Recommendation on Pro-active, Well-connected Real Estate Agents

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PURPLEHAZE_IHB

PURPLEHAZE_IHB

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Criticisms apart there are always good real estate agents who can get to the opportunity before everybody else and who can help close short sales because of relationships with the REO participants. I wanted to tap the opinions of some of our distinguished bloggers here for recommendations. I currently have an agent however I do not think he has the nose that can detect and dig up an opportunity before it is detected by the rest of the world and he sure as hell does not have many connections. My assumption here is that the right opportunities sometimes get snapped up or remain protected by the smart agents for their own clientele such that they can make maximum gain on their relationships connecting buyer and seller.
 
<p>Purplehaze</p>

<p><em>"My assumption here is that the right opportunities sometimes get snapped up or remain protected by the smart agents for their own clientele such that they can make maximum gain on their relationships connecting buyer and seller."</em></p>

<p>You are correct in so far as past clients, friends, and people who I have had a business or personal relationship would be contacted first when I find what I feel is a good deal that meets their needs. That is part of my job!</p>

<p>It is one of the "value added" aspects that a good agent can provide for their clients. Often agents will network and let each other know when they are going to list a good property so as to alert them ahead of time. Agents prefer to work with other professional experienced agents so an agent that is "dialed" in at the local level helps benifit the client.</p>

<p>Example:</p>

<p>The client for the short sale my partner and I are currently working on is a friend from the auto racing industry who I have delt with for 4 years. I spent 2 seasons working on his race team.</p>

<p>This is the 3rd or 4th offer in a year of trying to get them a below market deal on a home that they like. He and his family are more than a client relationship so when we found a new listing that met his needs we called him first. It is a relationship based on trust and working for a win-win situation not just a fast buck. </p>

<p>These types of relationships do help certain buyers get the "sweet deals" before before they hit the street. On the other hand my client is well off finanically, pre approved, and willing to make offers when the price is comfortable and the home fits his needs.</p>

<p>It takes a while to form these relationships. My business was almost all referral, past business connections, or people I met at an occasional open house whom I felt comfortable working with. </p>

<p>You do need to have an experienced agent who is willing to work hard to best represent your needs and in return you need to be loyal and respect their time and energy.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p> </p>
 
Haze, I think the choice of a connected agent depends on where you want to buy. I'd say go with the market leader for a particular area. They keep a good pulse on neighborhoods and often hear of things first... The trick is figuring out who that realtor is. Depending on where you are targeting, you might be able to get some objective advice from the inhabitants of the IHB.
 
<p>Where in 620? You talking Woodbury or NW Pointe or older Northwood?</p>

<p>For Tustin Ranch, Jeff Jones is probably the guy. He's got to be the #1 there by volume, probably by a large degree. </p>

<p>I don't think there has been any dominate realtors in Tustin Field as yet. Too new. My guess at the guys that know that area the best would be Martin Uribe (Tarbell) or Fred Stepanian with Prudential. Big time guess there based purely on my visits to open houses.</p>

<p>As a buyer, you don't need to work with a sellers agent. Isn't it weird how the agent representing the buyers is called the selling agent? You could just keep up with the area specialists and then let them double-end a transaction if they found one for you. That should allow you to save a percent or two on the purchase price...</p>

<p>Unfortunately I know zippo about HB.</p>
 
<a title="Permanent Link to Irvine Realtor Ratings 7-8-2007" rel="bookmark" href="http://www.irvinehousingblog.com/2007/07/08/irvine-realtor-ratings-7-8-2007/" linkindex="19" set="yes">Irvine Realtor Ratings 7-8-2007</a>




The realtors had a hissy fit over this post and stopped access to the information...
 
<p>Haze, for Northwood, Mike Dunn is probably the big boy on the block.</p>

<p>With regards to IR's reference to realtor ratings, Muradian is more a Quail Hilly, Uni, Turtle kind of dude. Roula is big in Woodbury and Northpark. Frank is the master of West Irvine. Ingalls is big in Northpark.</p>
 
As I've stated on this blog before, I would never trust a real estate for valuations or mortgage information, but for networking and keeping everyone calm through closing they can be of great value. Roula helped on a house I purchased and did, I thought, a good job............
 
I worked with one of the Ingalls team flunkies back in 2006. Mrs. Ingalls was their mortgage guru so it was all in the family. If you are looking for proactive and value added assistance from someone who "looks out for you", I would recommend steering clear of them. If, however, you like flashy people who think very highly of themselves --- they are your team.
 
Jeff Jones has the most listing in Tustin Ranch but most of them are at WTF pricing. My read on him is that he would take on any listing. He also puts "Just Listed" red ribbon on six-month old listings. His redeeming trait: his handouts at open houses are top-notch.
 
Yes, most of Jeff Jones listings have been on the market for a long time and need to come down by at least 100K in most cases to be sold
 
I am not sure that the neighborhood expert is the best for buyers agents. They have a vested interested in keeping the prices high in their area both for comps and for getting more listings.



With todays techonology and ability to gather information I think the importance of a 'bull dog"agent representing the buyer is more useful to the buyer.



Since banks have REOs in many areas the relationship with someone inside the REO department is important.



There is a search function on the MLS to allow a sort by NODs as a criteria. A good buyer's agent can sort by area, price, sq ft, bed/bath count, and NOD being filed. This would give prospective buyer information on all listed short sales/REOs to view.



By setting an automatic drip a client can receive this information daily via MLS to see new listings as they occur.



This isn't rocket science!!



Regards
 
<p>Anne and John Hoover are good friends of mine. I think they primarily deal with Newport Beach listings though. I can tell you that they have been in the RE market for many years and have never seemed to get caught up in the hype or Kool Aid distribution. I trust them with my life and my kids lives. </p>

<p>In general, I'm not a huge fan of RE agents. I ignored Anne's advice on selecting an agent to handle our last home sale and I regretted it for exactly the reasons she warned me of. From what I can see the good agents have hunkered down and are prepared to ride this storm out. At least one agent has told me that they hope this storm helps clean up the field a bit. I don't think good agents are any happier about having to work with the crap agents than we are.</p>
 
Has anyone on this board worked with any of the big agents like Frank Agahi etc? Do they impose their own terms and conditions to deal with you versus the more 'humble', bull-dog agents? What makes them tick? Do they offer any advantage back to an individual seller or are they meant only for investor buyers and speculators?
 
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