Real estate agents can be amazing resources for the investor, but you need to understand their motivations and make your relationships win-win for both of you. The typical real estate agent may have taken anywhere from 30 to 100 or more hours of training, passed their real estate exam, and signed up with a broker for support and management. This isn’t a lot of training for the real world of real estate. Their actual skills and marketing abilities grow over time, or they leave the business.
Most of them are indoctrinated in the “list or die” mantra, so they’re constantly marketing for new listings. In doing so, they speak to a large number of homeowners, many of whom will not be ready or willing to list at the time of the initial contact. Sometimes it’s because they just wanted to “test the market,” or maybe they feel that waiting will get them a higher price. Now and then there is “seller’s remorse,” as they can’t really make a decision if they’ve owned their home for many years. Whatever the reason, they aren’t ready to list, but may tell the agent that they would sell if the right offer comes along, so keep them in mind.
A savvy agent will record this information and place it into their “pocket listing” file. These are homes not on the market, but with owners who have expressed an interest in selling. If they’re busy, the agents may let this file lie idle while they pursue more immediate leads. Sometimes they’ll not contact these owners for many months. These pocket listings can be very valuable opportunities for the real estate investor, especially in very competitive markets with shrinking inventories.
While many agents have one or more pocket listings, we should locate those with the greatest number of opportunities for our purposes. Meet and greet as many real estate agents as you can, even attending their local MLS meetings as a guest. Check listing signs in neighborhoods to see who has the greatest number of signs out there. Those agents are aggressive and you can bet they spoke to many times that number of potential sellers.
One secret few know is that some of the more aggressive agents will have better commission split deals with their broker, and may even be authorized to cut commission rates if you talk to one of their pocket listings and bring them a slam-dunk deal. If you look at it from their point of view, you can be a real asset to their income. If they haven’t been able to talk the owner into listing, perhaps you can deliver them the deal. They may even share some information with you as to the owner’s motivation and price flexibility.
We should never overlook the value of real estate agents to our business. They have their goals, and we can’t always just use them for our own profit unless we are viewed as a resource. Building these relationships will provide long term good will and increase your business in the future.
Real estate agents can be amazing resources for the investor, but you need to understand their motivations and make your relationships win-win for both of you. The typical real estate agent may have taken anywhere from 30 to 100 or more hours of training, passed their real estate exam, and signed up with a broker for support and management. This isn’t a lot of training for the real world of real estate. Their actual skills and marketing abilities grow over time, or they leave the business.
Most of them are indoctrinated in the “list or die” mantra, so they’re constantly marketing for new listings. In doing so, they speak to a large number of homeowners, many of whom will not be ready or willing to list at the time of the initial contact. Sometimes it’s because they just wanted to “test the market,” or maybe they feel that waiting will get them a higher price. Now and then there is “seller’s remorse,” as they can’t really make a decision if they’ve owned their home for many years. Whatever the reason, they aren’t ready to list, but may tell the agent that they would sell if the right offer comes along, so keep them in mind.
A savvy agent will record this information and place it into their “pocket listing” file. These are homes not on the market, but with owners who have expressed an interest in selling. If they’re busy, the agents may let this file lie idle while they pursue more immediate leads. Sometimes they’ll not contact these owners for many months. These pocket listings can be very valuable opportunities for the real estate investor, especially in very competitive markets with shrinking inventories.
While many agents have one or more pocket listings, we should locate those with the greatest number of opportunities for our purposes. Meet and greet as many real estate agents as you can, even attending their local MLS meetings as a guest. Check listing signs in neighborhoods to see who has the greatest number of signs out there. Those agents are aggressive and you can bet they spoke to many times that number of potential sellers.
One secret few know is that some of the more aggressive agents will have better commission split deals with their broker, and may even be authorized to cut commission rates if you talk to one of their pocket listings and bring them a slam-dunk deal. If you look at it from their point of view, you can be a real asset to their income. If they haven’t been able to talk the owner into listing, perhaps you can deliver them the deal. They may even share some information with you as to the owner’s motivation and price flexibility.
We should never overlook the value of real estate agents to our business. They have their goals, and we can’t always just use them for our own profit unless we are viewed as a resource. Building these relationships will provide long term good will and increase your business in the future.