Looking for an investor-friendly agent to help you find your footing in the real estate market? You’re not alone, as more and more people are breaking into the real estate business to grow their income and have a sense of financial security.
To spot the right investment opportunities that work best for your future plans, you need an investor-friendly agent with deep knowledge of the local marketplace and an established network of other professionals to ensure you’re always getting the best deals.
As a newbie in real estate investment, you might have some uncertainty when settling for your future real estate agent. Luckily, we’ll help you pick on the qualities that make for a seasoned realtor to ensure you’re tackling your business decisions with confidence!
What Makes for an Investor-Friendly Real Estate Agent?
Having your assets in the form of investment properties requires a great deal of planning and understanding of the ever-changing real estate trends. For example, you might buy an investment property with the intent of flipping it later. For this matter, repair and renovation costs should be accounted for.
That’s not all. Real estate investing can take the form of accumulating hot rental properties and enjoying a steady cash flow. To tread such waters with ease, you need a trusty real estate agent. Here are the must-have qualities to keep an eye on when choosing a realtor.
An Eye for Off-Market Properties
Ask any experienced real estate investor what things they always try to avoid at all costs, and the answer will have something to do with “competition.” Investors hate going into bidding wars and will more happily look for opportunities where they have the upper hand to close deals on their own terms.
Here comes the role of an investor-friendly agent who’s well-versed in the local market and has established relationships with property owners. This way, your prospective agent can snatch a good deal before the property even makes it to the open market.
Performs Micro-Markets Research
Good real estate agents are always up to date on developments in your local micro-markets. In other words, your realtor should know about upcoming projects in the nearby neighborhoods, any changes to zoning regulations, and the main attractions in the area, like restaurants, title companies, and more.
This way, your real estate agent can help you find properties that might go under the radar for inexperienced investors and ensure you’re making the right business calls.
Understanding commuter trends and having a map with the cap rate for properties in the area can also come in handy. This should give you insights into which properties traditional buyers are eyeing as primary residences and which properties can bring in lucrative rental income.
Knowledge of Different Investment Strategies
Successful investors usually have multiple real estate agents, each specializing in their own turfs. For instance, you can have one study a property’s gross rent multiplier and provide you with a detailed rental property portfolio highlighting the net operating income. In the meantime, another is focused on pinpointing low-risk opportunities for flipping a property.
As long as you have a versatile course of action, you’ll be an excellent property manager and can move on with confidence to the next investment property.
You also need a real estate agent who appreciates your valuable time. That’s why you should always favor realtors who come to their clients with well-researched case studies, highlighting potential pitfalls, and giving an estimated cap rate of the property.
With such data at your disposal, you can make more calculated moves and ensure your capital goes into properties that meet your investment needs.
The main takeaway here is to always go for a full-time agent who’s used to working with investor clients. For example, realtors at the Real Estate Investment Association or REIA are into this game every workday. Someone who lives and breathes real estate investment is definitely a better pick than someone who takes it as a side gig to earn an extra buck.
Speaks the Investor’s Language
As a newcomer to the real estate investment party, you can easily get lost as everyone seems to be speaking a different language. Having a real estate agent who’s fluent in the market’s tongue and helps you understand all the jargons thrown your way proves to be of utmost importance.
Terms like return on investment (ROI,) net operating income (NOI,) and gross rent multiplier (GRM) are just a few of the basics used during a real estate investors’ conversation. What makes things worse is that seasoned players in the market might just use the abbreviations and leave you even more confused.
Investor-friendly agents work with sellers, contractors, and property management companies on your behalf. Knowing the ins and outs of the real estate market will help you have a solid foot when it comes to closing deals and signing contracts.
Makes Calculated Renovation Decisions
Putting big bucks into your property’s renovation budget won’t always be reflected in the unit’s perceived value. You need investor-friendly agents to keep you posted on the local trends and what potential property buyers or tenants are looking for.
For instance, installing a solar roof in one neighborhood might boost the house’s overall value. On the other hand, buyers in other areas might not be as eco-concerned but appreciate the privacy that a tall tree fence provides.
So, it’s not about the amount of money you allocate for renovations; it’s more about making smart decisions and putting your budget where it matters the most. Consulting an investor-friendly real estate agent is key to ensuring you’re on the right track.
Property Management Expertise
Not all real estate investors are interested in the business side of things as managing properties can be time-consuming. Some are just concerned with establishing passive income channels with as little involvement as possible.
