RE wholesaling in Florida is highly illegal?

[Kurt Charles]

Hello all. After many hours/weeks of research and communication with members on BP, I decided to go ahead and get my RE license for different reasons that will aid my personal goals in RE investing. I was considering starting out in wholesaling which is why I started research on doing it without a license.

Now, whether you operate as a wholesaler with or without a RE license is your business, I'm not here to judge. To each their own.

However, in studying for the RE exam, of course I am now being exposed to tons of FL - RE laws, etc and I ran across an interesting piece of information. See below:

*****Florida Real Estate License Law requires that an individual who, for another, in Florida , for Compensation* or valuable consideration will need a real estate license if they perform any of the following when dealing with real property:

• Appraises
• Auctions
• Sells
• Exchanges
• Rents
• Negotiates a sale
• Advertises or represents as an individual involved in the real estate business, through either oral or written representation
• Procures sellers, purchasers, lessors, business enterprises or business opportunities
• Closes any transaction which results in or is calculated to result in a sale or exchange and who expects to receive ANY compensation or valuable consideration

Real property or real estate means any interest or estate in land, or enterprise or business opportunity, including any assignment, leasehold, sub-leasehold or mineral rights. It does not include a cemetery lot or right of burial in any cemetery; nor does it include the renting of a mobile home lot or recreational vehicle mobile home park or travel park.

*Compensation is anything of value, paid, received, or expected to be paid or received or remuneration for services rendered.***** 

I know many will have different opinions as to what this means, but in my understanding, it seems as though wholesaling without a license is indeed illegal in FL.

I understand that many insist, "We are not selling properties, we are selling "equitable interest" in a property to another investor"... Sure, but at the end of the day, you are going into a binding contract with a seller under the "pretense" of an investor/buyer, "knowing" that you are not interested in buying and therefore that constitutes a "Business Opportunity", or "Negotiating of a sale", no?

Either way, it does not matter what others do, I am concerned with what I do. But, I would like to hear what others on BP have to say about this as I am new to the entire RE industry.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.