Do your realtors find you deals?

Question

BP,

I'm curious to know how much your realtors do for you in this market, particularly in finding good deals for you.  Aside from setting up an automated search, I have yet to have my realtor reach out to me and say, "hey i think this property is a great deal" or something along those lines.  I know it is very competitive out there right now, and I also know that the criteria I've given her should dictate what comes to me on the automated feed, but I was hoping for a little more help.  I am struggling to find a good buy and hold, and I'm also pretty flexible on price point, location, etc.  I am not trying to bash on realtors here, I just want to know if I should be looking for something more out of my realtor.  Aside from this one concern (which may be nothing to be concerned about) I think she is a great realtor.  We have purchased multiple properties with her, and I will likely continue to recommend her to other people.

Thanks in advance.

Josh

Jonathan Greene · Answer

If you've bought multiple properties with her then tell her what you are looking for and ask her to find it. Has she ever found anything off-market for you? If she doesn't work off-market, there isn't much else that she can bring unless she can get access to some pre-listings that could work for you. If you only buy off the MLS, it would be nice if she was digging into back on market properties as though are some of the best buys right after the deal dies. She could be looking up expired listings that fit as well.

Scott Swanson · Answer

Joshua,

I've been wholesaling for many years now and I've never seen the market this tight. Finding good deals right now strictly on the MLS is almost impossible. So I wouldn't rely on your realtor at this point in time. Sellers in many states are now getting above their ask price, so good "investment" properties are at a premium right now. I would suggest that you find a REIA group in your area and join. These groups members, are usually either investors, wholesalers, realtors and/or others that are interested in the business. Networking with others might help you. Finding some real estate FB groups might help as well. But finding "quality" deals on FB, might be a challenge. Most wholesalers don't have a clue what they're doing and will say and do anything, just for a sale. So proceed with caution! But it's a tough market right now. Best of luck.

Kyle Momany · Answer

@Joshua D. As a realtor, I like to show my investor clients how I analyze deals, how I find out the performance of units, then of course how the area is. Of course I don't have time to do this on every listing, but everyday I try to look at new listings that I think could be a good opportunity, then send it to my clients. As well as ask them to send me anything they like.  If they are interested, I will dive into the numbers with them. This helps build the confidence in buying an investment. Instead of just saying " yeah this will make you money ".

Good luck!

Josh Darley · Answer

We've bought 8 properties with her over the last three years.  Nothing has never been offered off market.  The market back then was definitely not as tight as it is right now, and there were plenty of good offerings even through MLS.  I will have to ask her about the 'back on market' and expired listings.  Thanks for the reply!

Will Gaston · Answer

@Joshua D. what are the chances it's an inventory issue and not an agent issue?

Michael K Gallagher · Answer

@Joshua D. Sounds like if your worked with her before and are probably some things being implied or “unspoken”. If you are motivated to buy a property and have a specific criteria nailed down…I’d think it’s a pretty simple conversation to have. Sounds like you guys a just a little misaligned on motivations.

In my opinion there really is no “should my realtor be doing xyz….”  That relationship is really up to you to build and to define with the realtor. If you’d like or need more assistance just voice that. But on the other hand if they do put in that work and send you properties that meet your criteria, you need to uphold your end of the bargain and actually pull the trigger.

Josh Darley · Answer

Thanks Scott! I was kind of thinking the same thing about MLS being almost impossible.  I just had to hear it from someone else that I have nothing to hold against her for not bringing me anything over the last few months.  I will see what REI groups are out there and see what I can get into.  Thanks for the reply!

Theresa Harris · Answer

It really depends on your realtor and your relationship.  With my newest rental, they looked for deals as did I and then we compared lists.  Another realtor (different city) I worked with a few years ago knew what I was looking for and had a new client and I got that before it hit the MLS and another where the buyer backed out literally on closing date and he called me.

Ronald Allen Barney · Answer

Try going on a "break" with that realtor and look specifically for one who not only understands investments but who also has good technical acumen for exporting and doing deep analytics on the MLS data.  The magic of MLS querying can't really be done within the MLS itself because the most revealing data bubbles up when you join the for sale data with the for rent data and correlate ratios of average price in a subdivision with average rent.  That's how you find what can really be a great deal for an investor rather than browse pretty pictures all day.

Josh Darley · Answer

I definitely believe that inventory is the biggest issue, but after a few months and after expanding the criteria multiple times, I was kind of hoping that she would throw something our way.  I do think she is a good realtor in all other aspects, it was just this one issue that I wanted some external feedback about.  Thanks for the reply!

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