I’m interested in finding bird dogs in my area.
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to contact and find some?
Any advice or tips would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Janet
Please explain what are “bird dogs”? I have never heard that term.
Thanks
Take a look at this link…
http://www.reiclub.com/freebies.php
There is a free ebook titled ‘Real Estate Jobber 101’ and it will give you a better understanding of what a ‘bird dogger’ is along with the functions…
I hope this helps…
Do yourself a favor and look at the other free ebooks that are available for your own personal RE education.
Take Care…
I am in the Midwest bird dogging - but I am locating properties for people in CA investing in NY - so you can bird dog wherever you are located for anyone.
I’m interested in bird-dogging in the West. For those who bird-dog a large area, how hot are the leads? How are they found?Do you get paid per lead or only at closing?
The leads are hot - I just look through the internet all the time. You have to ask your investors what criteria they want you to find, then go for it! I get paid when they close.
i am looking for birddogs also. im in the knoxville tn area .looking for a rehab , foreclosure etc idont have a lot of experience. but have done acouple deals iam in the plumbing bis and reallyy didnt make the time to go after the RE bislike i needed to in order to be successful. istumbled on this web site by accident. and have learned a tremendous amount reading the postings. so any comments or pointers will be great :o
Hey Panici
How & Why do you bird dog in other areas of the country?
I know that money & knowledge are a factor but I’m curious as to what else is in it for you.
Dont get me wrong I think its a great idea & I have had thoughts of other areas but I haven’t run across anyone doing what you’re doing.
Sounds fascinating…do tell! ;D
I do Bird Dogging in NC, but am looking to expand to other areas such as SC and VA. I do it because it helps me learn the investor biz a little better and of course it’s a great way to earn extra income.
Hey;
Bird dogging (101) . Try this—reinclubs (In your area) .com.
Join one and (PROSPER) in wealth and Knowledge!
joehagan222
I think it would be hard to bird dog deals not in your ‘driving’ area. The reason being you need to actually view these properties otherwaise what you are doing is the same an investor could do, right?
Also, I noticed someone was using the internet to find deals. What is it you are actually doing? MLS type listings?
In all actuality if you are bird dogging you should be getting these houses under a contract in your name. In alot or maybe even MOST states it is illegal to get paid for referring real estate. You need to go ahead and get those deals you find under contract and then assign them for cash to an investor and let him carry it through.
This takes no money and no credit, but does require you to meet with the owners not working with agents in most cases. These deals are found by marketing your services, getting people’s houses sold by letting the right investors know about them.
Hey AR,
Wouldn’t that make you a flipper instead of a bird dog?
If you’re going to go through with getting the contract & speaking with the owner, I would think that this person has the knowledge & experience to just do the deal themselves…or am I missing something?
:-\
Jersey,
You are exactly right! Tell me what the difference is between a bird dog and a wholesaler?
Neither of them need the following:
Cash
Credit
They both must have:
A list of investors/buyers
Knowledge of how to find deals
Knowledge in knowing if a house is a deal or not
The difference between the two?
Bird Dog - gets paid around $500 for telling the investor what the address is.
Wholesaler - locks up the property in a contract and gets the investor to pay them $1,000 - $5,000 for assigning the contract to them.
The line between bird dogging & wholesaling is so thin that I often get really confused :o and find that I’m also riding the fence :-\
I do find leads but I want to do more than find leads, I want to know what makes it a good lead >:(
However, I know that I’m new & I’m trying DESPERATELY (not sure if its working :P) to crawl before I walk :-\
Jersey,
Again you are right! SO you are catching on and absorbing information. Personally, I think that a bird dog and a wholesaler are the same thing if I am the one doing that type of work.
If I am the investor wanting to use bird dogging services I would not want peeps to send me leads when they don’t have any idea what makes a good deal.
That being said you (figuratively) shouldn’t call yourself a bird dog if you have no idea what makes a good deal.
If new potential REIs are looking to start making money at this with out much experience and no cash or credit you need to learn what a good deal is to other established investors and then find those deals for them so they can pay you for bringing them their money makers.
