How to manage properties under a broker

[Chris Simmons]

I own rentals and have decided to get my realtor license in order to manage rentals for others and grow a property management company.  For now, I am leaning towards another KW office, but for the sake of my questions it could be any of the big names.  Also, the KW broker knows I intend to manage properties and such so that is not an issue.

For any agents of a broker like KW, Coldwell, Remax....any of the bigger, typical brokerages, that manage rentals for others....(not just your own), how does it work?

I mean specifics. For my own rentals, I have an attorney approved lease that states the tenant leases from Bradam Properties LLC. Can I use that as well for rentals that I manage for others or do I have to use a broker branded lease? Can they still pay me via direct deposit into my account, mailing me a check or hopefully paying online through my Rent Post software? Or do these tenants have to pay the broker directly?

I want things to be as consistent as possible.  I don't want tenants in properties I own to pay me one way but the manage for a fee tenants to pay some other way.  Is that possible?  My Rent Post software can deposit rental revenues into different accounts so that rent from my houses can go to my account and rent from managed for a fee properties can go straight to brokerage account but what about mailed in checks or cash payments that tenants take to the bank and deposit in account i gave them the number to?

It is the nuts and bolts, bureaucratic red tap stuff I am trying to understand from those that do it and as far as they know, do it right, by the books.  I don't want any guesses or theories on this.  I have asked the brokers I have talked with and while they are fine with me managing rentals, they don't have many others that do and are concerned about how to do it right and not get in trouble.  Were this not the case, I would already have my answer as they could have shown me multiple other people that do it without issue.

Sorry about the long post.  Just trying to get this figured out.  The other alternative is to purchase a property management company or merge with one and employ a broker until I become one.  That way, it is all my accounts, or at least accounts I have signing authority over.

[Nate Garrett]

@Chris Simmons 

You will likely have to run everything through the brokerage's trust account. That is why you won't see many big-name brokerages allowing licensees to conduct for-fee property management activities. Property management trust accounting is a different game entirely from sales and requires a lot of oversight to do it right. That's probably why it makes the managing broker nervous.

I have never done PM under a big-name brokerage so I don't know how they would handle the specific questions that you are asking. You will have to iron out the details with whichever broker you hang your license with.

If you have problems with them allowing you to do for-fee property management under their license, you could do a few things:

1.) Get your license, hang it with a big-name brokerage and wait the 2 years required in Oklahoma to get your own broker license, then start your own company.

2.) Partner with a licensed broker (or someone who's eligible to get a broker license) and start your own property management company now.

3.) Purchase an existing property management company with a licensed broker in place.

Hope that helps.