Why You Need More Than a Traditional Realtor
Before we get into this week's blog, we are pleased to share that we were recently featured in LA Weekly. Our presence continues to grow. That's all due to you, our clients. Thank you again for your support and your business.
In my last two weekly blogs, I reviewed Why Invest in Las Vegas and Where and What to Buy Investment Properties in Las Vegas. So, with that knowledge, anybody can buy a conforming property from any realtor in town and expect it to perform, right?
Wrong.
Here’s what you can expect from traditional realtors or “investor friendly” realtors.
Residential (or “Investor-Friendly”) Realtors
Residential (investor-friendly) realtors help people buy or sell homes. The process is straightforward: homebuyers browse properties on real estate websites, and the realtor provides access to the properties. The realtor then handles the offer and closing process. While some residential realtors occasionally deal with rental properties, they offer little value beyond basic MLS data sheets, which are virtually useless to investors.
Here’s what a traditional realtor can provide:
- Price
- SqFt
- Lot Size
- Bedroom count
- Year built
- Garage size
- Area amenities
- Showing of the property
- Etc.
As an investor, you need to handle numerous critical tasks: selecting properties, estimating rents and lease-up time, calculating ROI and cash flow, identifying renovation needs, getting contractor quotes, and managing the renovation process. But how can you be confident that your rent estimate is accurate and will materialize? How do you know that your chosen renovations will appeal to the target tenants? And how can you ensure that renovation quotes are reasonable and the work will be completed on time and within budget?
Investment Realtors - Your Investment Partners
Here’s what you can expect from an investment realtor in addition to the information on an MLS data sheet:
- Rent range based on completing various renovation options.
- Time to rent
- Cash flow and ROI
- Renovation items and cost
- Offer price range taking ARV and renovation risk into account
- Tenant pool segment characteristics
- Area rent growth and appreciation
- Rent restrictions
- Demographic trends
- Best rental locations
- A network of trusted local resources
- Etc.
In our case, we also provide renovation overwatch at no extra cost.
In addition to providing information and advice, investment realtors have well-defined processes and local resources to identify and bring properties to market. While investment teams may have slightly different approaches, their core processes are similar since they're accomplishing the same goals. Below is an illustration of our process steps—all of which are included in our services.
Could You Do This All Yourself?
It’s possible, but why? Working with an investment team costs no more than any realtor (at least that’s the case with FERNWOOD Team), and you get a master class in real world investing.
Why start from scratch when proven solutions exist? Think about it: if you needed surgery, you wouldn't go to medical school. Instead, you'd find a specialist surgeon, not just a general practitioner. The same principle applies to real estate investing.
Summary
Acquiring high-performance properties requires far more than just knowing general investing information and having a realtor to help buy a home. To maximize returns while minimizing both risk and time commitment, partner with an experienced team that can guide you through the entire process and, in FERNWOOD’s case, have the work done for you.
