All Forum Posts by: Jacob Wathen

Welcome @Steven Denio! 

@Muinda Gueston, Glad to see that you are receptive to our advice! Starting fresh is a great idea. 

@Linda Weygant, That is some very valuable information! 

@Brian Garrett It is interesting to see the difference of opinion in what investors expect from their realtors. I do actively search for off market properties for my clients. I call agents in other brokerages to see if they have anything that fits my clients' criteria and I actively look into pre foreclosures, distressed properties, and other tell tale signs of investment potential. I do that because I want to focus my business on working with investors. It is the primary reason that I became a real estate agent and I enjoy doing the grunt work. That is not standard for the majority of agents. 

Also, many agents that I know of that work with investors will decline having you as a client if they find out you are working with other agents. I certainly understand that you want to find the most deals but if you spread your business between different agents then they will likely occupy their time with a client that is loyal and ultimately brings them significantly more business. Just food for thought. I really suggest working with one agent that you work well with and who makes an apparent effort to frequently put deals in front of you. 

@Jared Lillard, I agree with @Amy H. and @Matt K.. One of the best ways to do that is to contact a property manager that works throughout the city. They should be able to give you a great idea based on your location and accounting for all of the specific criteria. 

Also like  @Brian Garrett said you can use a realtor. They do need to be well versed in the rental market though. I was in a room full of agents (probably 30) yesterday and only 2 others knew what the approximate market rent for an updated 2/1 in SE Portland should be. In our market agents do not work with rentals frequently though. So it depends on your market and it depends on the expertise of specific agents.

@Muinda Gueston, One thing that I am not sure if anyone mentioned is the order of the photos. I work with buyers that will look on Craigslist and if the thumbnail does not intrigue the buyer then they are not even going to click on the property. Although the kitchen does look like it is in decent shape it is not a good angle and buyers like to see the front of the home. They are conditioned to that being their initial impression of a property and if you had a good picture taken of the front of your home and had it as the thumbnail then it would probably result in a little more interest. 

That being said if the home is priced more competitively it will come up in a lot more searches. That is always going to be the biggest issue. Additionally, you are highly dependent on buyer's agents to bring you deals. 2.5% does seem low when it comes to working with FSBOs. Although it may not seem like a huge difference, working with an attorney and a homeowner as opposed to another agent can be significantly more difficult and it does detract a lot of buyer's agents. It looks like you have a nice home. You just need to increase your marketing budget (better photos) and possibly reach out to agents directly. In Portland if there is a FSBO on the market that is priced well then there will be 50 agents calling you the first couple days it is listed. If you do not see any activity after that, seriously consider reducing your price. I know that we are all pretty much saying the same thing. But that's because the methods that @Brian Pulaski, @Russell Brazil, @James Mc Ree, @Anthony Gayden, @John W., @Andrew Kerr, @Brandon Battle, @Account Closed are saying is what works! I would especially consider doing what Anthony did and contact your friends and family to help further advertise your home for sale. Whatever you can do to get top dollar you need to do. Good luck to you! 

Hello Carolina! Welcome to Bigger Pockets! I am a realtor up in Portland, OR. I do not think that your plan is too optimistic. I will say that the majority of the people that you interact with (when driving for dollars) are upset because they think that you are trying to take advantage of their situation. No matter how nice you put it they will likely find issue with it. I did that down in Eugene, OR and I really had to develop some thick skin! It sounds like you have great intentions though! Hopefully that will help you push through :)

I do agree with @Russell Brazil as well. Maybe your current agent wasn't the best fit but that doesn't mean you need a network with multiple realtors at this stage of your business. If I were you I would have the conversation with my current agent and see if they will adjust their tactics significantly. If not, I would kindly inform them that I have to find a more aggressive agent that is a better fit for my business. 

@Ashley Shearer, Hello! As an agent myself it would definitely be offensive if you were to just move onto another person and I heard through the grapevine that you bought a house using a different realtor. That being said if the client were to have an honest conversation with me. Explaining that they need a more aggressive agent and maybe an agent that is more "investor friendly" then I would be more understanding. Personally, I would try my hardest to prove myself to the client that I do have the negotiation skills necessary and that I am willing to write up low offers etc. Essentially I would just have that conversation with him. I do know of quite a few seasoned agents that work with investors and when the investor buys a home through a different agent they will immediately sever the relationship. Some agents do not work well with others so they do not like sharing clients. Others will be more understanding and they will just work harder for your business. It depends how motivated they are to keep you as a client.

My main advice here is that you are going to need to be a little ruthless when it comes to the real estate investing industry. You need the best possible deals to build your business the way I am sure you want. I'm not saying you should be mean but you can't be too afraid of hurting peoples feelings. 

Any realtor that wants business will respond promptly, even on Halloween.

As everyone else has said, RUN. That is not a good agent whatsoever and he clearly does not want your business. I understand the desire to sign a BBA but there is no reason for the $5,000 requirement if you do not commit to anything. The agent likely just does not like working with investors. Just find one that does!