Finding a Great Real Estate Agent
Local Real Estate Agents – The Key to Finding a Perfect Investment Property
When looking for the perfect investment property, nothing beats local knowledge. Your priorities lie in getting a good return so considerations such as local trends, local troublespots and your likely tenants are important in your research.
The perfect sources of such advice are the successful real estate agents in the area you’re looking to buy in. Every locale has its fair share of salespeople, but not all are created equal. In my experience only around 1 in 10 real estate agents are great, so don’t settle for anyone but the best.
It’s not hard to find out who the best sellers at each agency are. They will usually be named on the agency’s website, or if you ring and ask the office staff will tell you. By offering to take these star sellers out to lunch or pay for an hour of their time, most of them will be happy to let you pick their brains.
It is a time-consuming process but it’s worth every minute. If you don’t have the time, Leaping Frog Ltd can do that legwork for you, and you still reap the benefits.
Here are a few of the areas a great local real estate agent should be able to help you with:
Hotspots: Just because one or two streets in an area are out of your price range, doesn’t mean the whole area is. In fact the next street over may not have caught up with the latest valuation rise yet. The local real estate agent can point you in a direction that you may have missed completely.
Market Movements: Local knowledge and experience makes predicting trends a lot more reliable. The right agent will be able to give you an idea of what’s happening in that particular area, when the right time to buy would be, and whether prices are tipped to fall slightly, creating more of a buyer’s market.
Tenancy Trends: The type of people living in the area you’re looking at will also indicate what type of tenants are likely to be looking to rent in that area. Once you have an idea of factors such as the typical family makeup, income and occupations, then you can search for a property that would appeal to those groups. This makes sure you end up with a very rentable investment.
Capital Growth Areas: The ideal situation for an investment is one that attracts high rents but will also increase in value over the long term. An area that attracts the highest rent will not necessarily provide long-term capital growth.
Some buyers use a real estate agent to view a property but then bypass them in favour of negotiating directly with the seller. While talking directly to the seller can get you a better price, if you decide to take that option, the best next move is to let the agent know. After all, they still introduced you in the first place.
When choosing your own real estate agent it can help to go for one who deals with a lot of investment properties and is an investor themselves. It makes your job a lot easier because they understand what your priorities are.
Knowledge is your greatest weapon when buying an investment property and gaining it takes time – shortcuts, while tempting, are not worth the potential losses.