How to Get Equity in a Rental Deal as a Realtor Partner

[Zach Brooksher]

Hi,

I'm an agent representing an investor in a 400-500k purchase, which is a starter home market with good rents in our area of California. I've dialed in a great neighborhood for the investor to target, and established the relationships with a solid property manager and contractor. I figured out the numbers we're looking to find, and I'm sure I'll find a deal in the near future. 
My predicament is - I'm not doing anything I wouldn't ordinarily do for my clients as their Realtor offering value for an eventual buy side commission, so I'm trying to figure out what value I can bring that would warrant partnering with me with equity without me coming in with cash. I've heard many times on the podcast that you can still be involved in the deal if you don't contribute money by offering your time and your knowledge. I'm trying to figure out how I can pitch that to my investor when it seems like I'm just doing my job as his agent. I guess I could put my commission toward the deal, but ideally I'd like to do this without any of my own money in. I'm thinking I take on the role of project manager after the sale. 

The other question I have is the investor will not be financing, he'll pay cash. So, if I were to get equity, would we have to consider the fact that without his liquidity, there would be significantly less cash flow coming in every month since he owns it outright? How much equity would be fair in this kind of scenario? 25%? 50%?

I want to be prepared and very thoughtful about approaching him with this. Any thoughts? I appreciate you all! Thanks, - Zach