Real estate brokers are the greatest asset of small investors since
brokers deal with more properties than the individual real estate
investor could ever deal with. That said, however real estate agents
usually act for the seller so tend to act directly opposite to that of
the buyer. In addition, their commission depends on the price that
they can sell the property, so the higher the price they sell the more
they can earn.
This article acknowledges this and lists four things you can do to get
the most out of the real estate agents that you meet when you are
shopping for your next real estate investment deal.
Tip #1- Use their knowledge
Most people know that some places have higher rental yields than other
similar properties in the same class of real estate. If you are new to
an area, you would want to tap on the vast knowledge of the real
estate agent’s local knowledge. Ask him what areas command a better
rental and why. Then ask him to show you those properties. In this way
you would get a better return on investment as opposed to him showing
you the properties he wants you to see.
Choosing a property in a good area good as it allows you have a
maximum upside when the economy turns around. Let the real estate
agent know that you are a committed real estate investor and when he
knows that you might be a potential return purchaser, he will let you
know of any new real estate deals that come his way that might
interest you.
Tip #2- Go early to scout out the area
This is a simple tip that most people seem to miss out when looking
for a real estate property. If you are the potential buyer, spend some
time going to the property in question earlier then the said time and
check it out. You want to spend some time observing the neighbourhood
and talking to the neighbours so that you can find out all you can
about the neighbourhood before you talk to the real estate agent who
would try to paint a glowing picture of the area. Look out for things
like crime problem, bad neighbours and other things that can turn away
potential tenants.
For commercial property real estate investments, you might want to go
there a day before so as to scout the area for the purpose of
ascertaining walkthrough traffic. The greater the walkthrough traffic
the higher your potential rental returns. Its no good purchasing a
commercial property in an area that has no visitors since your rental
returns would be very low.
Tip #3- Compare stories with other agents
Once you have figured out what type of real estate investment property
you are interested in and what area you want, you would want to make
appointments with several real estate agents so as to learn more about
the potential area that you are acquiring property in. Since real
estate agents are competing with each another so you can find out the
downside of another agent’s proposed property at no charge at all.
In addition to learning the downside of your possible real estate
investment, some of these real estate agents can give you valuable
information that you can use tell your prospective tenants to rent out
your property like for instance proximity to bus stations, the
proximity to the subway, low crime rate and secured vehicle parking.
Tip #4- Get an agent that is qualified and in a medium to large
agency
In general novice investors should contact a long-established real
estate agent that is very familiar with the area that you intend to
invest in. The reason is that you want an agent that knows that area
very well and knows what properties are on sale and a bargain. The
agent will also be able to tell you which areas are good for rental
purposes and these areas should be the areas that you should spend
your energy on.
Another thing to take note is that your agent should be a medium to
large agency so as to gain access to a large database of properties
for sale and rental. This would facilitate your search for high rental
yielding properties through the agent. A medium to large real estate
company would also not fold so easily and leaving you in the lurch
while in the midst of a real estate transaction.
In conclusion, real estate agents are a useful part of the real estate
investment process but if you mentally know what you want, you can
benefit greatly from their years of industry knowledge. Effective real
estate investment requires education and massive action on your part.
extract and author's link in http://www.myinvestmentadvice.info
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