Читать книгу Flipping Houses For Dummies - Ralph R. Roberts - Страница 53

Any licensed real estate agent can help you find, purchase, and sell a house, but you want someone whose experience and training are rooted in the business of flipping properties. Look for these qualities:

 Specialty in your target area: The agent should know the market in which you want to invest and be well versed on property values, market conditions, and neighborhood news that may affect future property values.

 Experience in other methods of finding homes to purchase: Shop for a real estate agent who specializes in your area of interest, such as these types of homes: For Sale By Owner (FSBO, pronounced “fizz-bo”), foreclosure, Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Veterans Affairs (VA), probate, or bankruptcy. With this approach, you become the fox in the henhouse with an inside connection. Consider choosing agents with different specialties. All agents are familiar with traditional sales marketed through the MLS, but some branch out into other areas, such as FSBO properties, sheriff’s sales, probate, bankruptcy, or real estate owned (REO) properties — repos owned by banks. When you have multiple agents who specialize in different areas, you broaden your selection of inventory. If an agent gets bank listings, buy from that agent because they receive both sides of the commission. When you flip the house, list it with the same agent. With the agent getting the listing and the selling commission (in my industry, it’s called a double dip), the agent will be more motivated to help sell the home.

 Proactive approach: The agent shouldn’t wait for you to call but should contact you with any leads for properties in your target area. A tech-savvy agent can enter your contact information into an automated system that notifies you whenever a property meeting your criteria becomes available.

 Eagerness to show houses: The agent should be willing to show you many houses before arriving at the right one.

 Availability on short notice: If you see a For Sale sign in someone’s yard and want to see the house, you should be able to quickly contact your agent to set an appointment for viewing the house at a convenient time for you. The agent should have a cellphone number, a home number, and an email address; check for messages regularly; and respond promptly to text and voicemail messages. If your agent is traveling out of town, they should notify you of the dates and line up someone to field your calls.

 Comfort with presenting low-ball offers: An agent who cringes at offering a price well below market value, is not the agent for you. The agent should be willing and able to pitch one or more lowball offers with a poker face.

 Top-seller status: An ideal candidate is skilled at not only finding good deals but also marketing and selling properties for top dollar and in a reasonable amount of time. As you search the classifieds and notice For Sale signs and brochures in the neighborhood, note which companies and agents do a better job of marketing their properties.

 Tech savvy: Real estate deals move at warp speed, and you want an agent who takes advantage of all available tech tools to find, buy, and sell properties. For example, your agent should have access to more powerful property-search tools than you can access on the web and set up automatic emails or texts to you when properties that match your search criteria become available. If an agent seems uncomfortable with technology, choose someone else.

 Personal experience flipping properties: Personal experience isn’t a necessity, but it’s a big plus, because the person knows what flippers require to turn a profit and typically has a strong network of affordable contractors to perform repairs and renovations. Preferably, the person is no longer in the business of flipping properties and will alert you to all the best deals instead. Don’t use experience in flipping houses as your sole criteria for choosing one agent over another. You want a quality agent — experience in flipping is a bonus.

The best way to find an agent is by a referral from another homeowner (buyer or seller) — preferably, a friend, relative, or neighbor. When you have a list of 10 to 15 names, start calling around and interviewing your candidates to compare their experience, education, and certification, as described in the preceding list.

Many books on buying and selling houses recommend that you try to convince the agent to accept a lower percentage in commissions or a flat fee for helping you buy or sell a property, but this tactic can backfire. I suggest that you find the best agent and then pay the agent the going rate or a little more. Agents will work harder for clients who pay more, and no card-carrying capitalist can blame them.