selling private homes for profit-

sorry mods if this is the wrong section.

so i have a few different people trying to sell their house for a few years now in montana and more than one have mentioned that if i could connect them with a buyer they would hook me up with the real estates agents commission that they would have gotten. this obviously could be some big money if i could manage to connect some buyers with them. i know the sellers are for real and the internet is endless with possibilities. so any ideas on ways i could market this other than you classic real estate websites? any ideas greatly appreciated.

PS- if anyone is on the market for a a amazing private log home property get in touch!

I suggest that you get a very solid contract for your fee before you do any work.

You will be acting as a RE agent without a license and that could make it very tough collecting your fee.


Good luck

(Std legal diclaimer here)

Craigslist dude. Create a good ad, go find a great poster. You're going to have to spend some money though.

You could also try postlets.com to generate some buzz

good luck.

Try advertising it or even guest blogging on homesteading/survival type sites. They love their backcountry cabins.

nice thanks for the suggestions. i think i am goin to have to do a combo of everything and just create as much exposure as possible

You may want to check the laws in Montana about selling a home for someone and getting a fee for it. There might be a RESPA violation there and you could get in some fairly serious trouble.

try bandit signs.

Be very careful. I don't know the laws in Montana, but likely you'd be in violation of Reall Estate Law. Talk to an attorney. If something goes wrong you could be in hot water. Real Estate deals can be complicated and remember you need a title company too.

You would basically want to limit yourself as a 'bird dog'.

You see, if you're working with an investor, and you are paid by the investor, who has experience in real estate transactions, and you are not party to that transaction (ie: a consultant) you should, (this is not to be construed as legal advice) be ok in obtaining a 'commission' (AFTER THE FACT) for the following reasons:

1) You are taking a fee for selling information, not real estate
(nobody can prevent you from charging $5.00 to tell him or her were the nearest gas station is, or where the nearest "deal" is.)

2) Even if legislation was in place to protect the consumer, you have conducted no harm to the consumer....so in a semi-perfect world, you can indeed pay for a lead on a house!


There is also such a thing as a simple Partnership Agreement, thereby making you (Bird Dog) and the investor principals in the transaction. The Bird Dog (YOU) is bought out of the Partnership by the investor, thereby violating no State Statute.

Source: http://www.reiclub.com/forums/index.php?topic=1657.0;wap2

I am a real estate agent in Utah. Let me tell you, if you try to sell real estate without a license that you do not own, say hello to the FBI. It is illegal to sell real estate without a license for a fee. Plain and simple, you will be fined massively. The national association of Realtors are the most powerful special interest group in the United States, and if you don't follow their rules they have lobbyed for when it comes to selling real estate, you will be fucked in the ass.

Bird-Dogging is a good way to go. You can find properties for investors for a fee upfront, but you can not be paid upon sale as a commission. Best of luck!

If you provide the lead, you are good and can receive compensation for it. You can't show them the house unless you are doing it strictly as a favor to the owner because they can't be there. You still have to abide by laws, like not being opinionated about the house, you basically let the people in and leave them alone. The owner would still have to pay some type of RE broker fees or lawyer fees to legitimize and over-see the paperwork but that cost can be added to the sale price so the owner doesn't have to pay an upfront fee.

If they have a deal with a RE agent for the agent to sell the house, as long as the agent has been in contact with the owner, doing the normal to show/promote/list/advertise the property, then you can't come in to the deal as any type of middle man. Brokers can pay another broker a referral fee but no one else.

If the owner is selling "by owner", you are free to step in and help as a favor to the owner only and can't legally be compensated for it. The owner can always give you a gift of cash or something else with monetary value. The owner can pay you directly for the lead as you would just be providing him the info of someone that you know is looking to buy a house and it would be up to the owner to do all of the salesmanship to sell it.

The owner can be in a special agreement with the RE agent that states, the owner can sell the house and not pay the agent or the agent can sell it and take their %. Which ever one sells it first, wins, basically. This type of deal is very rare as agents don't like to be in that type of sales situation. In which case, you can provide a lead to the owner and get paid for it.

You'd definitely want to talk to someone in your state as laws are different from state to state and I only studied real estate in Florida, which was years ago so some of my facts and advise may be off.