Posted by osirus on January 13, 2001 at 12:49:29:
How did you find a realtor willing to work with you? Do you only make all cash offers when you buy through a realtor or are you also able to make subject to, lease option, owner financing and other creative offers through realtors? How do you pay the commission if you do make creative offers on through realtors?
Using realtors - Posted by joebaysh
Posted by joebaysh on January 12, 2001 at 15:05:06:
Do those of you that use a realtor, tend to stick with one or two or do you simply contact the listing agent when you see a property your interested in.
I live just North of NYC and it seems that nearly all available properties are lsited with a realtor and they are very competitive. Many agencies have multiple offives throughout the county and ask that you sign an agreement with them. Is this common practice? I really don’t feel comfortable doing this.
Re: Using realtors - Posted by Mark_NY
Posted by Mark_NY on January 16, 2001 at 20:59:59:
I strongly agree with SCook, I have found 2 realtors that I use quite frequently. These 2 realtors have brought me numerous deals that I have financed creatively. Also, I pay them a finders fee to go out and actually find me properties that I infact purchase. I disagree with Phil and Dew. But everyone’s area is different.Hope this helps.
Mark
Re: Using realtors - Posted by SCook85
Posted by SCook85 on January 13, 2001 at 09:27:16:
I buy 95% + of my properties through realtors. I suggest that you work with one, two realtors at the most. I would not sign a buyers agency agreement with them, and I never have. What you need to do is make it perfectly clear to them that if they bring you a deal you will put the offer in through them, if someone else brings you a deal you will make your offer through that realtor.
I work well with realtors, and I disagree with Dew and Phil in regards to realtors not having properties for motivated sellers. In my area they definitely have access to motivated sellers, and there are more available then I can buy when I go through all the listings.
Hope this helps!
Steve
Re: Using realtors - Posted by Ron (MD)
Posted by Ron (MD) on January 12, 2001 at 20:48:12:
Joe,
I think it depends on what you want to do. If you are looking for seller financed deals, lease options, etc., realtors are probably a lousy way to go.
I do rehabs – about one or two per month. Almost every fixer-upper I buy is multiple listed through a realtor. (Usually, these are bank owned foreclosure properties.) Not every one is a great deal, but I can pretty consistently buy one or two per month cheaply enough that I can net about $20k per deal for my pre-tax profit and financing cost. You can judge for yourself if that is a profitable way to invest in real estate.
As for the specifics of dealing with realtors, yes, it is important to establish relationships with one or two who will work with you. It will be difficult for you to find a good realtor willing to work with an investor, even if you are a cash buyer. We often can give them volume, but the price/commission per deal is usually low.
Ron Guy
Re: Using realtors - Posted by phil fernandez
Posted by phil fernandez on January 12, 2001 at 18:16:28:
Joe,
The realtor route will waste a lot of your valuable time. Even in their courses realtors are taught not to work with investors.
You are not looking for properties, you are looking for motivated sellers. They would not be necessarily listed with a realtor.
Re: Using realtors - Posted by dewCO
Posted by dewCO on January 12, 2001 at 18:06:26:
You’ve got to find the motivated sellers, and they are NOT usually with realtors (see tons in archives on finding them). Agents mainly don’t understand creative RE so if that’s what you’re focusing on, I would suggest not planning on realtors as your main focus, especially in a hot market, with few if any expired listings. If you can find one that understands then you’ve got a good deal, but don’t expect it to happen with most of them.