Why Use a Real Estate Agent?

Welcome to Florida where a few years ago if you didn't have your real estate license you were in the minority.  Fortunately most of those agents are gone as a result of the recession and looking for their old jobs back (you know the ones they quit to become real estate investors).  Back then anyone could make money just by buying any real estate and holding it for 2 months.   It was like the wild west and ultimately the west cost of Florida would be ground zero when the market dropped off a cliff in late 2006.

Today the agents that survived are some of the best.  They know the market like the back of their hand and they are comsumate pros.  I still see the occasional housewife and retiree real estate agent mostly on Longboat and other keys.  Stay away from them and hook up with an agent that needs to sell to eat.  A good agent can provide guidance and make deals happen.  When the agent is your representative they are one step closer to the buyer than you most cases unless its their listing.

When selecting an agent interview several to find one that seems to think like you and is willing to help you find property and professionally and agressively market your property when it goes on the market after rehab.  The agent we have used over the past few years and probably one of the best we've seen is Roger Cumbie of Keller Williams.  Jan met Roger when she was working as a personal banker and was impressed with his professional manner.  We eventually both met with Roger and discussed some of our approaches - lots of looking and lots of offers to eventually find the "deal". Also once its rehabed help us find the sweet spot for the price and provide lots of exposure quickly.  Needless to say Roger bought into the strategy and has been our exclusive agent ever since!

One of the first properties that we worked on with Roger was bank owned and we decided to use a mutiple offer strategy until the property sold.  So we proceeded to submit the same offer multiple times over a couple of months as the property was dropping in price.  Eventually the agent for the listing called us and asked if our offer was still good.  In a last ditch effort we tried to squeeze another $5K out of the seller to Rogers surprise!  We eventually landed at our original bid after a few days and the rest is history.  Since then Roger has worked hard for us and we continue to surprise him what some of our methods and seemingly silly offers looking for that diamond in the rough..

I recently asked Roger what advice he would offer to people looking for a good real estate agent (other than him of course, he's ours!) and he provided the following insights.

"Aside from the obvious…. like making sure the agent is properly licensed, knows the market, is knowledgeable in writing contracts and is continually educating themselves. I think the most important aspect of finding a realtor to work with in an investor capacity is to find someone whom you trust completely, have a rapport with, and know that they want you to succeed as greatly as you do over the course of time. A good realtor knows that ultimately the investors success will become their success and both will prosper. You really want the relationship between the two of you to quickly develop into a partnership where you trust the realtor’s advice and know that it is not just for the sake of their next commission check but for your mutual success over the long term. I’m currently working with a small number of investors and believe that we share the type of relationship I’ve described above.


So how do you find a realtor to help you locate and identify homes to invest in if this is what you’ve chosen to do? Maybe the most reliable source would be to get recommendations from your friends or relatives of realtors they have used recently with good success. Obviously the internet has become a great source as well.

When beginning to work with a realtor make sure that you both know what each others expectations are. You want an understanding of not only the type and price of property being sought but also things like, do you work over the weekend, prefer a phone call or email to communicate, when is it too late to call, etc, etc. Usually these issues will work themselves out over time but a few minutes spent in the beginning of the relationship to set the expectations can make the process so much easier and enjoyable to participate in."

Good luck finding your "Roger" and happy rehabbing!

 Roger Cumbie can be reached at:

KELLER WILLIAMS MANATEE

5260 SR 64 E

Bradenton, FL 34208

E-mail: r_cumbie@hotmail.com

Ph 941-350-5869