Some Questions that a investor needs to know when looking for a real estate agent.

How do I find a agent to interview?

    The simple answer to this is talk to every agent that you see. It is not uncommon to see a real estate agency with a agent in the middle of shopping malls. This is a good opportunity to meet and get a general idea of how the agent will take care of your business interests. You can usually have a good idea if you want to follow up after a brief chat. I usually leave the conversation by giving the agent my business card and telling them if they find any properties that fit my descriptions to give me a call. The good ones will get back with you in a day or two with some example properties to look at. From there I check out the property and see if they truly understand what I am looking for. Another place to find realtor's is to go to a real estate company and talk to some of the people that work there and see if any have anything for sale or know of anything at that time. You can basically find a agent anywhere so don't be afraid to talk to them about what you are looking for.

Never sell yourself short.

    Remember that as a new real estate investor you are a valuable commodity to any agent. Think about it, most people buy one or two houses in a lifetime, but there is no telling how many properties you are going to buy. When I first got started I would buy or sell between 3 to five houses a year. That amounts to what would be a lifetime of purchases from the average home owner.

Need a agent that knows what a investment is.

    This may sound very simple but it is very important to getting a good agent. Some agents are salesman and not necessarily working for you. If a agent is trying to sell you on a property they probably are not right for you. Your decision to purchase should be based on the fact that the property is a good investment for you under your guidelines not some sales pitch. I once went to look at a house that a agent wanted to show me and got a huge sales pitch. I remember telling him that there really wasn't a lot of room financially to buy the property. I stressed that the property did not fit into any of my guidelines that I set up for myself as a investor but he kept selling. I realized then that he did not agree with what I thought was a investment so we never worked together again after that point.

Do I need a agent with a lot of experience?

        Maybe. I know that does not answer the question but I feel that you have to judge a agent on a case by case basis. I have had agents with a lot of experience that did not understand what I wanted to get out of investing. But some others with experience did. Some agents with little experience are just starting out and are really eager to find you properties. They will go out of there way to make you happy. So judge for your self and see what you can come up with.

How many Agents do I need?

The answer to this question is complicated.

    The best possible scenario would be to have one great real estate agent to work with. That way you could deal with only one person and take comfort in the fact that they are doing there job to get you the best deal. But this theory in reality does not always work out the way it is drawn up. I like to go with a approach of multiple realtor's especially when you first start out, because you may not know yet what kind of agent you have until some time has passed. I like a mix of both experienced and a good young agent who may be just starting out and is very eager to make a living in the business. This way you can develop a team of realtors working for you. I do however like to reward a agent who finds a property for me by letting them sell the property they found for me in the event I decide to sell that property. This builds a good relationship and helps the agent work hard for you.

    A new tool that the real estate agent has now that was never available when I got started is e-mail. Have your agent set you up on a automatic email list that alerts you to any new listings in the area that you are looking to buy. This way you will have the information everyday without having to rely on a real estate agent to check there computer every day. Back when I first started this option was not available in fact there was virtually no Internet listings. The only person that had access to the online listings was the real estate agents themselves. So you can imagine trying to keep your business going by hoping someone will check their computer.

    The way that I used to combat this was to have more than one real estate agent this way I would have a better chance of getting the information that I needed. I still feel that this method applies today because you never know who a real estate agent is going to know and if they hear about some good deals.