Most real estate agents believe that fix-and-flip investing is too risky: the long holding times, all the things that can go wrong, budgets overruns, etc.

And then there’s the hassle of getting someone to manage the project, dealing with contractors and finding the funds to buy the property.

But is investing really as risky as most people think it is?

I used to think it was, until I found out something that most agents don’t know.

You see, I used to be just as scared as the average agent, and even though I now buy over 100 houses a year, I actually became a real estate investor completely by accident.

This accident happened the day I bumped into a seller who only wanted to sell to an investor.

After giving my best listing presentation to this seller, she kept telling me the same thing over and over: “I really don’t want to list this house with an agent. I want to sell to an investor and be done with the house.”

She told me that I could find an investor to buy her home, but in no uncertain terms was she going to list the house with me or anyone else. She didn’t want open houses, inspections and financing contingencies that came with a traditional listing.

I left the appointment surprised. After all, I expressed to her that she may be able get a higher price if she were to just make a few small repairs and list the home with me.

The home was in a great location, and I knew there would be a lot of demand for her property. I just couldn’t understand why she would want to go this route.

On my ride home, I was racking my brain for potential investors that I may be able to call. After thinking about it some more, the thought hit me that changed my career forever: “Why don’t I buy the house myself?”

Instead of bringing the house to one of my investors to buy, I decided to propose a partnership with them. Even though I didn’t have the cash or contracting skills, I had this great investment opportunity.

Ten years later, this partnership arrangement has now turned into over 1,000 homes purchased. The reason this partnership worked is because of all of the value that I brought to the table as an agent, and you can do the same for your career too.

1. Agents are already able to identify whether a property is a great investment

If you’ve ever said something to the effect of “they got a really good deal on that house,” you know exactly what I am talking about.

2. Agents know how to get a deal done   

Once we’ve identified that a property is in fact a great investment, we have the skills necessary to both get that property under contract and get it to the finish line.

3. Agents come across investment opportunities in their daily life

Just like the opportunity that came across my plate to get my real estate investing career started, as agents, we tend to have great opportunities fall into our lap.

4. Becoming an investor will increase your commissions

Being an investor agent opens up the door to working with investor clientele. Because I was now an investor, I knew exactly what other investors were looking for. The great thing about working with investors is that they are repeat customers.

5. Becoming an investor will grow your brokerage

I’ve been able to build out an entire brokerage team based on the investing side of my business.

Real estate investing is fun and exciting, and other agents want to be a part of it. This excitement has allowed me to go from a three-person brokerage to a team of over 125 agents (many of who are also investors).

6. Becoming an investor will generate buyer leads

Promoting your investment deals provides enormous buyer lead generation opportunities: in today’s low inventory market, renovated homes are in extremely high demand.

With minimal marketing efforts, we’ve been able to generate more buyer leads than we can handle — and at no cost.

7. Becoming an investor will set you up for retirement

As agents, we don’t have a traditional retirement plan. We don’t have pension plans, 401k matches or many of the other benefits of a traditional career.

However, we do have the ability to more easily obtain and manage long-term rental property, which, in my opinion, serves as a better retirement plan.

The bottom line is that as agents, we are uniquely positioned to succeed as an investor and already have the most important pieces of the puzzle.

Tom Cafarella is a real estate investor and broker at Ocean City Development in Boston. Connect with him on LinkedIn or Facebook. 

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