Real Estate Investment Software – How it Really Helps Agents to Sell Income Property

Any real estate agent can sell income property without real estate investment software. After all, they are licensed to sell property and at the end of the day they only have to match up a willing buyer with a willing seller to make a deal; just the way they do with residential properties. Hey, it’s not rocket science.
In fact many agents do sell income property without ever investing in real estate investment software. That is, they take a listing on (say) a duplex, post it in the MLS or other appropriate website with little more than a price and location, and then simply wait until another agent comes along with a willing buyer for the property. Subsequently, of course, if the property does sell and close, the agent rejoices that he or she made a commission and goes off to celebrate; we’ve all been there. Fair enough.
But here’s the catch.
When agents service rental property in the same manner as they do residential property, namely without any regard for a cash flow, rate of return, or profitability analysis provided by real estate investment software, they run the risk of losing money on each transaction as well as maybe the opportunity to service more income properties (possibly translating into additional transactions and commissions) in the future.
Let me explain.
Brokers and agents that adopt this “throw it up against the wall and hope it sticks” mentality with income property are almost assured that they will lose half their commission to a selling broker. Why, because they are not sufficiently prepared to market the property in a manner that might prompt an investor to approach them directly. Real estate investing is all about the numbers, and if an investor is unsure about the listing agent’s ability (or concern) to adequately crunch those numbers on rental properties, they typically turn to someone else for representation. It happens.
But having said that, it’s not uncommon for many transactions to include both a listing and selling broker (even with rental property) therefore the idea of not double-ending a deal and getting the full commission is generally acceptable and might not really be considered a loss; at least not enough of a loss to warrant using real estate investment software to increase the odds.
Okay, but there’s more.
What residential agents really suffer when they ignore servicing income property correctly (without knowing it) is the lost opportunity to acquire real estate investors as customers. The logic is straightforward. Because real estate investing is about cash flows, rates of return, and profitability, the only proven way for a broker to win the hearts and minds of investors is to demonstrate a degree of willingness and proficiency to adequately present those numbers. Put yourself in their shoes.
Say, for example, that you are about to risk your personal funds to purchase an apartment building (yes, real estate investing is a risk), who would you rather work with, an agent who appears to know nothing about rental property and has neither the resources or understanding to present the data, or an agent that does? Of course, it’s a rhetorical question with only one reasonable answer, but you get the idea.
So here’s the bottom line.
If you are planning to sell, or want to sell income property (why wouldn’t you?) then by all means do it correctly with an eye on broadening your business and seizing every opportunity to benefit your business by making sure that you are perceived as one committed to real estate investing and fully prepared to assist investors with a rental property decision. Real estate investment software makes that possible; and it’s just too affordable for you not to have it in your arsenal of tools.