Hi. I live in a relatively small town in Mass. I’ve found a RE agen who has over 10 yrs. experience in rental properties. He used to own 27 units but now he is mainly doing rehab/flips. He’s the only one I can find with the actual experience I’m looking for. I’ll be setting up an appointment to talk with him soon. What sort of questions should I be asking? Any red flags to watch out for? Thanx.
Mike
What kind of things are you wanting to know from this agent? What area of rei are you trying to get in to?
There are REIAs throughout MA that have many successful investors. what town?
the idea that you’re going to “interview” him is…i’m not sure - unrealistic.
if he’s a mover and a shaker - i’ve got news for you. the interview should go something like this…
you’ll get 15 minutes of his/her time.
i’m not discouraging you. i just read threads on here and some of them (and some of the advice) seems a bit off sometimes.
the idea that you, a new “investor” is going to sit down with an agent (who’s worth sitting down with) and you’re going to magically ask them a bunch of questions in order to “see if they meet your criteria” is…a joke.
and i’m not talking down to you. please don’t take what i’m saying the wrong way. but i’m in the business - both as a realtor and an investor and i can tell you that i’m so freakin busy, i don’t have the time to be “interviewed” - on the cell, if you call me and i can talk. i’ll be glad to talk with you, but i’m certainly not going to go out of my way for you to interview me.
i only have to ask one or two questions to determine if YOU are worth my time.
for instance, if you call me and tell me you want to buy an apartment building for 1m and you’ve got 40k in the bank - essentially, we’re done. i’m moving on. that’s just me of course.
if you tell me you want to buy and “wholesale” properties - i’m moving on. i’m not saying you can’t do it - far from it. it’s just that i personally am doing so much business that i wouldn’t need to work with you to help you creatively buy real estate.
now if you want to work with me because i know the market front to back - investments, vaca homes, resale, new construction, commercial, etc - i certainly will make time to work with you - but again, everything to me has to make sense. i’ll help you match you with the best type of investment that meets your bank account capabilities. period.
in 7 days, 1 mos, 60 days, 90 days - i want a closing, get paid and move on to the next project. your closing is important to me - but it’s one of a dozen i’ll close that month.
i make 200 calls a week. i knock doors on 50 properties a week. i mail out 100 letters a week. i go on about 10 appts a week and go to about 2 closings a week. i’m ballz out. my time is very important to me.
my point - if you’re thinking of using an agent who’s really in the business and knows what he’s doing - get to the point. don’t ask too many questions. get a feel for the person and start looking at some properties. exchange an email. let him send you some stuff and go from there.
TMCG
The fact that an agent doesn’t have time to talk doesn’t mean he’s a mover and shaker. It sounds like a person with poor time management skills. As an investor, you’ll be doing more deals than a typical homeowner. The INVESTOR is worth a lot of money to that agent & vice versa. If that doen’t warrant some time on the agent’s part, they’re not worth my time or money. I don’t know, nor do I care where you do business, but around here we build reationships that are beneficial for both sides. I respect other people’s time and effort. I hate wasting people’s time. But if all I get from an agent is 2 questions to see if I’m worth it, then the agent (you) just did me a favor by not wasting my time on HIM. A TRUE professional will take the time to educate you and show you what they offer. Not just " WHAT DO YOU WANNA BUY? C’MON I GOTTA GET TO THE NEXT DEAL!". That what you sound like. Not very professional.
BLL
I’m in Pittsfield, Ma. We have a landlord association that meets once a month. I went to my first meeting a few weeks ago. I hope to establish a network there and perhaps venture out to the larger cities within 50 - 60 miles.