3. Understand the Objectives. Unlike traditional homebuyers, investors aren’t looking for places to live or to raise their families – they’re looking for properties they can use to make a profit. So your approach to securing their business shouldn’t be the same as your pitch to those traditional buyers and sellers. You need to understand your client’s investment strategy: Buy, fix and flip? Buy at wholesale and sell to another investor? Buy, rehab and rent? And you need to know the investment horizon: Is this a long-term hold with a 5-7 year profit window, or does the investor need to sell this property before buying the next one? The more you know about your investor’s objectives, the more useful you can be in tailoring your efforts to help achieve them.
4. Do Your Homework. Once you understand the objectives, your skills as a local market expert come into play. Where are the best rental opportunities? Which neighborhoods are “hot” right now for sales? Where are new jobs being created or new schools being built? Help identify those opportunities, and present properties for your investor to consider purchasing to take advantage of market conditions.
Invest some time into learning how to work with real estate investors in your area. Then be prepared to watch your business prosper!
Wendy Forsythe has leveraged her passion for real estate and technology to help build national real estate brands in both Canada and the United States. As Executive Vice President/Head of Global Operations at Carrington Real Estate Services, she is responsible for the operations and growth of the national brokerage with offices in 25 states and 1,200 agents. You can email her at wendy.forsythe@carringtonres.com.
