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Okay, thnx juzamjedi...
Ray Washington had also spoke about the liability issues when it comes to scooping up a deal thru the conventional market.
Can you tell me exactly what you mean by a short sale?
Also, and I had asked this question in another thread....
Let's say I bought a HUD property after the one week waiting period, when investor bidding is allowed, and the winning bid is first come/first served.
HUD pays the broker 5 percent.....If I was a broker, placed my own bid during this time, HUD is recieving their money at their price, there was a full week beforehand where owner occupants could bid on it, and some other broker would get the 5 percent commision anyway...
Would there be a liability issue then?
Also, on an REO, where it's a sealed bid, I could see how the listing broker could get in trouble, since they know the bid amounts before the last day.
If they put in their own bid at 1.00 more than the highest bid, I could see the problem there.
But if I put in my own bid, not having that info, won the bid fair and square, and split the commision with the listing broker, is there a liability issue then?

Sorry, forgot two things....
For the poster who had mentioned "straw men."
Was this a situation where you had found a deal, you told the realtor about it, they wrote up the contract, and then told one of their friends about the deal, where they wrote one up in his name a few dollars higher than your bid, so they could snatch it away from you? I've always suspected this thing goes on in sealed bids, but didn't know there was a term for it.....
Ray (and anybody else here).....regarding Realtors and their "ethics"
First off, let me say this...I realize I'm painting with a rather large brush here, and this isn't representative of all realtors, just some I've met. This example seems to me like its a breach of client confidentiality, and I don't know why it seems to be a common practice....
In my search to find a good realtor who knew where to get the smoking deals, I've had to go thru a lot of them. I can't tell you the number of agents who have told me "This person needs to sell this house quick because of a job loss/job transfer/divorce/tax lien (fill in the blank) and I'm sure you could offer them less money, and they wil take it."
Now, I'm a newbie here, and don't know the rules, but that seems like a clear violation of an agent NOT looking out for their clients' best interest by telling me that they want to sell quickly, which of course, means that this agent wants to get paid quickly. My interpretation of all this is that the agent is looking out for HIS interest and not the sellers', yet this seems to be a common practice.
Is this legal/moral/ethical? Should I report them to the board of realtors if it does happen, or let sleeping dogs lie? Would it to any good? I'm wondering how I would feel if my realtor that Im paying thousands to would divulge this info to a buyer.
Lets say Im selling my car....regardless of how desperate I am, I don't want a buyer to know my situation, because if he knows I need to sell, he's gonna lowball me. Unless I get desperate, he doesn't need to know. That should be my decision. Unless I tell a realtor otherwise, he/she shouldnt be telling this to a buyer, right?
Thanks in advance for your comments

Ray...
EXCELLENT post! Thank you...Ive been here two days and just now dug this up. You cleared up a lot. I found the same problem that others have. Whenever I tell a Realtor what I want, the so called "deals" they find are at market value...of if they're below, the price of the repairs will take it up to or past market value...hence, no profit.
If I have them find me a rental, they always show me a negative or barely break even situation, and I have to explain that I'm looking for 1.5-2 percent of the sales price gross monthly income. Another poster here posted this formula, so he's aware of it, Im aware of it, Im sure you are...but you wouldn't believe how many realtors Ive tried to explain this to where their eyes cloud over and they dont get it...even after 25 years in the biz....and thats assuming they even return phone calls/emails, or worse, forget everything I've told them when it comes to what I'm specifically looking for
Okay, enough of the realtor rant....
Let me ask you this....
I understand the liability involved by scooping up a deal at 50k below market plus getting the 7 percent on top will cause some problems. since they're not looking out in the best interest of the seller, which would be Mr/Mrs Smith on a conventional property...now, let's look at a HUD
Lets say a HUD property comes up, and it goes thru the first week, where only owner occupants can purchase it. After that week, it goes to all bidder status, where the first person who gets it gets it...and HUD offers it to investors.
If I got my RE license, put in a year's experience as required here in FL, then got my brokers' license, and bought this property and paid myself the 5 percent, could that be a problem?
Nobody else has bid on it for a whole week, HUD opens it to investors, and since theyre getting their money, would I be in a predicament later on?
Also, the same for REOs/foreclosures.....they don't have a one week waiting period, unlike HUDs, my experience is they have a sealed bid that stays open for a week, everybody puts in their bid, and once it sells, lets say I got the winning bid, as a broker, I would then split the commission with the listing broker.
After typing this, I realize I probaby could've made it more succinct, but I guess my point is....
1) In your example, you were using a conventional market property where there was an obligation to the seller
2) In my examples, I was using HUD as the first, where after the 1 wk waiting period, they welcome investors and will take the first bid that is at the asking price, and in the case of the REO/foreclosure, there best interest will be met, since the sealed bid process will get them the highest dollar amount for their property. Whether I split that commision with the listing broker or somebody else does, would that still be a conflict of interest?
Finally, in the last example, would the ONLY person who could get in trouble be the actual listing agent of the REO/foreclosure since they would have to advertise it, let the listing run a week so others can bid on it (and not snatch it up themselves?)
Sorry about the typos...I also wrote this rather fast, and realized I probably could've worded it better, but hopefully you (and anyone else) can chime in here with your thoughts. If I wasnt clear, I'll try to rewrite it better
Thanks in advance for your response

