OfflineIn addition to using your own realtor to find great deals, you can use other agents to build your buyers list. It occurred to me as I collected the pile of business cards off the counter of a house we purchased this week that here was my connection to every person that may have been interested in this house. As I looked at each agent's business card I thought "This represents a client that this realtor brought through because they were interested in something in this neighborhood". While, for any number of reasons, they may not have bought this particular house, I know that they are someone looking for a place that matches this criteria. Now when I am purchasing homes at a great discount, I can afford to contact these agents and offer them their commission to bring me a buyer. Maybe even at a reduced rate. hmmm...
Any thoughts?
The agent from this short sale was SO glad to have it done, that he even gave me the name at closing of another lady that was very interested in the house (he knows I'm flipping it). I don't think he expected any commission, was just returning a favor.
I was hoping to use my own agent for flipping houses, but so far she said her broker won't accept anything less than $2500 to be the seller's rep, because that is how much insurance they need for each transaction.
I will keep working on getting her down to $1000, because I would like to keep her in the loop on all ends, but I guess for now, I am a FSBO. 
I am sure there are many other ways to use the great connections realtors have. If you think of any, put them in.
Thanks,
Rina
"Obstacles can slow you down, but they can only stop you with your permission." Dean Graziosi (BARM pg 101)
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11
For a little about me, welcome to the site, and a few tips for new DG family members, click on this link: http://www.deangraziosi.com/user/3249
Sellers find it difficult to be optimistic after a listing has expired. Most are excited and nervous when that listing agreement is first signed, hoping that the home sells quickly and for a big profit. It's frustrating to wait week after week for a purchase offer when that offer never arrives.
Regardless of the length of listing -- whether the agreement was for a term of 90 days, 180 days or a year -- when the listing has expired, the broker / seller relationship has come to an end (more or less). This is when sellers often ask whose fault is it that the home isn't selling?
Check Motivation
The first step is to review your reasons to sell. If you don't fit one of the 15 reasons listed, then you might want to revisit why you are selling. In other words, maybe you don't have a reason to sell. Perhaps you should temporarily take your home off the market.
If you are not motivated to sell, you are not a seller. You're a home owner with a sign in the yard. Without motivation, you've got about as much hope for selling as an owner with a sign that reads, "Keep Off the Grass."
Review Marketing
Where is the business plan to sell your home? Review the marketing plan with your agent, step-by-step. Did your agent drop the ball? Did you? What worked, what didn't pull ad calls or showings? Did you do a virtual tour, send out direct mail, put a lockbox on the property?
Consider Condition
Go out and look at other homes on the market to determine if your home is in the same condition as those actively for sale. Perhaps you need to do repairs before selling. Maybe your home needs to be staged. Does your home scream curb appeal? Have you followed the top 10 home showing tips?
Look Again at Buyer Objections
What have buyers said about your home? Review buyer feedback, which your agent should have obtained for you when your home first went on the market. Is there validity to what buyers were saying? How can you compensate for those objections?
Discount Sudden Activity
You won't have to look too far to find agents because they'll all come crawling out of the woodwork when your listing expires. Realtors are prevented from soliciting a seller when the listing is active in MLS. But you're fair game when the listing has expired.
You may wonder why your listing, now that it has expired, is so popular. Many agents specialize in contacting expired listings because they want the listing. Period. Moreover, realize that some agents will take an overpriced listing just to get signage.
You might ask your agent to make sure your name and phone number have been removed from MLS when the listing is withdrawn, canceled or expired to make it more difficult for agents to harass, oops, I mean, call you.
Contact Several Listing Agents
Interview agents. Ask the hard questions to determine if the agents are giving you the right answers. Find out what another agent might do differently. If another agent offers substantially more service than your existing agent, list with that agent. Check your criteria for choosing a listing agent.
Talk to Your Existing Agent About Why the Listing Expired
If your agent has fulfilled the marketing plan, worked diligently to sell your home, and the market is not answering the ring to your dinner bell, then you might need to conform to the market. This means a price reduction. Ask your existing agent to prepare another comparative market analysis to determine if your home is priced to sell.
If you respect and value your agent, relist with that agent. Adjust your price accordingly and follow your agent's suggestions, even if it means making repairs or improvements you'd rather not do. If your agent is spending money on your listing through advertising, aggressive marketing and networking that listing, that agent deserves your loyalty. E. Weintraub
Sellers find it difficult to be optimistic after a listing has expired. Most are excited and nervous when that listing agreement is first signed, hoping that the home sells quickly and for a big profit. It's frustrating to wait week after week for a purchase offer when that offer never arrives.
