Every six months or so, I set up a round of lunches with relevant brokers and agents.
Who are relevant brokers? Well, they’re the ones who sell the deals that we want to buy… beat-up properties in interesting areas that are priced (semi-)fairly.
Why do I do these lunches? The idea is to build trust / relationships BEFORE I offer on their deals.
Remember, when you make an offer to a seller (and her agent), what you’re really saying is: Would you please allow me to tie up your valuable property for 2-8 weeks while I decide whether to buy it?
Phrased like that, you can see why establishing a relationship with the listing broker is important. You want the broker to be able to advise his client that you are a credible buyer who can be trusted to deliver.
The best way to establish this kind of trust is to do a deal together. And, as we have done more and more deals (50+ for me personally, at this point), we have definitely built strong relationships with many of the most active brokers.
But, obviously, there’s first deal with every broker. So, to make sure we have the best possible shot at making that first deal happen, we do lunches.
Lots and lots of lunches.
Note to readers: If you are a broker or an agent who regularly represents sellers east of, say, Western, and you’d like to sit down for a coffee or bite to eat, get in touch and we’ll get something in the diary.