How to Work with Investors as a Real Estate Agent

In this guide, you are going to learn how to become an investor-friendly real estate agent.

We are going to talk about working with investors and wholesalers, and just a couple of concepts of those relationships.

We’re also going to talk about where to find these investors and wholesalers.

I’m Erin Hybart, and I have been a real estate agent in the Baton Rouge market since 2017.

I’ve actually built my real estate business by working with a variety of clients, including investors, flippers, and wholesalers, and have learned a ton along the way.

So, let’s dive into the information.

I guess the big question is: Do real estate agents work with investors? And really, in short, yes.

You know, a lot of agents have built their businesses as well, working with these types of investors and flippers.

And some are actually worried that these flippers might come in, flip these houses real quick, pump up the comps for the neighborhood, maybe making some of the buyers no longer able to purchase in that neighborhood. So that’s a concern.

And then also, some of these investors might be our rivals. If they are getting to these sellers before we do, then that’s taking our business.

Or the fact that they are just rivals because we are both flipping properties. Sometimes it does get a weird vibe though, I’ll be honest.

But some agents absolutely thrive on working with these investors.

It is part of what they’re doing already, and so to really just jive with these investors and their goals can really build a great long-term relationship.

It is just really a different experience, different clientele, when you focus on investors.

There’s a few things that you are going to have to be able to do as a real estate agent working with investors. It’s sometimes very different from working with a regular buyer or end user.

The investors, you know, it’s very much a business for them. They are less emotional. And, really, the biggest thing is you have got to know their goals.

You have got to have really good conversations. You have got to know if they are going to be flipping, if they are going to be purchasing properties for rental purposes, if they are looking for long-term appreciation.

Real clarity and good conversation on their goals will make your job as a real estate agent in representing them a lot easier.

Second, you have got to speak their language. There’s just a ton of acronyms and possibly new vocabulary that you are less familiar with — Cap Rates, ROI, ARV…

You have got to get comfortable having the conversations and being able to understand the conversation that the investor is having, or the questions they are asking, of course.

Next, you have got to be quick on the draw. These investors, they move fast. They don’t wait around. They want their comparables quickly.

If they want to go see a property or get you in there to do a video walkthrough, you have got to find a way to make it happen.

So, if your time schedule is a little more limited, you have got to build partnerships to make that happen because these deals don’t wait for your schedule.

Another thing is being able to go beyond the MLS. Some of the best deals are not on the market. They never come to market.

The public doesn’t know about them, and investors love that because, of course, less competition typically means less or a better price, you know, less they have to pay.

And sometimes it’s with these wholesalers we are going to discuss shortly that are going to have those deals, so building that network is going to be key for you.

And, of course, you have got to keep your ethics in check.

Some investors live and work in their business, and they are held to different standards or boundaries than we do as agents. We have got our own rules to abide by.

So, you have got to make sure you’re on top of your game with that, and be willing to set some boundaries that maybe go into a gray area of the real estate world. It’s your business, after all, that you have got to protect.

With investors, it’s rarely just a one and done kind of situation.

These are long-term relationships, and if you do a good job, you could get their business for years to come, get really good repeat customers, and possibly get referrals from those investors.

Because at this point, agents are a dime a dozen, and so you have got to make sure you stand out when you are working with these investors.

Do agents work with wholesalers? The short answer is maybe.

First of all, it’s not legal in every state. There are different rules and regulations. And second, it’s not every agent’s cup of tea, so to speak, to work with these wholesalers.

There’s a lot of skepticism with the agents in the wholesaler world and just their industry and their business model because these wholesalers are, in short, taking the business from the agents.

They are going directly to the motivated sellers, getting the property under contract, and so cutting out the need for a listing agent altogether.

So, what they are just doing, the wholesalers are just flipping that property over to investors and sometimes that can rub agents the wrong way.

They don’t possibly believe in the model that they are doing. It’s just less traditional for them and the way they run their business, especially if they don’t have those investors to buy those properties.

They are fishing out of the same pool, so to speak. But as an agent, you have got to have an open mind.

Real estate is such a huge industry. It’s so diverse, so complex, and there’s just so many different ways to buy and sell properties that keeping that open mind, being able to collaborate with these wholesalers and build relationships can be a huge, really huge source of deals, off-market ones.

They may be doing some of the work that we may not be doing: knocking on doors, going into areas where the houses are rundown, or areas that you don’t visit very often.

And so they could be a huge, huge source of opportunity. And, of course, one of your real estate agent goals is to assess what that relationship is going to look like.

It’s a couple of different ways. These wholesalers might be doing the groundwork, finding properties to wholesale, their boots on the ground.

They are doing some of the work that us agents either don’t have time for or are not willing to do.

And they have got their marketing, hopefully down to a science, that the deals just kind of fall into their lap.

So if they can build these relationships with these agents to get these properties sold, then everyone can win in the long run.

Also a lot of wholesalers rarely just have one property. If you have got some investors and you run into a wholesaler, the property they are talking about is not one that you want to take advantage of. They might have more.

And these wholesalers may have other relationships that you can leverage for your business, for your listings, for your investors to find those deals.

Paperwork-wise, agents have their own paperwork that they have got to complete. And then wholesalers have their own. It’s going to be different for every state, of course.

Sometimes navigating that paperwork could be challenging but just keep the communication open. Be friendly. Be respectful.

