Finding a "good" Realtor

I agree with what you said nstreet. I also ask them "Are you a good Realtor" If they cannot confidently answer me quickly and with confidence "YES" then I pass on them. I feel if thy cannot or do not have the confidence in them selves then why should I.

Good realtors that want to help me find good cash flowing properties must be investors themselves. I simply do not work with realtors that are not investors or at least willing to learn the mindset an investor has. If they can't accurately figure the cashflow on a property how are they going to be able to help me? I also define a good realtor as someone not affraid to offend other agents with low justified offers. The realtors must be available night and day and on weekends and be willing to submit 50 offers to buy just one property. These are very stringent criteria but, the rewards are also big. My realtor gets in on every deal I do, even for sale by owner deals that come to me. I also try to negotiate a higher commission percentage for her if I feel it is justified. I also bring her other investors and give her tons of referals. My realtor has become a friend for life. She now brings me deals before they hit the market so I get the first crack at them. A good realtor like that should be treated like gold. A realtor like the one I am describing is very rare. You may need to interview between 20-30 realtors to find the one I am talking about.

I think it's also important that you have the same mindset as your realtor. Otherwise, conflict is inevitable. I am VERY aggressive in my RE dealings. Here are 2 counter-examples from my experiences.

Once I had realtor in Vegas. I was the seller and the buyer's inspection period had expired. Then the buyer's agent came back with a laundry list of things to fix (basically a cut and paste out of the inspection report). I told my agent to forget it. My agent and her broker repeatedly tried to convince me that while I was not legally obligated to fix anything, I really needed to give the buyer a credit. Never happened.

My realtor in Phoenix is just the opposite. She and I are on the same page 100% of the time. I remember one time she got an offer on a property I was selling and there was some fairly minor clause in it that she didnt like. So she told the other agent that "her seller won't even look at that contract". The clause came out. I cracked up when she told me that.

work with?

A male agent or Female agent....and why.

I personally would rathe my agent to be female. I feel she can better persuade the other agent or seller/buyer especially if the other is male.

I also think female agents are more detail oriented.

(this what I have found in my experience with realtors).

D

I dont think sex.... well the sex of the agent matters.

My current realtor is a female. She is the best.

My previous agents were a female and then a male from the same agency. They were both horrible.

My previous agent was a male, solo practitioner. Very good.

My previous agent was a male. Not bad but not aggressive enough for me.

if your good...then your good!

but I just think female agents (good ones) are more likely to get my business than (good) males.

Sinerio: lets say you are the seller and you have a good but cocky a$$hole male and a good compasionate detailed female.

you thing the male or female would screw you over once the opportuinty arose? (and not literally lol)

I just think the female will work harder for you, while the males ego would get in the way.

just my 2 cents
D

how this could go both ways...

"Women are quick, sharp, manipulative and smart when it comes to money "

but that could also be a reason to use her.

I guess you just have to get the right one, male or female.

D

It comes down to the person.

What do you think of the husband and wife teams that are out their? Is that a good or bad mix to have since one (being the male) thinks and acts like you have all mention and one (being a female) and the ways she acts and thinks.
Is that having to much ego's on one team or what?

Or since you have both genders working for you - does it help you or is it just going to be hurting you because of the actual agreeing between the two?

OK, interesting conversation I missed today.

Anyway, cbr, I was surprised (pleasantly) to hear your take on realtors, treating a good one like gold. I had the impression that they just "work for us". I like what you said, and I have to tell you that I realize now I must have been blessed big time. Gail is everything you've described and she is the first realtor I've worked with. I mean I know others personally but have never worked closely with one. She is always protecting ME and pushing ME to be more firm and aggressive. I was so happy with her that I wrote a letter to her boss, saying how pleased we were and what an asset she is to their company, and that she makes THEM look good in our eyes. (I've never told HER about the letter, but I'm sure she knows because I got quite a nice one back from her boss saying they agree wholeheartedly). I even made her a lemon meringue pie for Thanksgiving. lol ! Now, that may be carrying it a little too far, but I'm very pleased.

As late as it is you just could not stay away could you...lol

who's talking!

Absolutely not... Not the best ones anyway. They are an advocate.. someone to fight for you. They are closer to a partner than anything else. Remember that your interests ARE aligned. If you don't buy/sell, then they don't get paid.

The problem comes when they want you to do ANYTHING (ie concessions) to make sure that the deal DOES close and they get paid.

She's usually the one trying to "protect" me by pointing out all the things that are wrong with the house. Because I never put contingencies. But I always look past the negatives and tell her, "You know me." and she just smiles, because if I see potential, I see potential!
My husband is my inspector. He knows right away what would need to be done, and the general cost of repairs. He trusts me so much now, though, the last 2 places we bought he signed the papers sight unseen. He just says "I hope you know what you're doing." I feel pretty confident after all these years, though. Looking back, I find it amazing even to myself that I started doing this at 25 years old. I dragged around all 4 of our little kids looking at houses and fixing them. I can't even imagine doing that now!

I don't mean I had them working! I just always had them with me.

I'm getting a new one. Mine isn't aggressive enough or available on weekends and doesn't own or buy anything. I've had her 8 years.

If an agent isn't available on the weekend, that is an auto-delete. In fact, I am amazed that this agent is stillin business.

Service people have to be available when the people they service are available. Most people work during the week, thus an agent MUST be available (to some extent at least) on the weekends.

Notice that realtors never put out their signs and have open houses Tuesday at 10am.

The weekend availability is a major plus with me as well. I am busy during week with other stuff and the weekend is when I get most of my viewings in so unavailability just would not suffice.

I am writing this post to share my experience with Realtors and attorneys. I have found there are really two types. I don't want any Realtors or attorneys to be offended by this because it is just my personal experience. I have found that most are "deal breakers"- they are like this because they don't have the courage to do it on their own. They like to tell people everything that is wrong with investing or the law but don't take action in their own life. These are the type of people where if you found a property that was for sale at $25,000 and it was worth $200,000 they would tell you they don't trust the seller and that there is probably a reason for this. They could come up with 10,000 reasons not to buy the property and from my opinion they do this to talk themselves out of the deal or investing. Most of the time they claim that they are protecting you.

The other type is the "deal makers"- this group will do everything possible to explain the situation and make sure you are making an informed decision. These are the only kind of people I want to work with. They let you make your own decision and don't try to scare you or over protect you. The way I look at it is I am a grown man and I can make my own decisions. I know there is some risk with that but I work hard to understand everything and I want a realtor/attorney who can answer all my questions but not sway me one way or the other.

There is a fine balance but if you are upfront with them in the beginning you will know who the deal makers are. They will protect you but in the right way and not try to be over protective.

rpatten,

I am giving your post quite some thought. Thank you for sharing.
Maybe I'm just so optimistic about everything that there's nothing that can stand in my way.