juzamjed, believe me Ive tried....here's my dilemma...
I repeat myself AD NAUSEUM to realtors telling them what I want. Example, there was a foreclosure I was interested in. I found it on a site that will give you the street, but not the address. I spent literally half a day calling everybody and his brother to get more info. I finally found the one person who knew something about it, and I asked if they knew of any others.
Her response was, only her broker knew of the ones he had listed. I asked if she knew of anybody else who would get foreclosure listings in her area, she didnt know. The foreclosure came up for bid, I called her back, no response. I called the broker, he said to talk to her. I find out she had been on vacation, and by that time it was too late....
Look, I could write book...this is just one example. Basically, if I was privy to the same info that they are, I could do it myself. A lot of times I'm asked "are you an investor" and when I reply yes, it's almost like they want somebody who will buy a house after they've seen half a dozen, and will pay full price.
If there are hassles/fees, can it be any more expensive buying 300k worth or real estate to give somebody else the comission? Having to make a zillion calls to find one realtor who can tell me about all the REOS/foreclosures that I can't find on the web? If I could, I would...but it's like pulling teeth....
Now, if YOU know somebody who covers Fl, GA, AL, and MS, or one in each state, Id like to talk to them....
In the meantime, let me ask everybody this....
As investors yourself, why not cut out the middleman, get your own license, put in the year or two experience required by your state, get your broker's license, and sell them to yourself? I looked at the fees for Realtors/Brokers, and from what I can tell, it's a lot cheaper than 5% of the 300ks' worth of properties I bought this year, not to mention previous years.
Wouldn't it be easier to do that, especially if you do your own research, and you can add the commision saved to your bottom line?

Chris, my reasons are as follows....
I've bought HUDs, REOs and so forth where I've done all my own research and found the properties myself. Before I started doing my own detective work, I must've worked with half a dozen realtors who knew what I was looking for, but couldn't find me the property I wanted. They were showing me things that I couldn't flip and make money on, nor were they showing me rentals that had a positive cash flow. The ones I bought were better deals than the houses they provided. In spite of what I can find myself on the internet, it seems that RE agents are also privy to info like foreclosures and in particular CMA info that I can't get as a layman. That's my primary reason.
Also, I feel the more knowledge I have in this area certainly can't hurt, since I'd like to do this full time.
Finally, I have my own built in market....ME....I buy about 2-3 houses a year, and I'm constantly asked by friends to find them properties, etc....once I do, I always have to turn it over to somebody.
By having my RE license I can do it myself without having to explain my situation over and over to numerous Realtors only to have them show me what I don't want.
Hope that gives you some insight as to my motivations...thanks in advance for your response.

Hello,
I was interested in getting my Florida RE license. I've talked to some local offices, they quoted me around 500.00 for the course. My local community college charges around 250.00, but they don't offer night classes and there's an online site that is 300.00, but Im not sure if it's accredited.
If I go to amazon.com, buy the books, take the practice tests and score well, is there a place where I can go to take the test and pass?
I've heard there is some online courses that are 88.00, but I googled it and couldn't find anything.
Thanks in advance for your help