Hello all,
i would like to hear from agents who work with investors

I would like to know how that works compared to a standard person buying a home for their personal residence..

How you work out compensation...do you market to them differently?...

Thanks in advance

Tony,

Reality is most investors are not loyal.There are a few good ones who buy multiple properties each year and the rest have read a get rich quick book or bought into a stupid seminar trying to take the remaining money they have left.


DO NOT fall for the show me all these properties and If I find one I like we will write an offer on it.

Usually the investor says not interested then a few weeks or a month later you see they went behind your back and purchased the property.

Also do not fall for this one:The investor says to you the listing agent can you reduce your 6 percent commission so that the homeowner gets more money and accepts the lower offer?I promise I will use you when I go to resell it.

Then of course the investor goes fsbo or gets another agent to relist for 1 percent thereby screwing you.This is the same with regular sellers asking for a discount in listing ther ehome because you will get the buying end when they purchase th enew home.

Some end up not buying at all but renting,or they then find another buyer agent who will rebate back part of the commission.

Bottom line make up all your commission on the FRONT end.This way if they try to screw you later you have mad your FULL commission.

Tell them if you make a deal sure when you relist with me or buy through me then I will give you a deal.

Working with investors for the most part shotgunning offers is a waste of time.You can go find the perfect property to purchase for the investor and lose out in a bidding war and have to do this all over again.

Instead as an agent CONTROL the properties.The investors are desperate for a DEAL.List reo's and or people in pre-foreclosure or desperate sellers illness,divorce,probate etc.When you have the listing out of the 10 or 20 buyers or investors that want the property one of the will buy and you will get paid!

If you assign the properties that are a godd deal and lock them up you can charge investors a premuim if the deal is good.You get it for 150k and assign your interest int he contract for 160k making 10k.

I have worked with investors for years.In my opinion one of the best ways is to acquire listings and or use option contracts to assign your interest for a fee.Create a database of investors and buyers to send your new listing or assignment deal to for consideration.Qualify the investors before you allow them to be on the list to make sure they are a serious buyer.

You don't want an investor who doesn't have the ability to do the deal locking up your sellers property or your assignment contract.The name of the game is to get paid and work with only serious,qualified investors.

good luck

Tony,
My first question for you would be how familiar are you with Real Estate Investment Strategies?

Before you consider working with investors you should take a few Investment related CE classes so you can speak the language.

Before you can determine if the investor is the real thing or just a seminar grad you must fully understand investment properties.

super realtor......excellent post..thank you so much for your insightful comments....wow.....I need to save that..

Paul....I am somewhat familiar....I have read many RE investment books before I decided to become a RE agent(I just finished my prelicensing course...) but i think your idea of CE coursed related to investing is a good idea..thanks for the input

I only work with investment buyers and turn away residential customers. I can't stand residential buyers as there are too many emotions involved. Plus, they are really the ones that are disloyal as they will walk into an open house on Saturday and write an offer with the realtor holding the open.

I offer my investor clients a wealth of knowledge of being an investor/landlord myself and owning 30 properties. I bring other resources (mortgage, insurance, CPA, attorney, plus all the contractors) to the table as part of a team that I have assembled for my customers to use when they work with me. And I remind them they get this all for free as I get paid by the seller!

I talk to many of my investors every month and some every week. They call with questions or I call and see how their property is doing. This builds rapport and trust. I lose only about 10% of my investor customers, mostly through them getting out of the business or acquiring their fill of investment property.

The average single family buyer/seller is going to have 1 transaction ever 7 years. My investor customers will buy a couple properties per year. I would rather market/farm to them than to someone that is doing a transaction every 7 years!

I suppose it is like the Jerry McGuire movie, "Fewer customers, more personal attention".

I have had little success dealing with investors. Most investors I encounter have unrealistic expectations. They say "Find me a property 25-50% below value and I'll buy it." Hey, so would I.

What I have been finding is that all of the short sales I am doing do not fit the numbers an investor wants for flipping.

Most of these I am selling to homebuyers because they will buy at 20 to 25 percent and work onthe house over time and do not have the big resale costs that a flipper does.