QUOTE (investmart @ Dec 27 2009, 10:10 PM) Thank you Godfried.
Sorry if my question was not clear. I actually know I want to hire a realtor. My question is should I look for a commercial realtor or does it not really matter?
In other words, investors who buy apt. buildings with help from a realtor - do they usually work with a certified commercial realtor or with a regular RE agent in most cases? How important/common/significant is it to hire a commercial specialty trained realtor for the purpose of purchasing an apartment building?
(I`m guessing it is not that common/important but not sure.)
Regards,
Neil.
Hi Neil,
Yes I misunderstood your question. As you may have noted on my e-mail sign offs, I am going through the process of getting my realtor license. After investing for a number of years in real estate and for many years in the stock market, I now have the time to look at the otherside of the fence (not necessary behind the curtain though).
As part of my realtor morphosis, I just learned about commercial realty which (amongst others) deals with full fledged apartments (those things 10 stories and higher or possibly a small 10 door building). When you are in this market you definitely want to work with a realtor with lots of experience in that field and they call themselves Commercial Realtors or something like that. They are not having a special license and often they are not a member of the local real estate board (because they usually don`t use the MLS). So yes in two or three weeks, with my new license, I could sell you a nice apartment building but...
Really, you wouldn`t want to work with me, because big aparments are true hard core investments with many details to understand, you need to be like Thomas, a real estate investor extraordinaire. For a four-plex or 8-plex most realtors that understand your objectives will do. The key here is "understand your objectives". Because your objectives as a REIN member are probably beyond many run of the mill realtors.
If you don`t have one yet, just start here on the REIN forum and ask explicitely for a realtor in your area with expertise in investment properties. I would even post what specific type of properties you have in mind.
Because, that is basically what every realtor tries to do, to help you find the property that fits you. So the clearer you are in your mind about what you want, the better your realtor can help you find the property that matches your needs.