Real Estate Agent Questions

Hi m.lacroix,

I just went through that very same process myself. Dean gives some very good suggestions in his book Profit From Real Estate Now. First you want to make sure they can commit to the things you want i.e. target area, price range. Explain that you will make a lot offers and they cannot be afraid to present the low offers. But make sure its someone you can really get along with and fully understands your goals.
You can ask if they have any experience working with real estate investors?
Do they know where other investors are currently buying?
If they are investors themselves?
Can they forward you current listings in your target areas?
Ask about their experience?
Do they know of any great deals now that could you could puchase and have a significant monthly positive cash flow, or you fix and flip?
Do they mind if you have more than one realtor?
Are they willing to accept a base pay instead of a percentage?

Shonna A.

We went another step - we printed out all of the forms from this site and took them with us just to be on the safe side. It was actually easier than trying to explain it all.

We have an awesome REA, so let me tell you what she's like.

She's been in the RE business for a couple of decades, so my first suggestion might be to find someone who's definitely got some experience.

She's worked with investors for years and she's an investor herself.

She knows the whole process, inside and out, of making low-ball offers, working with foreclosures and REOs (she said that's about all she's selling today!); if we find an FSBO, she's connected to a title company already and can hook us up.

When we explained that we weren't exactly flipping houses, she knew exactly what we were doing as far as assigning contracts because she's worked with investors already who do that.

She flat out told us - we do not need a RE license to do what we want to do and nothing that we were doing was unethical, improper or illegal.

She's a first-rate REA. And I'm lucky to have met her a little over 10 years ago when I used to work with an investor - and she got us into our house almost seven years ago.

She was excited to see that we were going to dive into this and said she's there to help any way she can. She told us she's gotten some emails from out-of-state investors who are looking for properties so she's going to start forwarding them to us to do some bird dogging or even get them under contract for the investor. I thought that was awesome!

So basically, that's who you want for a REA.

Just left the meeting with the agent. Thank you so much for the advice, truly priceless. The agent was awesome. I laid out my intentions, asking if she had done assignments or is willing to do them. She said she had not done them, but loved the idea. She is going to be sending me a list of properties that fit my criteria and is ready to get this rolling.

Be aware that you found a good agent and that some donot fall into this catagory. When I first started out years ago I met many agents that were willing to have my business and my money any way they could get it. I was dealing with HUD and VA homes at the time. I had found a home that looked like it had massive foundation damage because the basement walls had large cracks leading to the foundation. I went back the following day with lasers and shot the entire bottom sub floor and found nothing out of place.The house was listing for $280,000 and I put in a bid for $165,000. I called my REA and told him what a great deal that I had found and that I had found out that a tornado had been thru the area and thats what caused the cracking.I told him how much I bidded on it. He told me he was happy for me and great work and that he might like to partner with me on future deals.I didn't get the bid. When I put the bid in no one else was bidding.No one wanted this property because of the cracked foundation.I have a friend that's a REA for the VA and Hud and he had given me this information. Over the next several months I kept bidding on houses and never getting the bids and I always told my agent. Finally I was just sick of not getting any bids accepted and told my REA friend in the Va. Asked him what I was doing wrong and he replied nothing that he could see but one property stuck in head that I had bid on and he did some checking on this. Well what he found out was that my so called REA Investor friend that I was telling everything had gone in behind me and made offers a little higher than mine,thus him getting the bids.He had done this on the house with the cracked foundation and 1 other house that I deemed a hell of a deal. So be very aware that your Investor REA could very well steel your good deal with out you ever knowing a thing.I recommend agents that are not investors,but have worked with them in the past.Its a dog eat dog world out there and I'm not going to trust REA Investor to submit my bids until I know them and by then it could be to late. Thats my experience and opinion.

Thanks for the heads up. I am a newbie and the very first deal I asked my newly found REA agent to look at had been on the market for nearly 500 days. Two days later it was in escrow. I thought how odd it was that it sat there for that long and all of sudden, just when I ask about it, it's gone. Makes one wonder....

Aniko

I am going to have to get another REA. I have asked her numerous times for comps on different listings that she had sent me. But to no avail. It's been over 2 weeks since the last time I asked her for them. Maybe next time I will get a really good agent.

Annette Bates

I always wondered what keeps an REA who is also an investor from snatching up those awesome deals for themselves! I guess in some cases, nothing! If I find that I'm having probs w/REAs being too difficult to work with, or worse, actually stealing deals from me; I'll ditch them completely and get my own dang license and do the thing on my own. How stupid is that! That REA could've bought the prop from you at a slightly higher rate and still maybe have made a comission! tsk...tsk...

I agree with all of you about being careful when using agents, But one thing I didn't hear is anyone filing a complaint with their state's Board of Realtors. It may not help you in that particular case, but it may prevent the agent from doing that in the future. This is a sometimes unscrupulous area we have chosen to make a LIFE, but we also have the power to change it.

That's why I am sooooo grateful for this site, Dean and all of the caring individuals who frequent this site with their knowledge, wisdom and support. Together we can change this industry and the world!! Okay...I'll get off of my soapbox now.

ogaines wrote:

I agree with all of you about being careful when using agents, But one thing I didn't hear is anyone filing a complaint with their state's Board of Realtors.

A friend of mine made an offer on a property early this year which was not accepted. Her REA, knowingly giving up his commission, told her to make the offer to the selling agent. Same exact offer... accepted. He knew it would be. I spoke with her REA and he told me stuff like that happens all the time, and insinuated there really wasn't much that could be done. Perhaps it's like politics... corruption being par for the course. But if we know it's happening, we can take measures to minimize their affects on us. Thats why I appreciated Kris' post, my head wasn't even in a place to suspect things like that were going on, even with my friends experience not so long ago.

Aniko