Is being a long distance realtor possible?

[Manuel Salce]

I am a new investor from the Bronx NY, who invest in Allentown, PA. My commute from NY to Allentown averages about two hours and twenty minutes. I recently invested in direct mail marketing and received some call backs, during these call I interacted with several sellers who I built rapport with and would genuinely love to help to solve their real estate problems. If I were a realtor, I feel confident that I would have acquired at least two clients.

I have a couple of questions for the community. What are my fiduciary responsibility when acquiring properties if I were to become an agent in Pennsylvania? Should I acquire my real estate license? Is it possible to be a seller agent in Allentown, from long distance? (2 hours and 20 mins away, to be exact)

@David Greene @Brandon Turner

[David Ribardo]

@Manuel Salce, Long story short - no, you should not try to be a listing agent long distance. However, there are a few ways you can profit from what you are doing. 

As far as listing properties goes, as a real estate agent, you have a fiduciary relationship to place your clients best interest above your own self interest. You must work continuously to find a buyer for your property. You are required to have all knowledge of the local market so that you can help your clients make the most informed decisions possible. I only cover two counties, but I know them block by block, street by street. When I wanted to expand my business territory, I hired new agents to focus on our expansion markets. 

Trying to list properties from out of market would be difficult from a local knowledge standpoint, but the logistics would be difficult. You will have to go to sign the listing and at closing at a minimum. Either myself or one of my agents is at any of our listings at least once per week to make sure they are clean and showing well. Occasionally a real estate agent will forget to put the keys back in the lockbox, and I'll have to go change locks, or meet an appraiser, or something else to help sell the property. At five hours per trip, the drive would kill your return on time if you tried to list properties yourself.

My recommendation - DO get your license. Work with a local agent here, and refer them clients. You can collect referral fees through your brokerage. Legally there is no such thing as a typical referral fee. They are all negotiated directly between agents, but the vast majority of referrals I work are 25%. This can easily pay for your direct mail marketing costs, with minimal time and effort on your part. If you build this efficiently and automate it, you can easily turn it into a passive income stream.