Wholesalers could be at different points in their business. They could be just beginning, or they could have been doing this for years or decades, so just get on the same page.

We want to make sure everyone is winning in a scenario.

And then, of course, one of the last concerns that’s sometimes harder to handle as an agent with these wholesalers is the commission.

How do I get paid if I bring you a buyer that can perform, that can close on this property?

So you have got to work that out, whether it’s negotiating it out of the wholesaler’s fee, because they get a fee when they sell a property.

Or, figuring it out in a different sort of way, coming up with a different plan on how to make sure everyone is winning in that situation — the agents, the wholesaler, the seller, and the end user or the buyer.

What to Learn Before Becoming an Investor-Focused Real Estate Agent?

How do you become one of those real estate agents that work with investors?

If you are not in the real estate investing game, you have got to jump into it. It’s a whole new set of vocabulary, concepts, training, and real estate skills. It’s a whole new world.

You have got to dive into that world. You have got to learn that world, and you really have to navigate the different kinds of ways people get out of properties as far as, are they flipping it? Are they renting it?

What’s their end game? How does that all look on paper? The numbers will be key because it is a business.

At the end of the day, it’s a business, and if you don’t get those numbers right, then, possibly, the deal can’t happen.

But once you get that training, you have got to build your network and you have got to go find real estate investors and wholesalers.

Where are they hanging out and who do they know? And this network, which is really the premise behind building any sort of business in sales, you have got to go find them.

And, of course, you have got to be able to talk their talk. You need to know things like Cap Rate, what wholesaling is, is it legal, all the ins and outs, the hard money lenders…

You have got to know how to communicate with them, how to gain their trust, and how to just work with them in a good streamlined way to be able to build that relationship because it’s going to be long term.

Hopefully, in any relationship that you are doing, sales-wise, it’s long term. You want to put that investment in and have it pay off and have repeat business.

You do a good job, you are fair, and you are easy to work with, stuff like that. All the parties appreciate that. That’s what will go a long way.

That’s how you get those referrals. That’s how you’ll get first dibs at the better deals.

Maybe, be that go-to agent for this wholesaler and really build a network like that. Because, of course, not every wholesale deal can be sold off-market.

Sometimes these properties have to go to market, and wouldn’t it be great if this wholesaler was able to connect you with a seller who needed to list their property?

But what you need to learn before becoming an investor-focused real estate agent is a couple things.

Make sure you know the vocabulary, the language. Know how they are calculating their numbers.

Learn the different ways that people get into properties as far as buying, and then how they get out of properties as far as selling, or if they are holding, you know, like a rental.

Just to immerse yourself in as much training as you can. There are so many free resources, the internet, YouTube is huge, books, videos, training.

You can spend literally weeks sorting through the information. You don’t have to know everything about everything, of course, because it’s a lifetime learning situation, but make an effort.

If you hear a new word, write it down. Go look it up. You have got to learn those new concepts.

Because you may be dropped a little nugget of an unknown word, you look it up, and it opens up an entire piece of business or way of thinking, or opportunity for real estate investors that you could offer, perhaps something they don’t even know.

So, just invest in learning. Becoming a lifetime learner is going to be key.

How to Find Real Estate Investors and Wholesalers to Work With?

Overall, I think the thing to remember here is, these guys and gals are online.

They are on social media, and there are just tons of platforms. They are in Facebook groups. They will have meet-ups or workshops, seminars, and different training sessions.

That’s probably where you are going to find the bulk of the real estate wholesalers, the investors, occasionally.

If you want to maybe put a couple of posts out there to say you are building your network and kind of see who responds, you could do it that way, too, and have them come to you instead of you going to them.

And then also working with other real estate agents that are marketing to investors, they have got relationships that maybe you could leverage, if you can do that.

Because those agents may not be working at the level you want to work with the investors and wholesalers and those other agents may very kindly share their relationships.

In short, becoming a realtor working with investors can be huge for your business.

You can leverage so many opportunities, build these relationships, get these off-market deals, and just open up so many doors that you can pivot to as the real estate market changes to really build your business.

And the key to those relationships is networking. The trust that you build, the service that you provide to the investors and to the wholesalers.

You know, they become collaborative partners in the journey in your business model. And it’s not even a matter of, do I know everything about everything, because you won’t and you don’t have to.

The key is just being open-minded, willing to learn about all the different ways that you can get an in and out of properties in real estate.

Diversify your income streams. You may one day be in that investor pool buying these flip properties or whatnot.

So, step out of your comfort zone. If you haven’t done this before, build those relationships.

You can really, really elevate your real estate career through these partnerships and just discover new opportunities.

So, I wish you great luck and I hope you become an investor-friendly real estate agent.

___

If you want to contribute your expert advice on a topic of your expertise, feel free to apply to our Expert Contributor Program.

___

About the Author

Erin Hybart is a real estate enthusiast with a wealth of knowledge and an insatiable curiosity for all things Real Estate and living with intention.

She passionately advocates for alternative, affordable, and eco-friendly housing solutions. She believes in pushing the industry’s innovation boundaries and thinking outside the box.

As a licensed real estate agent in Louisiana, Erin Hybart dedicates herself to assisting clients in buying and selling properties and mentoring fellow agents to succeed in their own real estate businesses.

In addition to her professional pursuits, Erin channels her expertise into captivating house-flipping adventures.