HELP! A Real Estate Agent responded

First of all, take in a deep breath. You are on your way!

Just remember, you are in control of your financial future. The REA is not the one in charge. So feel free to do a happy dance!

The agent does not have to know that he/she was the first one to respond to your e-mail. You are interviewing several agents for the position, or will be once other agents respond. Go to work and clear your head. After work, send a follow up email. Just let the agent know that the position has not yet been filled, but in all fairness you are looking for the best of the best, and that there will be some competition for your business. (Do not let them sign you to an exclusive contract...I can't stress this enough.) You are interviewing agents and don't want to be locked into a contract with one that you are not sure is going to do the work.

Let them know that the property that was listed is no longer available due to responses from other agents in the area, but you are still looking for other property for your portfolio. Give him/her a description of the properties that you are looking for. For example, let them know that you are looking for properties that are for sale at $20K (or whatever amount you choose) below market value, properties that have an ARV value of X amount of dollars, recent price reductions, etc. Remember, you are in charge.

Once you are ready to speak to the agent on the phone or in person make sure that you speak with confidence. You can do this, it's a done deal. Let the agent know that your business will go to the agent that is as aggressive as you are. Integrity, speed, and the quality of the deals that they present to you are of utmost importance to you, so you are looking for an agent that possess these qualities to be on your team.

Also, when dealing with agents it is helpful to use abbreviations whenever possible. Say POF for Proof of Funds, ARV for After Repair Value, etc. This helps to build trust that you know what you are doing. Another thing that helps, believe it or not, is letting the agent know that you are a serious buyer. Be sure to use the word serious before the agent does...because he/she will ask. That is one of the first things they learn in in class. "Find out if your buyer is serious." I know this for a fact because I took the class.

Hope this helps.

Jennifer

First thing you should do us just calm down! lol take a minute to breathe. Next just let your agent know what type of properties you want him to look for. Tell the agent you want "as is" "price reduced" and "vacant". See if you can have them sent you 30 of them. When you get the properties go through them and look for the one that have motivated sellers. I told my agent to find me the ugliest peoperties. I used a price range of 0-100k to start with. Try to narrow the 30 they send you down to about 5-10. Then run your comps and find your fmv. Then take that price and times it by .7.
It will look like this:

100000 times .7 = 70000 that will be your offer.
Dont worry about making mistakes, you will make mistakes but thats how you learn! The more you do it the better you will get at it. good luck

Dean and Matt teach you not to run comps until an offer is accepted because you'll spend all your time running comps for offers that most likely (24 out of 25) won't be accepted. You can adjust your offer based on the condition and FMV of the house after you get an offer accepted and after you walk through the house. After you get an offer accepted and would through the house, you can also use the condition of the house as an excuse to lower your offer if you find that you offered too much. I would start by offering 65% of the listing price.

I would recommend that someone who is brand new to this follow the steps by the book. Running comps before you submit offers may not be necessary if you are experienced like Matt and Dean however I would stick to the script so you can learn the right way. Dean and Matt also say they don't typically look at a property until they have an accepted offer or know the offer is being considered. If you are a new investor and you try to tell a real estate agent that you are not even going to look at the properties you are submitting offers on then more than likely they are going to question you and possibly even say they can't work with you.

That's just my 2 cents for someone thats just starting out.

Nick

Everyone works a little different. Dean and Matt are obviously great teachers, but heck Dean even named one of his courses trying to remind you, you have to think a little different. There are some areas where you can have two identical houses with completely different ARVs. For example:

3 beds, 2 baths, 1400 sq ft, built in 1982. List price: $83k. Three blocks but one major intersection away, same exact size and yr built, listed at $128k. U may think ok well the $83k property is the one that needs work and the ARV will be up around the $128k property. But if you dont look thru the pictures or run comps, you may not notice that these two may be near each other but they're on opposite sides of the "neighborhood". So the $83k property is completely rehabbed and looks great and is priced according to ARV already, while the $128k property needs a major face-lift but the tax rolls value it at $235k as is (which means once its rehabbed it will be worth even more)! Following the teacher's guidelines 100% of the time can lead to missing out on some great deals. They are, after all, just guidelines. The REAL teaching comes from all of the legwork and research they teach you to do before you start making offers. Know your area!

You are on your way. You do have buyers, you just don't know who they are yet. If you continue to follow the book "instructions" you will know your buyers soon enough. Good Luck and keep us informed.

YOU TOOK ACTION!... The fact that you even took action on getting an agent is a great accomplishment! So, yeah definitely celebrate!..lol.. Just go through what everybody has been saying and take some more action...

I did the same thing today, except I called about 15 realtor offices...lol.. just practicing before I called any in my own city..lol.. But when It came time took work my city, what I had to say just flowed right out like a breeze!..

Keep up the good work PolynesianPrincess!

Don't forget to subtract the amount that will be your fee. So, once you get to this point, take your $70,000 minus $3,000 (or whatever your fee will be) and then offer $67,000

Karen

Thats a good thing to remember lmao! you definatley want to ad your fee! Thanks karen for catching that

Glad I saw this post.. It's funny how we can forget the 'lil' things, that we add up to be big things at the end!...lol.. like our fee... I was sitting here going through props, and calculating offer, but forgot to include my 'FEE'..lol.. Thats crazy!.. Guess I was just so focused...Thanks wrldfamus247, and Karen!

I'm looking to add a 2nd agent to my team. Once you get comfortable on thr phones, its a breeze.

I'm in a similar situation...A REA contacted me I also used a variation of Matt's letter, she in turn sent me a listing as to what I was looking for. I'm so nervous
and excited because she sent me some great deals, however I also don't have buyers. what do I do! Any advise...

Congratulations, PolynesianPrincess!

Thanks to everyone for the great advise!

I'm having trouble finding an agent in St. Louis, willing to work with a new investor. I'll be sending out a copy of Matt's letter again today. Talked with an agent yesterday, he's working with 4 investors in the area already, to start with a new investor "wouldn't be worth his time", unless there's a significant budget to work with. I thanked him for his time and I'll be moving on today.

Chris

I will persevere to meet God's plan for me!