February 9, 2026 | 3 Minute Read
I get it. We are bottom feeders. Investors want agents to submit a hundred offers a week at half the asking price, add all these contingencies, and then renegotiate the price after inspection.
Real estate investors and real estate agents should be natural allies. Investors bring repeat business, volume, and long-term relationships. Agents bring deal flow, market insight, and transactional expertise. Yet in practice, many agents quietly avoid working with investors—or do so reluctantly.
Why? The friction usually isn’t personal. It’s structural, economic, and cultural.
1. Investors Are Bottom Feeders
Most traditional agents are trained on retail transactions where price is emotional and commissions are predictable. Investors, by contrast, are math-driven. They negotiate aggressively, submit lower offers, and push for concessions.
From an agent’s perspective, this often means:
More work for less commission
Deals that require justification instead of enthusiasm
Longer negotiation cycles with uncertain outcomes
Agents paid on commission naturally gravitate toward transactions that maximize certainty and payout. Investors do the opposite by design.
2. Investors Kill More Deals Than They Close
Retail buyers fall in love with homes. Investors fall in love with spreadsheets—and spreadsheets change.
After inspections, rent verification, appraisal surprises, or financing adjustments, investors frequently walk away. To an agent, this feels like wasted time and emotional whiplash, especially if the agent is measured by close rate rather than offer volume.
Many agents interpret this as flakiness, when in reality it’s disciplined underwriting.
3. Expectations Are Unrealistic
Good investors move fast. They expect quick responses, immediate showings, same-day offers, and real-time feedback.
Most agents are juggling:
Dozens of clients
Administrative work
Compliance requirements
Personal obligations
Investors often expect an agent to operate like an acquisition analyst on call 24/7. When agents can’t meet that pace, frustration builds on both sides.
4. Investors Often Know More Than the Agent
This one stings.
Seasoned investors may understand:
Cap rates and yield spreads
Rent regulations and Section 8 payment standards
Construction costs and ARV modeling
Creative financing and exit strategies
When an investor challenges an agent’s assumptions—or corrects them—it can bruise egos. Many agents prefer being the expert in the room. Investors disrupt that dynamic.
5. Low Probability Offers
Agents worry about how they’re perceived by listing agents. Submitting repeated low offers can brand an agent as someone who “wastes time” or brings unserious buyers.
Investors don’t care about optics; they care about margins. This misalignment creates tension, especially in smaller markets where agent reputations matter.
6. Investors Require Specialized Knowledge
Most agents are trained for retail transactions, not investment analysis. Investors expect:
Rent comps, not just sales comps
Cash-on-cash returns
Value-add strategies
Zoning, ADUs, and redevelopment potential
Agents who lack this skillset feel exposed—and avoidance is easier than upskilling.
7. Investors Don’t Need Hand Holding
Ironically, this is a downside.
Retail clients need guidance, reassurance, and emotional support. Investors don’t. They’re transactional, direct, and efficient. For agents who enjoy the relational side of the business, working with investors can feel cold, rushed, and unfulfilling.
8. Many Investors Burn Agents
Some investors—especially newer ones—make hundreds of offers, close nothing, and disappear. Agents remember this.
One bad experience with an “aspiring investor” who never closes can poison an agent against investors for years, even though experienced operators behave very differently.
Misaligned Business Models
At its core, this isn’t about personality—it’s about incentives.
Agents are paid for certainty and price
Investors are paid for risk and spread
When agents and investors don’t acknowledge this mismatch upfront, resentment grows.
Specialization and Transparency
The best outcomes happen when:
Agents specialize in investors and structure their business accordingly
Investors respect the agent’s time and close consistently
Both sides communicate expectations early
When aligned, investor-agent relationships can be incredibly profitable—for both parties.
But without that alignment, it’s no mystery why many agents quietly prefer not to work with investors at all.
And that is why most real estate agents have no idea how to work with real estate investors.
Want to know the best way to work with an agent? Get licensed yourself, cut out the middle man and submit your own offers.