excellent real estate agent who believes that your criteria is realistic and is willing to devote significant time to helping you. Working with many disinterented agents usually results in nothing accomplished.

    Private Mortgage Financing Partners, LLC
  • Commercial Real Estate Lender / Syndicator · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 888 posts · 309 votes
    14y
    Originally posted by Danny Day:
    Carlos, I am no longer an active RE agent / no access to mls.

    Something to think about if you can't find an agent is to reactivate and hang your shingle at a 100% commission broker like Elite Tx. It's a cheap way to keep your license active w/o much annual investment.

  • Involved In Real Estate · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2010 · 341 posts · 86 votes
    14y

    No one will work harder for you than yourself. I am on the mls at least 2 hours everyday replaying with my critera between keywords, lp/sq ft, DOM, expired listings, temporary off the market, and etc. Even though i have a team to be on the lookout and let them keep 100% of what they find for me, even on the mls, I find that I get about 5-6 deals a month and they bring 1 every other month.

  • SFR Investor · Dallas, TX · Member since 2011 · 604 posts · 243 votes
    14y

    true 70% deals are getting harder to find in my area of Dallas, and I am picky about the areas, I use the same agent, and she has never brought me a deal I had an interest in,,I find a property, drive by, if it looks like a potential deal I call her to get the code,,she pulls comps for me, she knows I am going to buy houses (if not that one then another) so the comps are always fair, and she knows I will put in many offers to buy one deal.

    She is a very experienced agent and doesn't deal with any other investors, I have known she and her husband for nearly 20 years, and she sold me my current home.

    When she has someone in a distressed situation she always calls me first, but many times its for me to tell her if the price they want to ask is one that investors will have any interest in, of course I have first shot at the deal if it is one (very, very rarely is).

    I actually write my own contracts and e-mail them over to her, that way no lag time, because as someone else stated, good deals do not last for long.

    My agent is for making my offers, etc, she doesn't 'sell' me anything, most of the houses I buy she never sees.

  • Developer · Houston, TX · Member since 2008 · 488 posts · 121 votes
    14y

    So basically what I'm gathering is that 70% do exist but not off the mLS. I've purchased properties at 70% all in but none have came from the MLS. I guess if you're throwing offers at short sales and you hit 1 out of 20-30 that you submit you might get lucky. I'm going to stick with what Bryan Hancock said and find another source of leads.

  • Rental Property Investor · Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2010 · 476 posts · 305 votes
    14y

    I have had absolutely no luck in my market working with realtors or finding any good deals on the MLS. Most realtors you come across are going to be either very successful and are already too busty to find deals for you, or unsuccessful and lazy. It takes a special personality for realtor to want to work with an investor just writing offers on the MLS. It does take a lot of work looking at the houses and most of the offers are going to get rejected. So thier paycheck isn't going to come as often as they used to. In my market there are no deals 70% below market on the MLS. They are all getting bid up by investors and going way over asking price. I get outbid every time. When I look to see what the investors bought the house for I estimate their profit to be only $5k. Flipping houses it to risky for only $5k profit.

    For some reason on the realtors I have talked to expect me to bring them the deal not them to bring me the deal. Its very frustrating. So now I look for my own deals and have been doing so for 5 years. Every once and a while I network with realtors to see if they would hand me deals but they don't.

    I market to people to buy their house and avoid foreclosure. This is how I get my deals. I am in full control of the deal and I don't need to compete with other fish in the see to bid up the offer. This is how I am able to get deals under 70%.

  • Joel OwensBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Canton, GA · Member since 2010 · 15k+ posts · 11k+ votes
    14y

    Danny you are looking for a needle in a hay stack.It's out there but an experienced agents isn't going to find it for a little money for you to make a lot.

    You can justify the time ratio versus payoff but a professional broker/agent cannot.

    Just like I am an investor as a broker/agent running a business I want to maximize my business for the most amount of profit in the least amount of time.

    I thought this was an excellent response.

    "Danny,
    Thanks for your email. I know the areas/markets well on your list. With the current market and as it strengthens, you would be fortunate to purchase 1 property with your criteria/formula within a 6-month time period. I do not have the free time necessary to do all the research/paperwork required for this kind of transaction ratio.

    If your standards for buying houses change, I would welcome the opportunity to review it again.
    Good luck with your endeavors."

    This broker/agent clearly values their time and the other 2 agents sounds like they are desperate to do a deal and have nothing else going on.

    The bottom line is if I find a deal as a broker such as this I wouldn't sell it for a paultry commission.I would lock the deal up myself and sell it to the highest bidder for a much higher spread.

    Example 50,000 property worth 100,000 when fixed up.Crappy 3% commission 1,500.Instead lock up to highest bidder at 60,000 and make 10,000 instead.If the investor balks about the fee there will be 10 more investors saying " I don't care what you make I just want this deal ".

    Investors sometimes get the big head and think they are the only game in town with cash.I can assure you this is not the case.

    As another broker I know in New York puts it " I work with a bunch of investors.The ones looking for good deals that I have a reasonable chance of finding go to the top of the list.The investors wanting amazing deals I still look out for but go to the bottom of the list in time allocation. "

    I understand why investors want a certain spread to find a certain deal.What I don't understand is why investors would think a seasoned broker/agent would run around like crazy to source deals for a low return.

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