Market knowledge:
Above all, the right real estate professional for the active real estate investor's team will have detailed knowledge of the market. They should be active in posting articles or website information about market statistics, or at the very least be able to quickly produce custom reports for the real estate investor.
Question prospective team members about the market, ask for reports, or ask if they are able to send reports to you regularly.
Understand investor needs:
Real estate investors are not retail buyers, and the agent/broker needs to understand that they are going to have different requirements. Experienced investors may do most or all of their own research, only wanting their real estate professional for offers.
They should also understand that many active real estate investors develop a multiple low offer strategy that will necessitate submitting as many as 25 offers for every offer accepted. This is easier however if they're technologically set up for online or computerized forms.
Choose a real estate professional who understands these requirements.
Be responsive:
The successful and active real estate investor will usually have marketing out via newspaper ads, Craigslist ads, bandit signs, and other media and methods. They will come across opportunities that may require fast action, and the real estate agent should answer the phone or text message immediately, or definitely the same day.
Question agents about their schedules, weekends and hours they don't answer their phone.
Be proactive:
A real estate professional working with an investor can very likely have business brought to their attention by the investor. The agent/broker should be proactive in sending business the other way as well.
When the real estate professional finds that they can't list a property for a homeowner, sometimes for reasons of time and a late payment situation, or they've been unsuccessful in selling and the agent doesn't want to take on a short sale, they should refer the homeowner to the real estate investor.
Choose an agent who is willing to refer possible business.
Real estate investment requires a team, and the agent is a key member:
Whether a real estate investor is just starting out and a bird-dog, or they're more experienced and doing other types of deals or buying properties for rental, they need a good real estate professional on their team.
Choosing a real estate professional should be a careful process, as they're a critical part of the team. Talk to many, work with more than one, and settle on a primary real estate professional who at the least meets the criteria in this profile.
