What should I look for in a real estate agent?

Question

I am newer to Bigger Pockets and brand new to investing.  I have watched several of the webinars and have been reading 2-5 blogs on the site per day.  Great information.  Thank you to all who post!

As a newbie, I have been unable to find discussions/blogs on what questions I should be asking to find the best real estate agent.  For those of you who have been doing this for a while, how did you find your real estate agent?  What questions did you ask them?  What skills are most important when looking for investment properties vs. a formal residence?

Any help would be appreciated.  Thanks!

Joel Owens · Answer

It's a 2 way street.

The broker/agent wants to vet your capabilities as a buyer just like you want to vet their capabilities to find deals and give you knowledgeable and timely representation.

Be honest and upfront. If for example you are starting out and have just enough for a down payment and the range you can afford in is very tough to find product then the broker/agent needs to know that.

I find many brokers/agents say sure they can do anything and they simply go out and see if they can find it. A better approach in my opinion is to tell a buyer if you want to work with them upfront or not and why. Sometimes buyers are shocked that successful brokers/agents will not take anybody and everybody. On the commercial real estate side I vet buyers as much or more so than they do me. If I chose to work with them I want issues and expectations resolved upfront so that time isn't wasted.

Some buyers are looking for the steal of the century with a property. That is great if they want to spend 2 years looking for THE ONE but longshots is not something I base my business model on.

Hope this helps.

Franklin Romine · Answer

Common sense is a plus.

Frank

John M. · Answer

I am an agent and investor. You want, in my view, to have an agent who is a very active investor in your niche (that is important!! I buy at least 50 houses a year. This keeps me in tune to what the market is doing in my city. But I buy mostly distressed 25-65k houses, so I know what is going on in the subprime market. But the $500,000 market on the north side? Not so much.

Michael Noto · Answer

Looking for real estate agents that have experience investing, specifically in the area you are looking to invest in is key.

Also, make sure you decide on an agent that is responsive and attentive to both the market and you as a client.  A lot of markets are competitive and in order to keep up with everyone else you need a quality agent on your side.

An agents best ABILITY is availABILITY

Chaz Reid · Answer

@Kristin Cooke

Welcome to Bigger Pockets!

James Wise · Answer

@Kristin Cooke

Welcome to the site.

I would look for an who agent who is familiar with the target area and who also has investment property experience. Perhaps an agent who owns rentals themselves or has done some flipping.

Jesse T. · Answer

Welcome to Bigger Pockets.

I would start by interviewing agents who are listing properties for rent similar to your target investment.  I think the number of agents who will handle a rental effectively are smaller than the number of agents who can handle sales/purchases.

You want an agent who is focused on properties that will appeal when analyzed for profit, rather than will appeal emotionally as a home to live in.

I would pick a couple properties on the MLS that are similar to what you are looking for - one pending or recently sold and one on the market.  I would ask the agents to run a quick analysis of those properties and ask them to provide you with one more(that they choose).  What I would be looking for in the analysis is not 100% accuracy, but that they generally are covering the expect cost categories and the estimates are reasonable.

The process should give you an insight into how they work.  If the agent just plugs numbers into a mortgage calculator and subtracts the result from a guess at the rent, that isn't a good sign.  A very flawed process would be to calculate your mortgage amount and then add a profit to it, and then make that a guess for the rent.  The analysis really should start with market rent and go from there.

If the agent is very thorough, but take 3 days to get back to you - that might not be good either.  But I would want to err on choosing one that is more cautious.

The agent might not be the best place to start.  You might want to start with a mortgage lender.  If you find one that is investor focused they should be able to recommend at least a couple good agents.  One advantage of a lender is they will generally know agents who are closing deals vs. ones who don't land very many listings.

Brandon Turner · Answer

Hey @Kristin Cooke thanks for introducing yourself! It's great to have you here! Don't miss The BiggerPockets Podcast - they are great for learning how others are finding success.

Also - here's a couple articles you might enjoy:

The 21 Best Real Estate Investing Books Ever

How to Rent Your House: The Definitive Step by Step Guide

How to Be a Landlord: Ten Tips for Success

Oh - and be sure to set up some Keyword Alerts- especially for "Park City" so you'll be notified when people mention it here in the forums.

Thanks again for introducing yourself!