A friend of mine is a newly licensed RE Agent in CA.
She has an interest in working as a Bird Dog locating distressed & foreclosure properties “on the side” to generate a little extra income.
The question is whether doing so would be legal & ethical?
My understanding is that once she hangs her license with a broker, any activity such as locating properties (Bird Dogging) would have to be turned to her broker, not another organization or investor, since she’s now obligated by her contract, and the Business & Professions Code to do so.
Any thoughts out there? Has anyone ever heard of an agent operating as a Bird Dog on the side? If so, I’d be interested in knowing how they got around this restriction so I can pass it along to her.
Your feedback is appreciated. Thanks!
I am not sure about that, it may be a conflict of interest with the broker that she works for. I am not familiar with anyone doing this before.
Even if she did not want to risk upsetting her broker I would think that it would still benefit her to birddog deals to local investors. She could handle the purchase and resale of the investors properties. The investor may agree with somehow making it worth her while legitimately.
A great realtor can be very helpful with the local market, selling a rehab, and locating properties before they hit the MLS.
It could lead to more deals with more investors, partnerships, etc.
Take care,
As long as she does it right, there is no problem.
If CA licensing laws are similar to those in PA, your friend can’t collect BD fees without running them through her broker (and she would also have to disclose her licensed status to those she is dealing with).
Nancy