Understand I am not saying ‘you’ as in YOU. I just like to try and shed some light on things I have seen and read. The REI club in my area gives me the impression they are elite investors that have no time to spend with noobs. These forums have given me the feeling that peeps here REALLY do want to help noobs so… Anyways, the guys in my REI club’s forums hate noobs who give them leads that are worthless or that screw up potential GOOD deals to where there is not money in it later.
Keep checking these forums to find out what rehabbers want in a deal. Find out what makes a good subject to (sub2) deal. These are 2 things you will come across alot in REI. They will keep ya busy.
Good Luck!
I have definitely learned alot and have spoken to a few people and have read so many articles, so yes it is sinking in…finally I thought it never would! 
I agree with you, anyone can bring an investor a piece of paper with an address on it & a brief description but if you have no idea if that lead is really gonna LEAD to something more, its pointless and a waste of time, money, gas and everything else :
but I am lucky that my investors are ok with that…they know that I’m new so the patience is there
I was never patient with myself which is probably whats going on :
So a sub2 is the next step up on the ladder? That’s pretty much how I look at it
1.) Bird Dog
2.) Wholesaler
3.) Lease Option/Sub2???
Something like that? :-\
Nope not really.
Sub2 which is another forum topic in here deals with when you take a property with no cash and no financing… LITERALLY the owner GIVES you ownership of the property. In most cases it would be nice if you offered $100 so they can rent a UHAUL and get their junk out of the house quick so you can start cleaning it up!
Sub2 is a style of acquiring property… I mention it cuz it can be done even when there is not enough money in the deal to rehab and resell. So if you find a deal that can’t be a rehabber’s deal maybe it can be a deal for someone who can do sub2s.
Good Day,
Everyone well from what I have been reading as well the main difference between a bird doy vs being a wholesaler is a bit more work & the money you will be paid which is the priority here this is just my humble opinion. Plus along with being a wholesaler if you are at this level you should IMO already have some knowledge as to what is a good lead or not especially if you are working closely with investors, ask questions as you bring leads to them, ask them to let you know what a good lead is or not, why isn’t it good, so what should I look for etc, you can’t just keep bringing them leads without asking some questions about it as well again this is MO. Reading books, articles etc is great I read a great deal as well but you can’t always go by what you are reading, anything can be made to look good on paper, its what happens in the “real” world that is the true test of learning, gaining knowledge and everything that will come along with it.
Just a comment about the BD and Wholesaler issue if I am going to be getting motivated sellers under contract, sitting down with them talking about price, and everything that goes along with them finally signing on the dotted line in my eyes I am no longer in the BD role I am a wholesaler, I am only looking to do either 1) find the funding myself to buy the house for the contracted price agreed upon or 2) contact my investors to find some one to “assign” the contract to to who is willing to pay my fee of $8,000 to 13,000 (this is just a ex.) depending on just how good of a deal this is or 3) if I do find the funding and do this myself, get a crew in to clean, paint, re-carpet if needed and sell the property or maybe do a lease-option deal with a tenant-buyer for 2-6 years with the option to buy to generate some cash each month.
If I am going to be negotiating all of this I am no longer a bird dog I have graduated to the next level. In my eyes from what I have read as a bird dog (depending on what investor wants) I am only talking to the owner to get general information to pass on to my investor for them to run the numbers, possiblely talk with the bank per the authorization form to do so, do some due dilegence work before they call the investor to get into all of the above which in turn they will get them under contract and do all of the above depending on the situation if they make it past all the required work and closing is a week or so later and it goes through than I will get paid as a bird dog. Other than that I am out of it until closing. This is a summary of what I have come to believe what the role of each would entail with or without some important details I’m sure but you get what I am saying thanks
Michelle
Thanx makes things a little clearer, thanx AR & Michelle ;D
REI-NY,
After reading what you posted about what you would do as a bird dog what keeps you from spending 5 more minutes puling out a sales contract and putting down the purchase price that the owner will let it go for and that you know is cheap enough for you investors to buy at + $1,000-$5,000 (your fee).
I am just coming form the point of view that if you are going to be a value to your investors as a bird dog you will need to know how the numbers work to make sure this is a deal that your investor is able to work with. If not you are spinning your wheels and theirs. BUT if you invest the time like you mentioned to tlak to the owner and find out al the information about the house why not put it in wiriting, lock it up and offer it to your investors as an assign. You do about a SMALL amount of additional work and you get paid up to 10x as much.