There are many ways to make money with Real Estate. In my opinion, one of the easiest ways to make money in this business is to become a real estate bird dog. Stop before you run out the door! You’ll still have to work on it. However, many of us believe that it is much easier with fewer headaches than many other techniques.
What is a real estate bird dog??
A real estate birddog is a person, or in some cases a company, that locates investment properties for investors.
Why would investors pay for a service like this? Easy. Many investors are business people who are busy making money. They don’t have time to look for good deals in the major real estate markets. This is where you come into play.
That I have to do?
The most important thing you need to know to become a successful bird dog is to know your local market. To do this, Bird Dogs seek relationships with real estate brokers, agents, bankers, lenders, and anyone else who may have knowledge of a good investment.
In most markets, the bird dog will be someone who already works in the real estate field, for example an agent or perhaps an assistant to a real estate agent. However, I know of Bird Dogs who do nothing more than find investment deals for investors.
How do you make money with this?
Normally, once a bird dog finds several investments or investment leads, it presents them to the investor. When/if they buy the investment, the real estate birddog is paid a service fee which is usually a percentage of the investment price or it could be a flat fee, it depends on the birddog.
What are the advantages?
One advantage is that once you hand over the property to the investor, your job is done. You don’t have to worry about setting up financing, inspections, or any of the other headaches that can come with investing in real estate.
How Much Can a Real Estate Bird Dog Expect to Earn?
Obviously it depends on what percentage of the deal you decide is worth your time and effort, but some demand a finder’s fee as high as 10%. I’ve heard of higher fees, but most I know of are in the 3-6% range.
Are there any downsides?
Well, for one thing, in some states, if you find real estate for an investor and then collect a fee, they feel like you need a real estate license. Check with the state you live in before you get into this.
Whatever you do, get everything in writing. In the worst case, you will have to take some night classes and get your real estate license. There are worse things to do! At a minimum, you will only need to start networking with the industry in your market to start becoming a dog bird real estate.