Finding a Investor friendly Real Estate Agent - Utah County

[R Trevor Dowdle]

I am a new Real Estate investor and I am currently looking for an investor friendly Real Estate Agent to help with generating leads in my target neighborhoods. I am concerned about finding an experienced Real Estate investor friendly agent who understands the mentality of an investor.  One where we can create a win/win situation where both the Investor and Agent profit and our goals are aligned.

Ideally it would be in the Real Estate Agents best interest for the investor to purchase a property at the lowest price possible because this would enable the investor to build up cash reserves more quickly and in turn purchase more properties which would lead to more business for the agent.

It makes sense that a Real Estate Agents loyalty would lie with the seller because they may have a good reputation around the neighborhood for getting houses sold at a good price and they also earn a commission which increases the higher sale price goes. 

On the flip side reasons I can think of which could incentivize a Real Estate agent to work for, instead of against an Investor are firstly the potential for continued business e.g. multiple houses purchased by the real estate investor through the agent over time.  The investor could also offer the agent a finders commission when a lead generated by the agent results in an acquired investment property.  

In your experience how easy is it to find a Real Estate Agent who is on the side of the investor?  What kind of incentives do you offer to the Agent?  And how do you find an Agent that is experienced enough to identify potential investment properties that fit your criteria?

How willing is such an agent to work with beginner investors?  Have you ever had any problems with agents losing incentive to work with you?  For example lets say the average home buyer buys a house after looking at 8-12 properties, whereas an investor might look at 80-100 properties before finding a deal that meets his/her investment criteria.  Have you ever had Real Estate Agents get frustrated when the leads they send you don't pan out?  How do you keep them willing to send you new leads?

As a new investor, I am currently looking to buy one investment property, but then plan on saving up another 20-25% downpayment for the next investment. Which could take a year and a half or so to be financially ready for my next investment property.  Is this something that would deter a Real Estate agent from building a long term relationship with me knowing that in the short term future business transactions would likely be two years in between?  Or is that incentive enough?

I would appreciate hearing from those of you who have had success and experience working with Investor friendly Real Estate Agents.  What does it take to get an Agent on your side one who is motivated to find you the best investment deals?

And also for you experienced Investor Friendly Real Estate agents, what is it that you look for in a good Investor partnership?  What is it that motivates you to find the best deals for your investors?  What turns you off from investors?  And what is the best way to find you?

Thank you

[William Hochstedler]

A few thoughts:

What do you mean by generating leads?  Typically this is your job as an investor.  The real estate agent performs certain functions, but marketing on behalf of a buyer client is generally not one of them.

We have clients that we submit many offers for (numbers game investors), but they purchase over 75% of the accepted offers.  Also, they do not visit properties unless an offer is accepted.

I hope you are not talking about 80-100 showings/offer.  I don't know any good agent that would have much patience for that.

As a newbie, you are competing with other clients who may be able to offer more to an agent (tons of cash, back side listing agreements on flips, etc).

But there's no reason you couldn't establish a relationship with a good agent who can send you lists of everything on the MLS, has experience in short sales & REO's and truly wants you to succeed understanding that it's a long-term, repeat business relationship.

Our relationship with our clients is symbiotic.  We partner with clients, borrow from them, and get deals and other valuable information from them as well.  

So think about what your personal investment strategy is and what specific role an agent plays in that strategy. If you simply want to buy an occasional duplex off the MLS, you don't need much sophistication in an agent and really anyone will do. If you want them to do all the heavy lifting for you and give you the best deals, you probably need to bring more to the table. For example, we love working with newbies who are willing to knock on 100 doors/month.

I recommend you go to one of the REIA's in your area (SLREIA and UVREIA).  There are many agents there of all levels of experience who, by definition, are looking to work with investors and are often investors themselves.

Finally, if you're serious about investing, consider getting a license yourself.

Good luck!