Wholsale Alabama Help Please

[Aaron Millis]

So for starters I would like to know if Wholesaling is legal in Alabama.. i guess i just assumed it was legal in every state which might not have been wise on my part. The reason i ask this is because i went to a real estate company today to see if i could put them on my buyers list for my wholesale deals. The man their was an agent and said he would be all for it, if it could be legally done. Since agents have to adhere to certain laws i guess it makes it more difficult to pay me for finding them a property. I basically told him that it does not work that way and that i would technically be buying and immediately selling it to him. I'm certainly not the subject matter expert so i told him i would come back with more information. Basically i know that the 2 main ways are assignment and double closing, is there certain websites where i can find out exactly how those work in certain states? I was under the assumption that either way you are basically paying the fees and everything yourself but are actually closing with the cash buyers money not your own. Or in the case of an assignment you can just put their name on the contract as well. Is this possible with an agent as your buyer?

Sorry i know thats a lot of questions so thanks in advance for any help.

[Jamie O'Brien]

Great information from everyone! As far as I understand it, Agents have to be careful when anything can look like a rebate or a kickback. I believe Alabama has just passed some more legislation that makes it harder for Agents to pass on off market deals to buyers. As far as buying off market, I don't see how this would be an issue unless this particular agent would consider your wholesale fee to be a kickback for finding him a house or thought it would violate his code of ethics. However, I have found that when buying off market deals you are usually doing the seller a favor and taking a burden off of their shoulders.

"The REALTOR® Code of Ethics’ Article 1 requires REALTORS® “to promote and protect the interests of the client.” REALTORS® must always keep this in mind when recommending a pocket listing to a client. Even beyond the Code of Ethics, state law generally dictates that real estate agents owe a fiduciary duty to their clients, meaning real estate professionals must place their clients’ interests above their own and act in the best interests of their clients at all times."

Read more here - https://www.nar.realtor/articles/law-policy-professionalism-and-pocket-listings