Get Real Estate Investor Leads Today: 5 Best Strategies

Working with investors rather than homeowners provides real estate agents and brokers with a lot of benefits, notably a faster buying and selling process and repeat business. If investor clients are happy with the services that their agent provides to them, they can be back a few times a year as they grow their rental property portfolio. However, finding qualified investor leads is not easier than finding qualified home buyer and home seller leads.

In this article, we will provide you with the 5 best strategies to find and generate real estate investor leads for agents. We’ll offer information on the requirements to get started, the number of leads you can expect, the quality of leads, the cost, and the market availability.

The 5 best strategies to get real estate investor leads are:

• Become an Awning Partner Agent: Best Overall
• Join the Vacasa Expert Agent Network: Best for New Short Term Rental Agents
• Become a member of the AvantStay Agent Network: Best for Occasional STR Deals
• Apply to be a Clever Partner Agent: Best for Discount Commission Leads
• Join Roofstock: Best for Owner Occupied Investor Leads

1. Become an Awning Partner Agent

The most efficient and cost-effective way to receive qualified real estate investor leads immediately is to join the Awning Partner Program.

Awning Partner Program Market Coverage

Real estate agents from across the US market can apply to join the Awning Partner Program as it works with investors nationwide.

Awning Partner Program Requirements and Qualifications

Awning works with the top agents in each market in order to provide top-notch services to rental property investors. Interested real estate agents need to apply online to be considered for the Partner Program.

Meanwhile, for Partner Agent’s listings to be added to the Awning marketplace, they have to be within the top 10% opportunities for Airbnb rentals in the local market. This gives agents access to 30,000+ interested investors ready to purchase as soon as they find a good deal.

Awning Partner Program Process

Growing your real estate business with the Awning Partner Program is as easy as it gets. Awning sends out top deals to investors on a daily basis. As soon as a buyer responds, the Awning team qualifies them, and approved leads are sent to the most appropriate agent from the Partner Program to complete the deal. Real estate investor leads are sent via email, phone, or text messages.

Essentially agents get access to rental property buyers who are ready and qualified to buy. All agents need to do is help leads cross the finish line. There is no need to search for leads, search for listings, and match the two. In this way, agents can close deals faster than ever before and increase their income significantly.

Hundreds of real estate investors submit their information to Awning every month, looking for buyer and seller agents in various markets. Agents who qualify for the Partner Program can access those leads as well.

Awning Partner Program Leads Quality

All real estate leads which Awning sends to partner agents are vetted, qualified, and approved. This means that agents will not waste time with buyers who are not ready yet.

Awning Partner Program Cost

Awning does not charge a fee for agents to apply and become a partner. Upon closing a deal, Awning charges a competitive commission split ranging between 25% and 35% of the commission, depending on the size of the deal, the location, and the type of lead. Thus, agents only pay when they make money.

Awning Partner Program Additional Perks

Besides getting investor leads and earning real estate commission, agents benefit from working with Awning in other ways too, including:

• Access to the best investment property analysis tools like the Airbnb Estimator and the Cap Rate Calculator
• Access to a pre-analyzed feed of top investment properties
• Referral income of $500 to $2,000 per property when they refer clients to the Awning vacation rental management services

To apply to the Awning Partner Program, interested agents need to submit this online form.

2. Join the Vacasa Expert Agent Network

Agents and brokers who become members of the Vacasa Expert Agent Network receive real estate investor leads as they become available.

Vacasa Expert Agent Network Market Coverage

Agents located in the markets where Vacasa manages vacation rentals can apply to join the Network, which includes 35 US states.

Vacasa Expert Agent Network Requirements and Qualifications

The only requirement which Vacasa imposes is to be a licensed agent or broker. Interested agents need to fill in an online form. 

Vacasa Expert Agent Network Process

When vacation rental buyers express interest in being connected with an agent, Vacasa sends them to a member of the Expert Agent Network. Vacasa gives preference to agents from the Network who refer the most clients looking for property management services. Vacasa sends real estate investor leads via email, phone, or text messages.

Vacasa Expert Agent Network Leads Quality

Vacasa does not have any specific process for qualifying leads, so the quality of leads is not guaranteed.

Vacasa Expert Agent Network Cost

Joining the Network is free. When agents close a deal, there is a 30% broker-to-broker referral fee. In case the agent refers the client back to Vacasa for property management services and the client signs a property management agreement within 30 days, Vacasa refunds the referral fee.

Vacasa Expert Agent Network Additional Perks

Becoming a member of the Expert Agent Network provides agents and brokers with the following extra benefits:

• Access to proprietary tools and data to support their vacation rental investor clients
• Up to $2,000 in referral income per property when sending clients interested in short-term rental property management services
• Opportunity to win an additional $500 for participating in the Agent Loyalty Program

To apply to the Vacasa Expert Agent Network, interested agents need to submit this online form.

3. Become a Member of the AvantStay Agent Network

Another way to receive real estate investor leads interested in vacation rental properties in specific is to join the AvantStay Agent Network.

AvantStay Agent Network Market Coverage

AvantStay can provide leads to real estate agents and brokers in the 11 states where it operates as a short-term rental property management company. These include some of the best cities to buy a rental property.

