Interviewing Realtor

I hope your interview with your realtor went well. You may want to inquire how familiar the realtor is with your real estate area (cities) of interest, do they specialize or have investment propety and any contacts the realtor may have that could benefit you in the future such as good mortgage brokers. Good luck with all your deals. Believe and Achieve! Indiana-Joe

Just be up front with what you are looking for them to do. It's a win win for both parties involved. Try asking different people you know that have sold or bought homes, who they suggest as a realtor. Great success..........Lubertha

Didn't go through with the interview because of the phone interview I had with that particular realtor. He sounded about as enthusiastic as a mannequin at a gossip convention. As far as my ads on craigslist, all they seem to be getting me are what seem like spammers. If anyone can give me some really good advice on how to go about getting buyers for property that I dont have right now, it would be greatly appreciated. Would be even better to team up with someone who's just getting out there like I am also.

Hi, I just thought I'd share some great information that I got from another forum concerning real estate agents. I've heard getting a good real estate agent to work with could be a big pain, so hopefully this will evens things out for ya a bit.

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Posted by "nstreet"

Posted on: Tue, 10/28/2008 - 11:02

Getting a Realtor

"I have seen in several posts questions about working with good Realtors. Many feel that using a Realtor will stunt their growth as an investor. A Realtor can be a fantastic tool in advancing our careers. Your Realtor can show you comparables, bring you properties you couldn't have found, give advice, help create needed connections to others such as hard money lenders, and so on.

Because finding a Realtor can take time and may require us to talk to several Realtors before we find a good one I would like to present the way I find Realtors:

I start by calling the brokerage offices. Usually the receptionist will answer. When she/he does I will ask them for the names of the best two (2) investing Realtors in the office. When I get the names I will ask the receptionist to transfer me to the better of the two Realtors.

When the first Realtor gets on the phone I will ask these questions:
1.) How long have you been in the business?
2.) Have you ever invested in real estate yourself?
3.) Please tell me the specifics of the last two deals you have done?
4.) Have you ever worked with investors before?
5.) Please tell me the specifics of the last two deals you have done with investors?
6.) Have you ever worked with a client who didn’t use any of their own money to finance the deal?
7.) Have you ever worked with a client to purchase a property using owner financing?
8.) Can you tell me about a time when you worked with a client to purchase a foreclosure or a short sale?
9.) Have you ever handled a deal with an assignment of contract?
10.) What was the lowest offer you ever made on a property as compared to FMV?
11.) How many offers do you average writing in a week?
12.) Will you allow me to make 50-100 offers per week at 60% of the value with contingencies?

If the first Realtor fails my questions I will call the brokerage office back and ask for the second Realtor.

Here are a few tips to understand what I am doing and help move this experience quickly:
1) You are the boss and are highering for the position of your Realtor. If the Realtor does not work out interview another.
2) You are the interviewee, you ask the questions; when you are given questions by the Realtor you are interviewing present them with this: "That is a great question. Let me, if I may, answer that after I have finished my questions."
3) I have found that if the Realtor does not answer all of the questions positively and cannot give specifics of deals they have participated in they are not working with.
4) The questions help us get a good idea about what the Realtor can do. We want to know specifics so they can show they know investing. If they know how to invest they can show us how to invest. They will also understand things like assignments of contract, hard money, seller financing, lease options and how many offers and time may be needed to get an offer accepted.
5) The last questions help us to know if they are up for putting in the time on low offers that you can walk away from. You may never make 50-100 offers but we want to know if they will put in the time. My experience has shown that if the Realtor does not answer the last question you will have trouble getting a hold of them, giving offer and getting comparables in a timely manner.

Follow this and you CAN find a fantastic Realtor."

Good post and a great list.
Bill