Regardless of the length of listing -- whether the agreement was for a term of 90 days, 180 days or a year -- when the listing has expired, the broker / seller relationship has come to an end (more or less). This is when sellers often ask whose fault is it that the home isn't selling?
Check Motivation
The first step is to review your reasons to sell. If you don't fit one of the 15 reasons listed, then you might want to revisit why you are selling. In other words, maybe you don't have a reason to sell. Perhaps you should temporarily take your home off the market.
If you are not motivated to sell, you are not a seller. You're a home owner with a sign in the yard. Without motivation, you've got about as much hope for selling as an owner with a sign that reads, "Keep Off the Grass."
Review Marketing
Where is the business plan to sell your home? Review the marketing plan with your agent, step-by-step. Did your agent drop the ball? Did you? What worked, what didn't pull ad calls or showings? Did you do a virtual tour, send out direct mail, put a lockbox on the property?
Consider Condition
Go out and look at other homes on the market to determine if your home is in the same condition as those actively for sale. Perhaps you need to do repairs before selling. Maybe your home needs to be staged. Does your home scream curb appeal? Have you followed the top 10 home showing tips?
Look Again at Buyer Objections
What have buyers said about your home? Review buyer feedback, which your agent should have obtained for you when your home first went on the market. Is there validity to what buyers were saying? How can you compensate for those objections?
Discount Sudden Activity
You won't have to look too far to find agents because they'll all come crawling out of the woodwork when your listing expires. Realtors are prevented from soliciting a seller when the listing is active in MLS. But you're fair game when the listing has expired.
You may wonder why your listing, now that it has expired, is so popular. Many agents specialize in contacting expired listings because they want the listing. Period. Moreover, realize that some agents will take an overpriced listing just to get signage.
You might ask your agent to make sure your name and phone number have been removed from MLS when the listing is withdrawn, canceled or expired to make it more difficult for agents to harass, oops, I mean, call you.
Contact Several Listing Agents
Interview agents. Ask the hard questions to determine if the agents are giving you the right answers. Find out what another agent might do differently. If another agent offers substantially more service than your existing agent, list with that agent. Check your criteria for choosing a listing agent.
Talk to Your Existing Agent About Why the Listing Expired
If your agent has fulfilled the marketing plan, worked diligently to sell your home, and the market is not answering the ring to your dinner bell, then you might need to conform to the market. This means a price reduction. Ask your existing agent to prepare another comparative market analysis to determine if your home is priced to sell.
If you respect and value your agent, relist with that agent. Adjust your price accordingly and follow your agent's suggestions, even if it means making repairs or improvements you'd rather not do. If your agent is spending money on your listing through advertising, aggressive marketing and networking that listing, that agent deserves your loyalty. E.Weintraub
Rina and others,
I have been a real estate broker for 35 years and have worked all kinds of deals with different people. I use to discount to my friends and family, then to my investors and now I discount to everyone. If clients are willing to do a lot of the work themselves so that I am not wasting a lot of time, I will find them listings in the MLS, get them access to houses and fill out forms and contracts for them for half the standard commission. In some cases, because I will get paid by the seller, I can fund half the full commission back to my clients after closing. So don't be afraid to talk to realtors about doing real estate services for you for less than the standard fee. But you will probably have more success if you talk with independent brokers who work out of their homes and not with real estate agents who have their licenses hung with a broker and are subject to the rules of their broker's firm. Most brokers don't allow their agents to discount because it cuts into their profits. So find an independent broker who works on their own and can work a reasonable deal with you.
Have your Realtor approach the seller and see if the seller may be willing to pay a fee to the Realtor if the Realtor brings a buyer and assists with paperwork needed to close the deal. Nowadays commercial investment is considered to be one of the secure investment. You can gain equity and get more profit on sale.
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You absolutely should use a realtor as a buyer agent. It costs you nothing extra, and, if they are competent, there is nothing but upside.
If you search for a home on realtor.com, you'll see all of the inventory. But an agent can tell you how long those homes have been listed, what price they started out at, and in many cases, what the sellers purchased the home for (in my area, we can even look up the mortgages recorded on the home; it is public record).
The agent can help you not only with the home loan, but with negotiating the offer, researching comparable sales in the area, getting the home inspected, handling title issues, and dozens of other things that can give you leverage, help you avoid making an expensive mistake, and save you money.
In order to find a good agent, interview at least three. You want one with experience, is full time, has a proven track record, and can provide references. An agent who is a good negotiator is worth their weight in gold.