Working as an in-house agent for a wholesale company

[John Brandt]

So I have a marketing background and I'm a licensed agent. I have an opportunity to work for a wholesale company as a salaried worker and "in-house" agent. My duties are to market their properties on facebook and email and to take photos of the property. That's what my salaried position is. But if the wholesaler wants to list the properties on the MLS I would be doing a listing agreement with commissions to my broker and the buyers broker as if they were any other client. The bonus is their acquisitions team sometimes gets people on the phone who are not interested in wholesaling but rather list with an agent. Then they pass the lead to me. This gives me potential listings that I wouldn't have received otherwise.

The reason I am contemplating this position is because it combines two of my favorite things. Marketing and real estate. I can get paid a straight salary for marketing, yet have some great possibilities for new listings whether they are from the wholesaler or a lead they just give me. BUT……….

1. Is this a slippery slope?

2. If the wholesaler doesn't want to market the property on the MLS but they give me a bonus for getting a buyer from their own buyers list due to my marketing efforts is this illegal?

3. What potential scenarios do you see that could end up being an issue? 

[Jonathan Greene]

You can't list wholesale properties on the MLS without a novation agreement and many states and local MLS will not allow it as there is no ownership interest. Your broker will not let you work for a wholesale company since most of the deals you will assist with will not result in commissions to the brokerage. They want you because they can't market properties to the public without a license because that is the unlicensed practice of real estate. They are trying to be able to send them out, but you sending out properties, as a licensed agent, when they are not listed with your brokerage, will not work.