A Tip for Sacramento Real Estate Investors

At least a couple of times a week, this Sacramento REALTOR receives an email from a potential investor or investment group, wanting to buy homes in Sacramento. Many of these Sacramento real estate investors are investment LLCs are based in Sacramento. The managing partners and owners generally hold an active real estate license and are typically members of MetroList, our local MLS. This means they have the ability to look up homes to buy to their heart’s content . . . so, why do they email this real estate agent?

I imagine there are several possibilities. Some Sacramento real estate investors desire preferential treatment, they expect to be pushed to the front of the line in the event of multiple offers. An agent can’t grant that kind of preference because it’s against the law. To sweeten the deal and tempt agents who are, let’s just say perhaps lacking in ethics training, investors might offer to let the listing agent represent them in a dual agency situation and collect up to twice the commission. Although, they would not admit this to anybody’s face.

One investor went so far as to send me his list of “preferred” agents so I could look up the identity and records of all the real estate agents who were most likely to throw their sellers under the bus to work with him. Every one of those agents double-ended deals with that investor. Nice going. I’ll be on the look-out for those guys.

A better way to buy homes in Sacramento for an investment portfolio is NOT to try to bribe real estate agents. Although, I bet a few investors are reading this and sneering at the moment, while a few others are drawing a circle with a big red X over my face. A better way to buy homes in Sacramento is to follow the listings of the agents who tend to list a lot of property.

How would Sacramento real estate investors do that? It’s easy. Sort of like Twitter. Just set up a hotsheet search in MLS using that agent’s identification as the parameter — which is noted on every listing and can also be located under the Search tab for Agent / Office. Then, when that agent lists a new property, bingo, the MLS will email it to the investor who set up the search. I suspect a few Sacramento investors already have hotsheets set up for my Weintraub listings because some of them call me within minutes of a new listing hitting MLS.

If their offer is the best for the seller, the seller takes it. Sometimes, the early bird gets the worm. Investors don’t have to resort to under-handed tactics to buy homes in Sacramento.

Which reminds me, there is an article published today in the Billings Gazette (Montana) about investment groups. The reporter interviewed this Sacramento REALTOR and used my comments in a sidebar. You might be interested in reading Investors Hunting for Gold in Billings Real Estate Market. That advice applies nationwide.