Realistic Real Estate Agents and Unrealistic Real Estate Agents

Last week I shared with you an article about my recent experience of looking for a few new real estate agents to work with in the markets we are looking to buy in. In that article I shared with you how diverse the applicants were… some were amazing; some were not.

One thing that I knew going in, but was reminded of as I searched was the power that belief and expectations had on the real estate agent. Here’s what I mean.

If an agent believes deep down that properties never sold for large discounts or with owner financing or any of the creative real estate strategies that, as real estate investors, we know happen every single day, they would automatically shut down and try to tell me that it can’t be done. For those of you that think you’re going to be able to convince an agent that it can be done, I’ve got a couple redwood trees you can push on to move as well. It is just not going to happen.

Even though I personally and thousands of other investors I know have done deals like I have suggested, some agents insist that no one would ever (and fill in the blank).

On the other hand, there are other agents that, because they are new or overly optimistic or maybe just desperate for any deal, tell you they are willing to find those types of deals but have an overly rosy picture of what that entails. They may believe that if they make 2 or 3 offers they’ll find you a killer deal at 50% of value with owner financing. Are there deals out there like that? Yes. Can you find one with an agent? Yes. Will it happen in 2 or 3 offers… the chances are very, very small of that happening with the first two or three offers you make.

While I believe you should be doing marketing yourself, using agents in your business to supplement your deal flow is a great tool–as long as you find an agent that both has realistic beliefs and expectations that mirror your own.

Until my next post,

James

P.S. Download and listen to the Real Estate Investor Daily Training Volume #1 (free for a limited time) to learn how I recommend finding deals and working with motivated sellers.

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