Agent Blogs

By Brent Roberts

As a real estate investor, you know the importance of having a great team. One of the members of your team should always be a real estate professional whose job it is to help you find properties, assist with due diligence and valuations, and sell properties (depending on your exit strategies).

The new year is a perfect time for you to revisit your relationships with your team members and to make sure that everyone is still aligned and working toward the same goals. As a real estate professional, it’s important to me that I’m always updating my understanding of my client’s goals so I can adjust what I do for them. Here’s how you can do the same to help build a better relationship with the real estate agents on your team.

The better your real estate professional knows your long-term and short-term investing goals, the better they’ll be able to help you find the right properties to meet them. Chances are you shared these goals initially when you first added your agent to your team, but as your goals evolved, have you continued to update your agent? In particular, if you’re looking to increase the number of deals you do in a year, (i.e. looking at more properties) you’ll need to bring your agent in on that plan early so they know what to do to help you reach your goals. For example, if you want to double your acquisitions this year, you’ll probably need your agent to double the number of properties that they put in front of you.

Note: Don’t just share the goals that seem to intersect with what your agent does for you. Share your investing goals in general. You might be surprised at how your agent can help you in ways you weren’t expecting. For example, if you want to work in a different province, your agent might be able to put you in touch with a like-minded colleague in that market.

Your agent is an expert in the market you’re investing in. The new year is a good time to sit down with your agent and ask them about the market – what it’s like and how it’s changing. Ask them to give you some insight on other markets worth paying attention to. Review the market data with your agent to help formulate a plan for the coming year. If possible, take a drive with your agent around the new marketplace and share exactly the kinds of things you’re looking for in a property and get them to share about what’s different in this market and why you should be paying attention to it.

3. Share Your Process

Agents who work with investors often want to provide even more value, especially during the due diligence and valuation process. However, investors don’t always share what information is required as they work through their spreadsheets to crunch the numbers. Rather than just asking your agent for the standard comps that they pull, why not show them how you evaluate a potential property. If appropriate, share your spreadsheet and show them what your numbers need to be. This proactive step could help your agent give you the right numbers while you do your due diligence, and may even help them find more properties for you to consider.

If you’ve worked together with your agent for a while then a quick check-in and evaluation on your progress and process could be helpful. Talk about how your collaboration could be improved. Here’s a great example: if your agent sends you ten properties to look at, and you shortlist it into two properties, your agent will want to know why the other eight weren’t shortlisted. A good agent should be so efficient for you that they only send you the exact two that you were looking for, and more like those two.

Most agents work as part of an investor’s team but they also serve other clients too. Show your appreciation to your agent by making referrals to home buyers or sellers who could benefit from the services of your agent.

Every professional relationship – whether it’s with your real estate agent, your accountant, your doctor, or even your dry cleaner – serves to help you. And one of the most powerful ways to build a stronger relationship is to help each other at a deeper level. Want to make 2016 your best year yet? Commit to help everyone you meet and to boldly ask for specific ways that others can help you. You’ll be amazed at what will happen when you do. Serve others out of a genuine desire to benefit them but don’t be afraid to share what they can do to help you.

Your team ensures that your investing business operates as smoothly as possible and, ideally, as hands-off as possible. So make sure that you and your team members are working closely together, fully aligned in your goals and expectations. As we enter another year, take a moment and work through these steps to get aligned with your real estate agent… and get ready for a great year!

Brent Roberts started to invest in real estate and bought his first “door” at the age of 18.  Brent owned 18 houses prior to becoming a realtor. He decided to take the real estate course in the late 1980’s to become a more educated buyer. He was then convinced to become an agent and has never looked back.  Contact Brent at brent@brentroberts.com.

http://blog.reincanada.com/6-ways-to-build-a-better-partnership-with-your-real-estate-agent