Role of an Investment Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agent · FL · Member since 2021 · 1 post · 0 votes

Hey, BiggerPockets community!

I am eight months into my RE career and looking to niche down. I'm looking to explore the investment field. Here are my questions:

What is specifically the role of an investment real estate agent?
What kind of knowledge of the local market should I have?
Should I be worried about giving "good" investment advice or is that outside of the scope of my role?
Any tips or pointers on landing my first investment client?

Thank you all in advance for your responses.

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John Warren

Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes

@Gadiel Amilec as someone who has developed into an agent that focuses on investors, I can tell you that you will need to find your niche even in that space. I focus mostly on helping people purchase or list 2-4 unit properties here in the Chicago suburbs, and I also will do some smaller commercial deals. I can help rehabbers, but I found that my time was not best spent building my business in that direction.

I spend a LOT of time helping my clients successfully navigate their investments. I jokingly tell some of my clients that my real job starts after closing as that is when they will really need my help with management, construction, unit turns or leasing advice. I do give advice frequently, but I try to be a straight shooter and not give advice if I am uncertain.

When it comes to getting local market knowledge, I think the best thing is to be an investor first and an agent second. I purchased my first four unit before I got my license, so I was already in the trenches managing properties long before I had my first investment client.

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John Warren
Real Estate Broker · 3412 S. Harlem Avenue Riverside, IL 60546 · Member since 2015 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
4y
@Gadiel Amilec as someone who has developed into an agent that focuses on investors, I can tell you that you will need to find your niche even in that space. I focus mostly on helping people purchase or list 2-4 unit properties here in the Chicago suburbs, and I also will do some smaller commercial deals. I can help rehabbers, but I found that my time was not best spent building my business in that direction.
I spend a LOT of time helping my clients successfully navigate their investments. I jokingly tell some of my clients that my real job starts after closing as that is when they will really need my help with management, construction, unit turns or leasing advice. I do give advice frequently, but I try to be a straight shooter and not give advice if I am uncertain.
When it comes to getting local market knowledge, I think the best thing is to be an investor first and an agent second. I purchased my first four unit before I got my license, so I was already in the trenches managing properties long before I had my first investment client.
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Joe Norman
Property Manager · Baltimore, MD · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
I suggest finding someone in your office who is investor focused to learn from. If you aren't an investor yourself then that is the next best thing.
The role of the Investor Friendly agent, at least where it differs from a Retail agent, is that the commissions are generally smaller and there is more competition for the few deals that are out there - sounds great right!? You also get to run a ton of comps for clients on houses they'll never buy.
It can be very rewarding, as long as the relationship is mutually beneficial. Remind your investor clients that you're not making a lot of money off of their individual transactions, so you would like them to send you their referrals for Retail buyers. You can only ask this if you're providing a high level of service so don't put the cart before the horse.
Good luck.
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Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
4y
Best first tip is that you are not ready to work with investors based on those questions, at least not experienced ones. Have you attended local meetups for real estate investors, made some connections, do you know contractors? Just because you want to niche in this industry doesn't mean you can right away because you don't want the good investors thinking of you as the guy who tried to get my business, but didn't know anything. Build relationships with investors and yes, you need to know what is happening off-market in your target areas, who is buying, who the wholesalers are. What investors want from you as an investor-friendly agent is what regular agents can't give them - detailed correct analysis, hustle for properties no one knows about, and neighborhood finds before anyone else does and why.
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Crystal SmithPro Member
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Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
4y
Originally posted by @Gadiel Amilec:
Hey, BiggerPockets community!
I am eight months into my RE career and looking to niche down. I'm looking to explore the investment field. Here are my questions:
What is specifically the role of an investment real estate agent?
What kind of knowledge of the local market should I have?
Should I be worried about giving "good" investment advice or is that outside of the scope of my role?
Any tips or pointers on landing my first investment client?
Thank you all in advance for your responses.
Role of an investment real estate agent
- Understand all of the investor terminology- CCR, NOI, CAP Rate,........
- Build a network that can be referred out to help your clients (attorney, GCs,inspectors .....)
- Build knowledge from your own investments
- Be able to run analysis for clients beyond just providing a CMA (Understand an Income Statement, Balance Sheet, Proforma)
- There's probably more but this is a good place to start
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