Partnering with a Real Estate Agent

Partnering with a Real Estate Agent

Flipper · Cullman, AL · Member since 2017 · 25 posts · 15 votes

Assuming things don't crash and burn in the coming months I am planning on partnering with a real estate agent on a couple of flips and I am a licensed contractor and I am trying to structure our partnership fairly. Here is the situation. We will obtain financing together, he will be responsible for finding the deal, I will assess the property, he will handle comps and other agent duties. We will write out a scope of work together and agree upon a budget. Once we close I will be responsible for pulling permits and overseeing construction and my wife will handle the accounting a provide weekly reports and pictures to the real estate partner. After completion he will list, market and sell the property. Here is where I am getting snagged. The agent will obviously gain a commission from the sell and if the listing. What I am having a hard time structuring is if the agent is making money off the sell as an agent and the commission is coming out of the deal, I am trying to figure out how to fairly be compensated for being the contractor and overseeing the project. Profits will be 50/50 otherwise. Should I collect the same amount as he collects in commission before profits are split? I am not wanting to sound greedy because I understand the value of the agent partner, but I will also be committing as much time or more in the remodel phase as he will be in the selling phase. For reference, I will not be performing any labor myself, but rather oversee subs, pull permits, ensure material is ordered and delivered on time and things like that. Any suggestions on how this should be structured fairly for both of us?

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  • Real Estate Agent · Sandwich, MA · Member since 2014 · 974 posts · 636 votes
    6y

    @Tyler Frost

    It's worth finding out if the agent needs to pay his broker for "personal deals." When I was an agent with United Real Estate, it was a small fixed fee for representing ourselves when selling our own personal deals. Therefore, there was no need to have a percentage of the sale price as a commission for the listing agent. I would take the broker's portion off the top and then split the profit of the deal equally. 

    One other thing you should keep in mind: agent will also get a portion of the commission when you initially buy the property if you're finding the deal using the MLS. Make sure you factor that into the overall profitability of the deal so you get your half!

  • Flipper · Cullman, AL · Member since 2017 · 25 posts · 15 votes
    6y

    Mason Hickman Thanks! Solid advice!

  • Adam TafelBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · St. Paul, MN · Member since 2017 · 592 posts · 402 votes
    6y

    @Tyler Frost Just a thought- most agents would jump at the chance to be your go-to for buys and sales. If you approached me with this idea I wouldn't need any profits from the flip to be happy, and I'd still work incredibly hard analyzing properties, running comps, negotiating offers, etc. If you need another partner to obtain financing you might consider partnering with another contractor or lender? Consider your agent a low-cost teammate, we'll do a ton of work for free. 

    If you end up teaming with an agent you could always subtract their commissions from their profit share to even things out. Good contractors who can accurately assess repairs and come out under budget are extremely valuable, while agents (no offense) are a dime a dozen. Know your worth and what you're bringing to the table. 

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