OfflineI know a lot of you struggle with finding a realtor that is going to be a positive member of your power team. Below are 5 questions you want to get answered before making your final decision.
1- How long have you been in the industry?
This will allow you to determine how much training they will need from you and possibly their broker etc. It’s important to find a realtor who knows their stuff. Many a seasoned realtor could be left in the dust by a newbie go getter.
2- What areas do you specialize in?
By getting this information you can quickly determine how many realtors you will need on your power team. In addition, if you don’t have buyers in the area they specialize in it’s probably not a fit.
3- How will we communicate?
Communication is key to any realtor/investor partnership. It’s fine to do much of your communicating over email etc, as long as you are both agreeable to that. The thing to watch out for is if you communicate differently than they do. If you prefer phone contact and they prefer email, this will eventually bubble up and boil over. Find this out at the beginning, and save yourself the pain and frustration.
4- What are your fees?
In a nut shell, find out if there are any additional fees they will expect you to pay. You don’t want to end up at the closing table looking at a bunch of undisclosed fees.
5- Can I get references?
Not all realtors are created equal. If they tell you they work with investors, ask for references. This is a good way to keep them from inflating what they do, and will give you the opportunity to select the right realtor for you.
Things to ask a realtor, before you decide to go with them
Posted on: Mon, 06/02/2014 - 21:46
Things to ask a realtor, before you decide to go with them
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- by clarsen
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I have been through almost a dozen agents already. I like the questions but at the same time I have a concern with question 1. Some of the older agents are too set in their ways and don't want to do the deal creatively. Question 5, all the agents in my area are required to have a license. I prefer to trust them until they do something that breaks that trust and then they will never get my business again. I had never considered asking for references. Thanks for that advice.
Amanda
I am on the internet looking for an agent to work with and I found an article on five ?'s to ask before hiring an agent. These ?'s were intended for the retail buyer but they can be altered to fit an investor.
1. How many buyers and sellers have you helped in the past year?
2. Do you have advanced training? such as ABR = Accredited Buyers Representative and CDPE = Certified Distressed Property Expert
3. What services do you offer?
4. Who else will be working with me? This would be people they have on their team.
5. How often we would communicate
I will use these questions and others to jog my thinking as I speak with several agents. Also Joe Jurek has made questions to ask for about 50 different things investor related.
I don't see how we can take a canned approach with our questions because we have to be real and want the agent to be real with us if we are to be a team long term. I am going to hire the agent so I am interviewing them.
This is just my take on the subject