Such clients can benefit from real estate agents with property management expertise. So make sure you ask your potential agents about the number of properties they’re managing, as you might be better off with someone working on a smaller scale to give your units the attention they deserve.
Also, asking basic questions about the average rental prices and vacancy rates can give you a better idea of your agent’s business prowess and give you reliable projections of your rental property’s income.
Once you free your mind from having to manage your rental property, you can pursue other investment opportunities and get into new markets. It’s always wise to diversify your investments so you don’t take any huge hits if one industry goes into occasional periods of recession.
Excellent Analytical Skills
Being able to call a good deal when you spot one is easier said than done. It goes beyond comparing the buying price to the estimated rental income. There are lots of moving pieces to ensure a steady cash flow for your rental property and your investor-friendly agent can help you see the bigger picture.
Real estate agents work to narrow down all the hidden costs like renovations, insurance, and taxes. But that’s not all; the vacancy rate in the neighborhood is an important metric to estimate the performance of your property down the line.
For a property to qualify as a risk-free investment, you need to hit a sweet spot when it comes to settling on the buying price. Your investor-friendly real estate agent can pinpoint such a number and work with sellers to make the deal happen.
Knowledge and analytical skills alone might not explain how your real estate agent is that good. In fact, many realtors are investing in the local real estate market themselves. This explains how they can easily spot possible pitfalls and give you insight into how to avoid them.
Firsthand experience makes a huge difference, especially in a well-established industry like real estate with knowledgeable market leaders. Having the guidance of an investor-friendly agent ensures you break into the industry with grace and with as fewer bumps as possible.
Outreaching Network of Connections
Having a valuable network of connections at your disposal is needed to understand the local market. Most agents work with different professionals in the real estate space, including insurance companies, loan givers, and business veterans, to ensure they’re up to date on the market’s trends.
By delving into such a network, your agent can help you understand who are your biggest competitors and when other real estate investors are planning to liquidate their assets. This way, you can take advantage of market saturation periods to expand your investment capital and grow your cash flow channels.
Clients of an investor-friendly agent can also benefit from getting the best repair prices as their realtor works directly with contractors and home repair companies. So, the next time you need to take on a renovation job, you know you’re not overspending your hard-earned cash!
Common Real Estate Investor Mistakes
By now, you should be well aware of the best qualities that make an agent stand out among the rest. Let’s highlight some common pitfalls that a starting real estate investor might find themselves in and how hiring an investor-friendly agent can solve such issues.
Setting Unrealistic Prices for Your Properties
To start seeing quick profits, investors might feel the urge to overprice their properties. If you set a price way above the average for a local market, buyers won’t even consider your property.
It’s true that there’s always a margin for some negotiation, but if the starting price is too unrealistic, buyers won’t see the point of contacting you to reach a deal.
After you realize your mistake and start making price adjustments, you might end up accepting a much lower deal as you can’t afford to have your property sitting stale any longer. An investor-friendly real estate agent does extensive market research to ensure you don’t run into such issues.
Underestimating the Extent of Needed Repairs
Unless you follow a systematic approach, you can easily miss the finest details and end up underestimating the cost of repairs needed. Exceeding your repair budget won’t be the only issue you face here, as the project can cost you more time and push your schedule way further.
An investor-friendly real estate agent uses a fix-and-flip process to account for all the repairs that a property might need. This way, you can tackle each investment opportunity with more realistic expectations and have accurate projections as to when your rental property can get into the market.
How to Find an Investor-Friendly Agent
As an aspiring real estate investor, you can join the Real Estate Investment Association to connect with local agents. Social media groups can also come in handy as you can find reviews by other fellow investors. This way, you have more confidence that you’re getting a down-to-earth opinion and skipping all the marketing fluff.
That’s not all; you can find dedicated online platforms where real estate agents get a performance score to give you a better idea about the top-notch names in the industry. Such platforms also give you more user-friendly tools like filters by area and number of successful transactions per year.
Finally, there’s always direct word of mouth. If your friends jumped on the real estate investing train before you, they could be perfect guides. You can always ask them about their investor-friendly real estate agent of choice to ensure you’re forging a successful business relationship that’ll pay off!
In Conclusion
Whether you’re getting into real estate investment as a full-time job or just looking to expand your channels of passive income, an investor-friendly real estate agent should help you have a steady footing in the local market.
Having access to off-market rental properties, speaking the investors’ tongue, and taking advantage of an outreaching network of connections are just a few of the ways that an investor-friendly real estate agent can give you a head start in the investment game!