Want to grow your real estate business? Become an investor friendly agent.
Opportunities of scale and commissions abound on both ends of an investment transaction when you work with an initial purchase all the way through to a resale. Some investors take on multiple deals simultaneously and some are more than able to work 10 – 15 properties a year. And, there may be joint partnership investment opportunities for you as the agent with the investor once your relationship becomes solidified over time.
The new tax bill is more friendly to real estate investors than it is to real estate owners who occupy their properties. Tenant-vesting, discussed in another piece posted this week, enables owners who rent out their properties to utilize tax advantages and deductions not available to owners who occupy their properties themselves. In fact, if tenant investors set up pass-through vehicles for their real estate holdings, such as an LLC, there are significant tax advantages under the new tax bill. (See the “tenant-vesting” article on this week’s Harris Coaching Calendar…and, check with your tax advisor.)
How do you go about becoming an investor friendly agent? The same way you become a client friendly agent.
1. Show investors the same courtesy, knowledge, polish, customer service and professionalism you show your individual clients.
2. Show investors your value by giving them all the information they need to make decisions, such as
a. Average cost of utilities
b. Estimated property taxes
c. Crime rates
d. Quality of near-by schools
e. Have solid relationships with hard money lenders
f. Make sure the property is the right fit for the investor
g. Estimated rent the investor can charge
h. Do ALL MLS research
i. Pull CMAs
j. Tour the property (ties) on your own without them and without their asking so you’re not wasting their time
k. Actively sell the seller by letting them know your investor(s) can
i. Pay cash (if they can)
ii. Close early
iii. Take the property “as is”
iv. And does not back out of deals.
3. Be proactive. Just because they found you once, it’s now your job to work for and with them.
