Bringing Value to an Agent

[Steven Stutzman]

Hello, BiggerPockets community. I am a new investor that recently reached out to an agent that has been investing for a few years now. Blogs, books, and podcasts taught me to find someone that is a few years ahead of me and try to bring value to them. So that's what I did. He has been selling real estate for a long time and recently started investing. He asked if I could get my license and assist him with selling to free up more time for him to find deals and focus more on investments. I got my license as quickly as I could and we are going to meet soon to start discussing the future game plan. He is going to teach me how to sell and eventually bring me in on the investment side. I will be able to work full time while assisting him and the end goal is to be investing full time. Any advice or tips on how to structure this partnership. What should we expect from each other in the beginning? He seems very trustworthy and knowledgable, so I'm not concerned with getting taken advantage of. I'm mainly looking for ways to bring the most value to him so that we can both become successful in the future. Thanks!

[Will Fraser]

Hi @Steven Stutzman!

Welcome to the wild world of real estate buying and selling and investing!  This is a fun question to get to answer and I think you are doing a great job of proactively looking for solutions.  

I think the biggest asset you can bring to this partnership is a combination of 1. High Self Awareness and 2.A Servant Mindset.   If you are aware of your personal strengths and you have a mindset that seeks to find the things in your mentor/partner's work that are NOT areas of strength for them and ARE for you, then you can take extra initiative in those areas and add disproportionate value.  

As far as structuring the partnership goes, it seems like at this point you will functionally be an agent on this person's team . . . in that case you'll want to dig into 1. what are the commission splits (yours/theirs) and what responsibilities will you perform on the behalf of the mentor/leader and what remuneration will there be, if any.

In the future as you approach a different form of partnering you may find it good to form a business together and flesh out an operating agreement. 

Keep growing and keep giving and you'll have a bright future, Steven!