Finding the ‘right’ agent for your investment property
If you’re a seasoned investor, you might be looking for a real estate agent who’ll take the sale or rental completely out of your hands.
Whereas if you’re a first time investor looking to rent or sell, you might want more control over the process, or simply a helping hand to help you make informed choices. 
Everyone is different when it comes to choosing a real estate agent. ‘Good’ to you may be something completely different to a fellow investor looking to sell or rent their property. The following information will help you compare and find an agent for your investment property.
Here’s what you’re able to compare before meeting with the agents you’re considering:
Performance data
If you’re selling, you’ll want to know the statistics around how many properties the agent/agency has sold in the area and the average time it takes for them to find buyers. If you’re renting your investment property, you can look at how many properties are managed in total by the agency.
Fees and commissions
Average agent commission rates can vary from state to state, and in metropolitan areas compared to regional. Finding an agent with cheaper commission rates might be exactly what you’re looking for as an investor. However, comparing more than just commission rates can give you a greater sense of confidence in achieving the best outcome for your property, whether it be renting or selling. In terms of marketing fees, some agents include this as a part of commission and others will charge an additional fee.
Agency information
It’s a good idea to ensure the agency is within a close proximity to your investment property. This will give you confidence that the agent can attend to any urgent maintenance requests for rental properties, or take prospective buyers through properties for sale at ease.
Homeowner reviews
If you want to know what an agent is really like first hand, you can look at reviews from other homeowners who’ve rented or sold with them. Also, by looking at agents’ endorsed top skills and attributes, you can see if they’re exactly what you’re looking for. At LocalAgentFinder, you’re able to compare agents by looking at their top skills and attributes. For example, you can see whether they excel in accurate valuation, international networking, and whether they’re outcome driven, approachable and so on.
Marketing strategy
Real estate agents use a mix of both traditional and digital marketing methods to advertise properties. By comparing marketing strategies, you’ll be able to get a sense of how much exposure your property will get, and the quality of the promotional materials they’ll use. 
What should I ask agents before making my final decision?
Once you get to the stage of meeting with agents, here are some questions that you can ask to help you gain confidence and ensure you’re making the right decision:
- Are you the agent that will be looking after my property?
- How long have you been an agent and with your current agency?
- How many properties have you sold or rented in your area?
- Are your fees negotiable?
- How long do you think it’ll take to sell or rent my property?
- What selling price do you think I can achieve? Or, what is your estimate of the weekly rental potential of the property?
- Have you sold properties similar to mine?
- How do you screen tenants?
- What do you do to manage a tenant that is behind in rent?
- Which methods would you use to market my property?
- What makes you different to other agents?
Comparing agents through the LocalAgentFinder platform and asking agents questions such as those listed above will give you the confidence to make a much more informed decision to help you achieve a better outcome. Also, even if you’re not sure if you’re ready to sell or rent your investment property, chatting to an agent allows you to:
- Get a property appraisal
- Discover the best time to sell or rent
- Discuss whether you should make any home improvements
- Get a sense of market conditions
- Understand competition and similar investment properties in the area
- Discuss whether they have any buyers looking to purchase a property like yours