Investing in real estate may not be a traditional career path, but it works just like any other business where everyone involved needs to work towards a specific outcome.
As any seasoned real estate investor will tell you, surrounding yourself with the right people can make all the difference to your success – both in terms of profit as well as the ease and speed of completing transactions. And for investors, building a network of agents sets the foundation for your business to flourish.
These Realtors can become valuable lead sources, both for acquisition and disposition of properties because they often hear of properties long before they hit the market and they know who is looking for a particular type of property. They also have connections to private lenders, contractors, property managers and other people who could be useful to you.
But agents aren’t generally running around looking for you, so you’ll need to have a plan to find them and build meaningful relationships with them.
So today in this article, I’m going to outline five ways you can do exactly that.
Having a strong and expansive network might be the most essential component of your investing business, and understanding how to build that network is paramount. It’s a skill that every highly successful investor has mastered, and one that can make the difference between success and failure. So, how do you get started?
Sponsor brokerage, MLS, and local board events
Sponsorship can be a great way to get your name out to large groups of Realtors in one fell swoop.
This gives you the perfect opportunity to not only get in front of these people, but also to build authority status with them because you’re essentially being vouched for by the hosts of the event, who these Realtors already know and trust.
This is a fast and efficient way to build a lot of valuable relationships if you have the money to leverage this tactic.
It’s worth noting that this isn’t a silver bullet.
Don’t expect to sponsor a single event and then swim through a pool of money like Scrooge McDuck. The sponsorship only puts you in front of the Realtors. You’ll still have to invest time into building relationships with them from there.
Find agents via LinkedIn
LinkedIn isn’t just for job seekers anymore. It’s been an incredible tool for quickly building a powerhouse network for a long time now.
And since most agents have at least some presence on the platform, it’s easy to find a lot of the right people quickly and efficiently. The last time I checked, a simple search for the term “Realtor” returned over 1,640,000 results.
You can then further refine your search for location, the company they work for, and several other criteria to narrow this down to exactly the people you want to connect with.
From here, it’s relatively simple to connect and begin nurturing a relationship.
Purchase a list of licensed Realtors
Every real estate commission has a list of each real estate licensee in their state.
In some cases, you may be able to simply download it, while in other cases, you may need to purchase it online or contact the real estate commission directly to purchase it. Either way, the data is available to you.
You can also access lists from the MLS system to find new agents and brokers as well.
These lists are valuable because they contain all the contact information you’ll need. Armed with this list, you can begin calling, emailing and connecting on social media to build a relationship with these Realtors.
Reach out to title companies
An untapped resource for building your network as an investor are title companies.
These companies exist to serve agents and brokers on every single real estate transaction. And it’s in their best interest to help the agents in their network because the more deals they bring to the table, the more money the title company makes.
As a result, title companies can help you expand your network by making warm introductions to the agents and brokerages that they regularly deal with.
This benefits everyone involved, so both the title company and the Realtors will be more than happy to connect with you.
Teach Realtors how to flip houses
Contrary to popular belief, most real estate agents don’t know how to flip houses.
That may surprise most people, but it makes perfect sense because their focus is on the transaction. Their main goals are helping their clients buy or sell property, and earning referrals, and repeat business.
As an investor, teaching real estate agents how to flip houses can be a powerful strategy for finding new deals.
This may sound crazy, but hear me out.
Teaching them how doesn’t necessarily mean they will be comfortable doing it themselves, so they may ask for your help on the deal, which means you get a cut. Most won’t even want to do any investing.
On the other hand, they may get good at it and not need your help, but they can’t close all the deals they find, so they’re likely to pass those on to you. Remember — every investor has their own criteria for the types of deals they want to handle.
Putting together a one-hour presentation that covers the basics of house flipping could result in several new and valuable relationships at each brokerage.
Start building your real estate network today
Without a strong network of real estate professionals, your investment business is left to navigate blindly, but by investing the time and energy into building and expanding your network you can positively alter the course of your business.
Whether you’re just getting into investing or if you have multiple deals under your belt, your network of real estate agents is your best tool for achieving great success in your investment endeavors.
A real estate investor who buys hundreds of houses each year, Josh Deshong founded Trelly to help real estate investors and wholesalers streamline their businesses. Connect with him on Facebook or LinkedIn.
