I run a large national network of real estate investor websites and because of this I work with many real estate investors and many real estate agents and brokers across the country. One thing my experience has shown me is how differently some brokers treat their investor clients than others.
For example, I have some agents that when I give them an investor’s contact information, they try to send them an email. I have others who immediately pick up the phone and call. However, the worst agents, in my opinion, do this: they start bombarding investors with every home for sale on the Multiple Listing Service. They apparently think that investors want access to all the houses for sale in their market.
The sad thing is that this is one of the fastest ways to turn away an investor client. As an investor, I know how to go and search for properties on the web from various real estate websites. On those websites I can already see almost all the listings. If I only wanted access to the properties, I would not contact an agent.
As an investor, I would like an agent to add value… review potential deals and tell me which ones look better than others depending on whether I’m looking to buy for cash flow or to resell quickly. Personally, I would be quick to block emails from an agent sending me 30 new listings every day, with prices ranging from the low 5 figures to multi-million dollar homes.
If they had taken the time to ask, they would know that I am never going to buy a multi-million dollar single family home as an investment. In fact, I’ve never bought above average price in any city I’ve bought in, so sending me above average properties doesn’t fit my investment criteria.
If you are working with a real estate agent or broker, tell them the types of properties you would like to see. Be very specific. If you wouldn’t consider a 2 bedroom property, tell them not to show you or send you information about a 2 bedroom.
Some of my local clients want to receive a list of all properties that are short sales. Others want all properties that show signs of being a fixer-upper. I have set up custom searches to find these properties and email them automatically, but I don’t send anyone every new listing from all over the MLS every day.
