Skipping The RE Agent
Hypothetically, if one had access to the MLS and tax assesors recrods, is there something wrong with contacting the owners of the house that is listed on the MLS and trying to deal with them directly? thanks
if the home is listed mls and you contact the owner direct {which you can} the owner is , in all but rare cases, going to tell you to contact his agent because he is under contract to sell via agent unless they have a owner may sell clause...kenmax
If it's on the MLS, the owner is likely under contract with a listing agent.
Therefore, you have to go through their agent to buy the house.
[addsig]
And the bottom line-
You'll get more deals quicker by working with Realtors - look at them as your personal "birddogs" and then paying the commision becomes more logical.
Plus - if you work with a Realtor on an ongoing basis, you'll have access to great information and you may even get to negotiate the commission on future deals!
HARDDTIME --
You will quickly earn a well-deserved reputation by the real estate professionals as a buyer to avoid. Even title companies and other real estate industry people will learn & hear about you.
As it has been said ... "bad news travels fast". And "what comes around ... goes around".
I totally agree with the poster ... you will obtain more business and good deals with working with agents than trying "hard time" going around.
Try first to develop good working relations with a few outstanding real estate agents.
Cheryl Lopez
thanks for the reply's everyone, my problems is that i haven't found a good real estate agent to work with. I have a friend who gave me his MLS access but he's never around to be my agent nor do i want him since he lacks experience.
What about expired listings? can i contact them myself?
Expireds are fair game, and there shouldn't be no hard feelings, because you're not trying to steal someones commission.
Expireds can be a great potential source of properties for 2 reasons. First, these are property owners who have decided they want to sell. Second, if their properties didn't sell becuase they were overpriced, the owners may be more motivated this time around. Just be sure to weed out the ones who want to continue to be "great fishermen" and not realistic sellers.
Let me see if I've got this straight...
You have MLS access via a friend who _doesn't_ expect a commision? This is the perfect scenario. Use the MLS access to find stuff you're interested in quickly. Go talk with the listing agent directly. They are happy, since they get both ends of the deal. You know to take what they say "with a grain of salt" - since their motivation is to close the deal, not cut the best price for you. This hampers a significant portion of your competition - since they are going through other Realtors. Pay the commission - it'll be worth it. Just make sure that you're paying it all to the one closest to the seller... For REO's this is the only way to fly... just my opinion of course.
OK - maybe the above is a little bit cynical... And I'm sure some of the licensed RE types are going to say "that should never happen - Realtors are ethical..." So are lawyers.... especially if you ask the Bar Association or the Board of Realtors. <evil grin> Still people are people and everyone likes a bigger check - why not line things up in your favor??
No offense intended to all of the licensed types out there. I'm just in a cynical mood today...
-Jeff
Jeff,
No offense taken. As you say, people are people. And I'm sure you recognize that some of the "less than honest" people are RE investors.
Nancy
Hi I am Realtor and I have many clients who are investors. I have been able to share some pretty good information with my investor clientele and they show their appreciation by listing their properties with me. For instance, I can get pre foreclosure information emailed to me daily and its FREE.
Don't worry to the cynical poster, I am sure lots of people have the same opinion of Realtors. There are good and there are bad. The one that gave out his MLS ID can really get in alot of trouble for that and possibly lose his license. So I wouldn't do that. I just email REOs from the daily hotsheet to my investor clientele and they love it.
Its a win/win. I do the work and they buy through me :-D
Hi Sassy,
Are realtors restricted from giving out expireds to investors. I mentioned that to a realtor I had been working with and it sounded like that was the case?
pushcart,
If a listing has expired, an agent is free to contract the owner directly and either list the property or show it to a buyer, with typically the seller paying the agent's commission.
jeff, money talks, just bribe the agents to give you the access, and say you'll list your properties through them.
As far as getting licensed, i think there's something about telling people youre a licensed RE agent and i'm sure that'll turn a lot of people off.
However, appraisers have MLS access too, thats the reason i'm gonna go become an appraiser, that and a few others.
Harddtime -
Like everything else, there's tradeoffs no matter which way you go. I'm not so big on preforeclosures - I prefer REO's. The banks really couldn't care less if you're licensed or not... That said, I still haven't decided how to attack in my new area. (I recently moved to this area, and have to decide the best ways to approach this market...). In a lot of the markets, your appraisal approach makes a lot of sense. One thing's for sure, there's a market for a solid, hard working agent that wants to work with investors in Southern Indiana. If they're out there, I haven't had the good fortune to meet them yet.
All the best,
Jeff