If You Are An Agent... Stop Representing Investors!

[Karl Krentzel]

Okay... This Might Sting A Bit...

Unless I miss my mark, there are probably more than just a few Realtors® in BiggerPockets who are looking to be "Investor Friendly".

My Advice?  Stop.

Why?

The reasons are simple.... by being "Investor Friendly" you many times are setting yourself up for disaster.  Here's what I mean....

Being an "Investor Friendly" Realtor® means that at some point you will have to put yourself in a fiduciary relationship with an Investor.  That sucks. 

Why?  Because then you have to do everything that the Investor wants done!  You have the entire C.A.R.L.O.A.D. of Fiduciary responsibilities as well as the liability... FOR WHAT?

A Teensy bit of commission?  Please.

What's Needed Is A New Kind Of Agent

There will always be agents.  There will always be Realtors®.  Let the other Realtors® in the world, and Agents fight over the scraps that are tossed to them by the Investors and regular consumers in the marketplace.

My suggestion?  Be the Realtor®/Investor who is always "In the Know" about the best deals.  The one who ALWAYS controls them, knows about them, or has access to them before others do.

What this requires is a new work ethic however... 

New Work Ethic For A New Realtor®/Investor

In the not too distant future, Realtors® will be more apt to represent themselves, instead of Investor clients in a transaction.  Why?  Because it takes the guesswork out.

Gone are the days of the Investor "Backing out" of a deal because they were unable to find a buyer.  

Destroyed are the times where you have had to put away your dreams because someone else failed to close.

No more staring at a dwindling bank account because a Investor didn't have vision.

By Agents taking charge, and being agents on their own.. they will have more control over their own income, and their happiness. 

This new "Real Estate Entrepreneur" is on the horizon...  More and more agents like myself are declaring our independence from the traditions of our brokerages and seeking more freedom for ourselves.

Revolutions Aren't Always Easy

Rest assured.  A new generation of agents are reeling from the events of the recent past... Their memories are filled (like mine) with the greed of banks, the greed of homeowners, and all of our incomes being held hostage to the desires of others.

I'm not saying to be unkind, nor to STOP working with them at ANY time... I'm saying... change the script!  Stop being the weak, willing, always giving "agent" in the equation.

Be the Principal.

Listen, it will not be long before these Investing Agents significantly change the landscape of the Real Estate Market as you know it. 

And when it does... remember where you heard it first!

Have A Powerful Sales Day! 

[Linda Weygant]

Let me call my realtor and ask him if he regrets the 6 houses we've bought through him in the last 18 months.

I'll particularly ask him about the ones in which we put offers in without even looking at the properties first (4).  He never even had to show them to us.  First time we saw them was at inspection.

I'll ask him if he was ever worried about our financing falling through.

I'll ask him if he was ever worried that we didn't understand the contract I was signing.

I'll ask him if he hates that he doesn't have to provide us with CMAs, because we already know the value of what we're buying.

I'll ask him if he hates how decisive we are.  I'll ask him if he hates how he never has to drive us around, showing us 50 properties in a day and then we reject them all because we don't like the color of the carpet.

My realtor is awesome - he manages the seller and their agent.  He keeps track of all deadlines and makes sure everybody is doing what they need to do.  He's great at follow-through.  He's great with ideas.  He's great at understanding when there's room for negotiation on something and when there isn't.  But I think he'd easily admit that we are by far his easiest client in the last two years.  

I'm sure he's crying all the way to the bank.