RE Agents pay

If a property is listed on the MLS then real estate agents will be involved.
(commissions will be paid)

If a property is not listed on the MLS, then real estate agents are optional.
(if no agent, no commission - more money for the investor)

When an agent supplies a deal that I close on they get their buyers agent commission. If they have the listing with the bank or seller, I don't bring an agent in and I let them double end the deal. I have 5 of 6 realtors I work with not just 1.
Only certain types of deals are better with no agent and it is not because of having to pay them. It is because it is way easier to do a contract assignment when no realtor is involved. Remember when you are buying the seller almost always pays all the commissions.
REOs and Short Sales most often require a realtor. HUDs always do.
If I get a unlisted deal through my marketing efforts I in no way compensate or bring in one of my realtors. I do have a realtor that we use to list our properties for us when we bring them to retail. We use the power of the MLS to sell our retail deals. That is why I don't market to retail owner/occupants. My agent and the MLS do that! They get the sellers agent commission when they sell one of my properties.

Michael Mangham
MD Home Acquisitions LLC

Michael you made it more understandable. I guess as a new REI investor I will start out birddogging, and I would also like to assign property. So I guess my question is do I really need an agent then? I thought I need to contact an agent to get buyers for the last 90 days, for example. I also have a friend who is a realtor, and not sure what she will think, or if I should engage her. I guess this is the dilemma I see. Thanks for all your help. Tammy

Hey Tammy:
Here's a suggestion from a former bird dogger who got the run around from his clients:
If you have buyers, ask them specifically which areas they are looking for deals. If they get too broad with their answer, use your agent friend to pull you the cash sales for the last 90-120 days. See what areas the investors were buying in (you'll have to do a little research from the cash sales listings for this) and target those areas harder then just anywhere. You create an air of competence and knowledge when you find a killer deal in just the right area when your buyer was of no or little help at all.
(This is also good training for when you advance your investing career.)

Hope this helps...

Andy Sager
DG's AndyS

Thank you Andy for the advice. So what is in it for the agent? Tammy

Hi Tammy, you dont need an agent if you find the deals yourself but if you go through an agent to get you a deal you do need them an have to pay them. There are plenty of deals out here that dont need an agent an you an the buyer an seller save money. As Michael said you may need an agent if you want them to sell your properties but with your own buyers list that probly wont be nessary, thanks, Jim ( any questions PM me )

Thank you Jim, I will send you a pm too. Tammy

Just wanted to clarify that as a BUYER, you can almost always have the services of a Realtor at absolutely no cost to you. Real estate commissions are typically paid by the seller, not the buyer, so it is a great idea to use a Realtor, because we can save you tons of busy work.

As a seller, if you want to get your properties out to every possible buyer, listing it through a Realtor on all the real estate websites will get the job done, but you will pay a commission. The best example out there, in my opinion, as to the importance of the RIGHT Realtor, (and I emphasize RIGHT because not all agents even WANT to work with investors), is Matt Larson, who attributes a lot of his success to having a killer real estate agent. He suggests RE/MAX or Keller Williams, and rightly so.

I actually joined RE/MAX as a Realtor this year after doing our 1st 5 deals as DG investors, because of Matt's recommendation, and am having a blast working with investors! If anyone needs help finding a RE/MAX agent who is investor-savvy, PM me with your location and I'll be happy to help you find the right person.

I Also started my career in real estate as a agent and work only with investors on luxury properties. I learned a lot. So for me having a agent as a investor is great because they do all the busy work and the great ones will have a lot of off market properties and know my criteria and save me a lot of time. Buyers agents almost always get paid by sellers so don't worry to much about their fees. They are a great tool to have in your power team. It will take time finding the right one........

don't we need them to calculate comps using the MLS which 'only' agents have acess to them? All of the above reasons to use them only when seems to be lacking that some DG superstars use them as their partners to supply them on going COMPS a big necessary to find ARV on distressed properties? Am I missing something? Please correct me if I'm wrong? Just learned it from success academy...... and reading,reading,reading DG books.

Tammy,

I have no problem paying the 6% commission to a realtor- they do so much work for you that can save you lots of time... and time is money!

Once you find a good realtor- take care of her/him; he/she will find you great deals!

Valerie