AvantStay Agent Network Requirements and Qualifications

AvantStay does not have any specific qualification requirements for agents. Generally, they are expected to provide excellent services to the real estate investor leads referred to them and to build a long-term partnership with AvantStay. To become a member, agents need to sign up for the AvantStay Agent Network and connect with their Real Estate Liaison.

AvantStay Agent Network Process

AvantStay sends interested vacation rental property buyers to agents within their Network. It is not clear how many leads an agent can expect to receive per month.

AvantStay Agent Network Leads Quality

AvantStay does not explain if it qualifies leads before sending them to agents in their Network. Thus, the quality of real estate leads is not confirmed.

AvantStay Agent Network Cost

AvantStay does not provide information on the cost to join their Agent Network or receive lead referrals from them.

AvantStay Agent Network Additional Perks

Agents and brokers get access to more advantages besides receiving real estate investor leads when they join the Agent Network. These include:

• Generous commission fees when referring their clients to the AvantStay property management services
• Free vacation rental stays to use themselves, gift to others, or share with clients for referring vacation rental owners to AvantStay

To apply to the AvantStay Agent Network, interested agents need to submit an online form.

4. Apply to Be a Clever Partner Agent

Real estate agents and brokers can apply to become a Clever Partner Agent to start receiving qualified leads. Clever works with both investors and homeowners, including buyers and sellers, so this strategy is best for agents who’d like to buy and sell with different clients.

Clever Partner Agent Market Coverage

Clever works with Partner Agents in all 50 US states, including all major metro cities as well as hundreds of small towns and rural areas.

Clever Partner Agent Requirements and Qualifications

To be eligible to become a Clever Partner Agent, one should:

• Be a full-time professional real estate agent
• Have 5+ years of experience as an agent
• Have excellent reviews from previous clients
• Have extensive local real estate market knowledge
• Be a great negotiator
• Love technology that boosts efficiency

Agents who meet these requirements can fill in an online form to apply to join the program. After becoming a Partner Agent, they need to continue generating positive reviews from referrals in order to continue receiving real estate leads from Clever. The better the reviews, the more referrals an agent will receive.

Clever Partner Agent Process

Clever gets all important information from property buyers and sellers once they show interest in working with the company and their Partner Agents. In this way, Clever provides agents with all the must-know details in order to help them offer the best possible services to referred real estate leads.

Once the lead has been sent to the agent, Clever does not interfere in the agent's work. However, they remain available to provide any help needed.

Clever Partner Agent Leads Quality

Clever does not specify the qualification process, but they get detailed information from interested investors and homeowners before referring them to a Partner Agent. Agents can expect real estate leads to be qualified and motivated to move forward at a reduced commission rate.

Clever Partner Agent Cost

Becoming a Clever Partner Agent is free of charge for agents. Clever gets paid a referral fee for the properties that agents help leads buy and sell.

However, to work with Clever, agents need to agree to a discounted commission rate as that’s Clever’s pitch to property buyers and sellers. Leads pay a 1.5% listing fee, for a minimum of $3,000, but it’s not clear how much of this commission goes to the agent. In exchange for a smaller commission, agents and brokers do not need to spend money on marketing and other lead generation strategies.

Clever Partner Agent Additional Perks

The major advantages of being a Clever Partner Agent include:

• Access to homebuyer and homeseller leads (besides real estate investor leads)
• Access to more leads for getting great reviews

To apply to the Clever Partner Agent program, interested agents need to submit an online form.

5. Join Roofstock

Agents can get leads by joining Roofstock and accessing the agent and broker opportunities. Real estate investor leads provided with this strategy are specifically interested in single-family homes.

Roofstock Agent and Broker Opportunities Market Coverage

With Roofstock, agents can receive leads in 27 US states.

Roofstock Agent and Broker Opportunities Requirements and Qualifications

Roofstock does not have any specific requirements for agents as long as they work with single-family homes in one of the available markets. Agents and brokers need to fill in an online form in order to get started.

Roofstock Agent and Broker Opportunities Process

When agents and brokers join Roofstock, they can list their properties for sale on the Roofstock marketplace to gain access to a large network of real estate investors. Interested buyers fill in an online form to be connected with the listing agent. There are no open houses and property showings as all processes and transactions are completed online.

Roofstock Agent and Broker Opportunities Leads Quality

Roofstock does not provide information whether it qualifies leads in any way.

Roofstock Agent and Broker Opportunities Cost

Joining Roofstock is free for agents. The company charges a 3% of the sale price at closing a deal. This fee covers the cost of certifying and marketing listings to a pool of real estate investors. Agents get to keep the difference in the commission they charge investors.

Roofstock Agent and Broker Opportunities Additional Perks

The most important benefits of working with Roofstock as an agent include:

• No need to put up “For Sale” signs and hold open houses
• Entirely online processes and transactions
• A referral fee of $1,500 or 25% of the Roofstock 3% listing fee (the greater) for every transaction that a referred client makes on the platform for 2 years

To apply to the Roofstock agent and broker opportunities, interested agents need to submit an online form.

Takeaway

These 5 strategies will give agents immediate access to real estate investor leads which will help them close more deals and grow their business. To work with fully vetted and qualified investors in long-term and short-term rental properties, apply to become an Awning Partner Agent today.