Escapeso Austin Real Estate asked:

Some people prefer to use a real estate agent and some people choose to go it alone. One thing I have noticed over the years is that a number of experienced investors looking in a new metropolis will seek out a good broker while novice investors will oftentimes go it alone. I have even had a number of successful real estate agents seek out my help when they are moving to our city. Why do some of these seasoned investors choose to go with an agent? Below is a list of 7 benefits of using an agent.

1. Understand potential restrictions of the property. I recently heard a story from a friend at the city development office in Austin Texas. A couple had saved up for their retirement. They wanted to retire and live out in the hill country. They went to the foreclosure auctions. At the auction they purchased a lot for 500,000. It had great views and they were going to build their dream house on it. They had researched the lot before the auction and found it was zoned SFR which means a single family residence can be built on it. After purchasing the lot they started plans to build their retirement house. At this time they discovered the lot was in the 25 year floodplain. My friend at the city development office explained that the lot could not be built on and was basically worthless.

2. Know about new developments that might affect a properties value. A good realtor will know of proposed new developments that might affect different properties in which a buyer is interested. Whether these developments are positive or negative can be valuable information when weighing different housing options.

3. Find potential problems with a property. It is always a good idea to have a home inspector look at a potential house. However, a Realtor is a good first line of defense to see if a house has inherent problems. A Realtor that can know about common problems, such as foundation or electrical, that affect a particular neighborhood.

4. Understand contracts specifics. Whenever you buy or sell a house you are entering into a large personal transaction. It helps to have someone on your side that deals with these types of transactions on a daily basis. A Realtor can help you understand contracts and can explain what is typical for your area. The most common pitfall into which I see unrepresented buyers fall is to become involved in an atypical contract that is not to their benefit. For instance a seller will sign an offer that has an option period that is 4 times longer than what is typical. A buyer might put in offers on multiple properties with long option periods. The buyer will wait and see if the market appreciates. If the market has appreciated the buyer buys the house at now and undervalued price. If the market has gone down the buyer walks away.

5. Misperception of a benefit of going it alone. Buyers frequently think that by not using a buyers agent they will get a better deal from the seller. In most situation the listing agent asks for 6 percent from the seller. If a buyer comes with an agent the listing agent splits the 6 percent with the buyers agent. If an unrepresented buyer comes the listing agent keeps the whole 6 percent. On the selling side, For Sale By Owners (FSBO) often think they are saving alot of money by avoiding a listing agent. Nationally, FSBO homes sell for 14 percent less than agent listed homes in the same neighborhoods. In addition alot of FSBO’s still end up having a buyers agents involved. There is also money spent on advertising. Since an agent has experience marketing homes the agent often can spend money more effectively on advertising. Agents often know which advertising sources produce the most potential buyers.

6. Save time when looking for listings. Looking for listings without an agent can take up large chunks of time. When looking with an agent you can see several homes in a few hours. When going it alone you have to call the listing agent for each house and wait at the house for the agent to arrive and open up the house. In addition agents often know houses which are not listed or may have already identified potential problems with a particular house of interest.

7. Insure Security. When a home is listed with a broker, agents coming to the house have to usually log in. This allows the listing agent to keep a record of every party coming into the house. Since their business is on the line, agents are more likely to protect the house from damage or theft. For a variety of reasons, it is generally not a good idea to have random people you do not know come into your house. Often sellers simply have a phone number, but that phone could be their house, a friend’s house, a pay phone, or even a stolen phone.

Searching for a home can be stressful and difficult but it can also be fun. Whether you choose to look for a home on your own or with a Realtor its a good idea to be a extremely careful when you seek out your dream home.

Brad Wozny write:

It is not exactly easy learning how to build a real estate business, but the rewards can be great. Life is changing. Wealth is varying. One of the common problems faced by entrepreneurs looking to build a real estate business is figuring out the “how”…perhaps it’s more better identified in terms of “how” do you do it, followed up by “what” do you do to build a real estate business.

In that regard, there’s a few relatively simple steps to follow that first starts out with a question. Precisely “WHY” do you want to learn how to build a real estate business?

If you come up empty-handed – or worse still, say you just want to get rich quick – then go elsewhere…because the reality is that if you don’t know why, you don’t have enough “chutzpah” to cut it whenever a challenge arises. These types of people when faced with a potential obstacle get easily frustrated, then cut bait and run.

Similarly, anyone looking to jump on the next “get rich quick” bandwagon is an opportunist. And opportunistic minded entrepreneurs never focus on doing one thing great, typically meddle in something for a few days or few weeks at best, then as the next obstacle pops up – or if they haven’t done a deal in 30 days – they throw in the towel and go elsewhere.

So how to build a real estate business that dominates and crushes your competition? It first begins with an understanding of what is a real estate investor, and what investing in real estate really means.

Since there’s no dictionary definition for this one, I’ll give you my interpretation. A Real Estate Investor essentially is a problem solver. This is an individual – or group of individuals – seeking to solve the real estate needs of others, in a courteous, respectable, and enlightened manner. As a result of successfully solving the issues at hand, the real estate investor profits both within their heart and with their wallet.

Typically, the financial rewards of being a real estate investor far exceed those of the average corporate or hourly wages of many. This is a lucrative profession, but when you’re building a real estate business, it requires persistence, confidence in one’s abilities, positive attitude, and ethical practices in order to truly profit in an ongoing basis.

From my corporate background, I recognized there were 6 Pillars of Successful Businesses that all had to be in place in order for someone to succeed. They are:

1) Vision & Planning

2) Specialized Knowledge

3) Applied Strategy

4) Mentorship & Advisors

5) Strategic Partners

6) Systems & Processes

I’m sure this looks daunting to you, yet if you chunk down these 6 Pillars into bite-sized chunks, within two weeks you’ll have the strategic elements in place to go out and dominate in your marketplace. Because in order to build a real estate business that succeeds, and scales exponentially, these elements are critical and imperative to helping you generate a 6 figure bank account and realizing 7 figure gains in as little as 7 months, part time.