Finder's Fee for Non-Agents Illegal?

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Hi you guys. I'm a wholesaler out in the Milwaukee area. I was recently talking to a real estate agent about an REO property he had listed. I asked him if I found an investor that would be interested in buying it would he be able to pay me a small fee. He said no, because I'm not a real estate agent.

But I've blogs  that said that I could get a fee from an investor friendly real estate agent.

What's real and what's fake you guys. Or am I missing something? I get leads and I have good contacts. Can wholesalers get paid for my referral services in a way that I don't know about?