Upstate NY Broker to Work Under

[Taylor Baruffi]

Hello BP Community,

I am signing up for my real estate licence classes online this week and anticipate finishing them up and taking the state exam before the end of the year. I am looking for a sponsoring broker to work under. I am a buy and hold real estate investor in the Capital Region of New York and do one or two deals per year at current pace, but with the intent to increase this as means and opportunities arise. My goals in obtaining my real estate license are to have access to the MLS for listings, comps, etc. as well as be on my own schedule for showings as I have a demanding full time job currently and lining up my schedule with a realtor is not always easy. An added bonus would be to collect a portion of the commissions on each deal that I close on as I already do most of the searching, vetting, comps, etc. myself. It will also put me in touch with a community of realtors to better understand the market and area.

I have a few questions in this regard:

1. What is the best way to find a sponsoring broker? I was going to call and email several brokers in the area to explain my situation and what I am looking for (i.e. I will be doing deals only for myself and partners not becoming a full time realtor, a few deals per year, low fee split). Should I be looking for a smaller broker or a larger national/regional broker (i.e. ReMax/Coldwell)

2. Is this type of situation common and if there is any experience in that area, what is the typical deal fee split between agent and broker? Should I expect an annual fee?

3. Any additional information from those who have done this/are in the same situation would be greatly appreciated and helpful. I'd like to learn the most about what sort of issues/mistake/pitfalls are common with this situation on the front end so I can attempt to avoid them.

If there are any brokers in the area as well, I would love to speak with you and get any detail or insight you might have. Thanks for your help!

-Taylor