Realtors, should you love them or hate them? Be excited to network with them and add them to your team or drive a stake through their evil soulless hearts?
Many real estate education programs will tell you to stay a hundred yards from them at all times and tht they will just put down your real estate investing plans because they are jealous. Well, they probably are jealous at how easy some real estate investing pros make so much money and there are some old timers who still haven’t heard of 100% financing or buying sight unseen but there others who can make great allies. However, many may well be tired of those new to real estate investing who invested in one of those other real estate education courses and have no idea what they are doing and completely unrealistic ideas of how to flip houses. Let them know you are different and for real.
Yes, paying 6% commission front and back on your real estate investing deals may be Ludacris. Though stop for a minute and think about all that a Realtor can do for you. A Realtor can save you $300-$500 on an appraisal with a CMA instead for a start if you are unsure of the value of property. Add to that the marketing they do, even if that is only signs and the MLS. Plus showing your property and soaking up the liability and acting as a shield in your negotiations. That’s all worth something. So if you could negotiate a 1% commission rate wouldn’t a good Realtor be like a great outsourced freelancer?
Of course they may need a little real life real estate education from you and a little training on how you plan to flip houses but clearly don’t write off every agent you come across just because of their job title. Driving through the giant puddle next to them when they are on the sidewalk is fair game but at a minimum you should also make them like you on Facebook. Who knows, maybe they’ll send you a deal one day.