Conflict of Interest Question

[Michael Wegener]

Hello All-- I am currently a teacher and am working on my business plan I would like to implement this summer. I believe the first thing I want to do is get my real estate license. I think this would be very beneficial from the education side of investing. I want to gain as much knowledge as I can. I know I have a broker that would hire me. And since I do not have a large cash backing, I think it would be wise to do some work and earn money while learning before jumping into investing. What I would like to do is rehab/flip houses. My question has to do with a potential conflict of interest. I realize with a license, I have to be fully upfront about everything, which is fine. When it comes to buying properties to flip, can I be the buying agent and earn commission as well? And when I sell, can I be the listing agent? If not, I have a very trustworthy agent friend that could handle it for me, while negotiating a cut of the commission. I'm trying to get this as clear as I can. I would like to have a solid, detailed business plan I can keep with me to show any potential private investors. Thank you for your help! Mike