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Tuesday's Tip #59: Uninterested Party

By
Real Estate Agent with Land Chasers

As an real estate investor, you probably spending a lot of time looking at a lot of property. But, what about you out of state investors? And you international investors? How many times do you have the freedom to rush in and check out something you're buying?

 

The major problem here is that no one has the time to fly all over the place like this. If you have the money to show up every time you get a pending deal all the way across the nation or overseas, you're probably wasting your time.

 

We've talked a lot about building a good team in our Tuesday's Tips so far, but I want to talk about a member of the team who often goes unidentified. I like to call him the "uninterested party".

 

Seeing that you're ballsy enough to be investing a long way away, in a different area of the country or world, you need to have someone on your side. I can't tell you how many real estate agents and birddogs I see who are pushing the line a little too far. I watch this go down all of the time.

 

They want, and need, to close deals so badly, that they're muddying the waters and distorting the facts to just get a sale or two. They're in desperation mode and as long as they're doing that, they're not looking out for your best interests.

 

You need an uninterested party on your team who can give you an honest critique of the property you're about to purchase. They can't have anything that will sway his/her opinion. You might call this an inspector. You might call this your "Uncle Bob" who lives in Indianapolis who steps in to look things over for you. You might even call this your property manager, who has to deal with the headaches after you purchase the property. Whatever you call 'em, you need 'em.

 

So, find an uninterested party to evaluate your deals. If you pay them $200 to walk you through the property over the phone and find out it's going to take a lot more money than the amount your real estate agent told you, you will have saved more than $200 and learned a lot about the agent who's "representing" you.

 

Tuesday's Tip: Find yourself an uninterested party. You need better representation than a salesman who only benefits when you buy. Think about it. 

Chuck Carstensen
RE/MAX Results - Elk River, MN
Minnesota/Wisconsin Real Estate Expert

Good tip. I dont work with any long distant investors but this make perfect sense.

May 20, 2008 03:06 PM