Questions to Ask in Interviewing a Real Estate Agent

Questions to Interview a Real Estate Agent

The first thing you need to know in conducting an interview is that the person who asks the questions controls the conversation. Real Estate agents are notorious for picking apart things that investors do, if you give them a chance. I believe that the reasons for their "attitude" toward investors comes from the following:
1) They have been trained only on one way to do transactions, investors do things differently, and they are unfamiliar, and therefore wary.
2) Many real estate agents are fearful that in some way investors will find a way to cut them out of the deal.
3) There are enough stories about dishonest investors that agents have a right to be cautious and uncomfortable, especially if you use terms that have negative connotations like flipping.
An initial interview with a real estate agent is BEST conducted after you have lined up a list of cash buyers that contains some overlap (multiple people who want basically the same type of property) because you will use that composite of a property as your specific search criteria. Here's how I conduct the interview:
Hi, my name is ___________, who am I speaking with? Well, _____________, I am new to investing in this area, so I am looking for an agent to work with on multiple deals who is used to and enjoys working with investors. Would that be you, or is there someone else from your office I should speak to? (They will answer that you need to work with them, and be more committed because you kind of took it away from them).

Great, have you been working with investors for quite a while?

If we begin working together, over time we will probably do a variety of different transactions, including buy and hold, fix and resell, wholesaling, and others, but for right now, I have some very specific property needs.
I would like to forward you this list, and if you tell me that you can find properties that match the list, the more you can find and the closer they match, the more deals we will do together, and the more money we will make. But I need you to follow my parameters exclusively. Would you be open to that kind of arrangement? (Again, they will say yes, because it is a very focused approach).
Let me share with you a little about how I work. I can provide you a proof of funds on each property we make an offer on. Would you like me to forward you an example proof of funds today?
I work as a point person for some other investors as well as my own property needs, so I'm going to need to make a number of offers that can be profitable. I want to streamline the process so neither of us gets burned out. So we'll set things up so you can plan brief amounts of time to send me property lists, and take my offers for submission. Are you okay with a streamlined approach?
Good, I'll send you my standard addendum today so you can place it in my file. Can you forward to me a copy of the state approved purchase contract for my review?
One last thing, when you send me properties, can you make sure that I am able to see detail including public notes? Are you able to do searches on the MLS based on terms that I provide you with? Can you provide me with sales comparables on any properties I designate?
I just want to make sure you realize that I want to be your best client. Minimally, I plan to purchase at least 6 properties in the next year, it could be much more once we start rolling. And again, let's communicate with each other so that we work efficiently. I will only need to have you show me properties where we have accepted offers, so that should save us both a lot of time.
I know this is a lot to cover, are we okay to try this out and see how we work together? Once you have reviewed my list of criteria, will you get back to me and let me know if you can assist with my property criteria and how soon you can forward me a list of maybe 10 to 12 properties to review?

This is actually more than I would probably cover in one discussion, but it lets you know some of the things we want to accomplish with an agent. Your objectives are:
1) You take charge of the relationship
2) You clearly communicate that you are a professional
3) You let the agent know that you are concerned about their time and success.

I hope this information helps you to build effective relationships with real estate agents.