Assignment Fee vs. Finder's Fee

The investor doesn't arrive at the fee, that's the beauty of holding the control of the contract, you TELL him what your assignment fee is, he'll either accept it or refuse it. So you can either move on to another investor or drop your fee, but YOU decide what the fee should be. It's what you think your time and effort is worth for finding and tieing up the deal. You get a check at closing...
For example: My last deal I assigned the contract for $17k, the investor thought it was kind of steep, but I retorted with well, that's what my time and effort was worth on this deal. He drew up the contract after I explained my position, I got a check at closing for that amount.
Hope this clears it up.

Elena

Thanks a lot it all makes sense now. Should the fee depend on how much the house is selling for, the more it is - the more your fee should be, correct? How much did the house go for that you sold to get your 17k.

that is how you would figure it in. I would base on how much equity you are going to be handing over to the new investor as well as the FMV you calculate to show him its current state vs. selling price after renovation. You would then "negotiate" your assignment fee based on what you feel your time was worth. So basically the more profit he realizes at the end of the deal the more likely you are to get a higher return on your assignment.

Its all about selling it buddy...Elena did it, you just market that time and effort the right way showing them what the overall big picture (people sometimes get clouded when it comes to $$$, and forget the big picture)is gonna look like and BAM!

Thanks a lot csabens. You would calculate the fair market value by getting comps from other houses in the area right and then showing them to the investor right ? Where are places to find investors. The investors that advertise, "WE Buy House Now, Any Conditio," what it their general price range ? I have a property that I am interested in assigning after I talk with the seller. It is $490,000. Do think they would be interested ?

You can find other investors by looking in the newspaper, craigslist, signs around town, you're basically looking for "We/I Buy Houses", but remember most investors are wanting at LEAST 30% below MV.

Your comps will tell you if that $490,000 is what can be expected from the property in it's current condition. You'll need to then check county records to see what the current owner paid on the house, or outright ask them and how much they owe, do a walk through and assess any refurbishing to get it up to date, then adjust your offer price based on your calculations of all the above, with the idea in mind of what you expect for the assignment fee. If it's a motivated seller, you could be getting into a great deal. Remember though, FMV is what you want the investor to keep in mind and you can get that info from comps and other houses for sale in the area that maybe updated a little more so you can see exactly what you or the other investor (in this case) would need to invest in getting it up to par.

How do you go about locking up a deal that is foreclosed by the bank. I'm interested in buying a duplex for 60,000 and assign the deal to an investor.Please Help

Hello All.
I am new to this I have just finish reading Deans book on Be A Real Estate Millionaire. I am very interested in getting started in making some money finding and assigning properties to investors. I just need some advice on how to get all of this started without any money of my own or experience, also my credit is very bad. I would eventually want to make enough money to correct my credit history and restore it to good standings,invest in properties and keep them as rentals and fix-n-flip for profit. Can someone please tell me how they got started? what they did and how successful was it?

Locking up a deal that a bank owns is a little trickier.

Most of the time they will want a pre-qualification letter from your lender.

Most of the time they will use a Realtor. If this is the case, check with them first and tell them exactly what your doing. Banks don't normally like re assignments because they don't know who the buyer will be.

If you can get a pre-qualifying letter from your buyer that will help.

hope this helps, Zeek

My situation is just like Sharon and i need some help. I have an aunt who wants to sell her home because right now she is renting it out and it unhappy with that situation. She would rather sale the home and move on. She is already living in a home and she could use the money from the home i want to help her sale to pay off the home she currently lives in. Once, someone helps me with that situation. I am back in the same postition as Sharon in which i would have to locate a home all on my own. Can someone help us both! We need the money.
Thank You
Good luck Sharon!

The fee was the diff between what I paid for it and what it appraised for after I fixed it up, (while I was living in it), plus all the monies I paid out of pocket to fix it up. (It all went toward the purchase price)I paid $132,500, assigned it for $150k, plus re-couped my costs.

Yes and no. The real answer is no. The assignment fee should really depend on how good a deal it is ie the better the deal for the investor, the better your assignment fee should be.

Remember, that with an assignment, you have zero risk. If it doesnt work then you just walk away. But the investor actually closes on the property so if it doesnt work, then he has a property he doesnt work.

The reality is that it's going to be a lot easier to find a 17K assignment fee in a 300K property than a 30K property.

Lets say a house appraisai is for $84,500 and there is about 35,000 left to be paid to the bank, so roughly 48k 49k minus whatever other fees there are against it. My question is what would be a resonable price to negotiate at that would work out for the investor? Plus im doing this deal with no money down/ contract assignment. I want to be 60% or under, could someone please give me some examples of how I could set up negotiations with the home owner based on that.

Hi Elena,
When you approach to a seller, do you explain them that you are going to find other buyer instead of buying the house by yourself? How do you let a seller sign in the assignment contract form?

I'm always honest and completely upfront with the seller or end buyer, I believe in doing everything with integrity, and I take pride in having a good reputation. So you always want to let the seller know your intentions, if he doesn't want to do the deal that way, move on. There's plenty of them out there. The seller doesn't do anything but sign the contract. You give yourself that option by signing the purchase contract like this; your name as Elena M and/or assigns on the buyer line, the seller just signs his name regularly. Just by putting that little and/or assigns in there it gives you the option to assign that contract, if you should choose to do so. Then when you find your end buyer you do an assignment contract with him. You also let him know that you're assigning it to him for a certain amount (you chose), and explain why that amount. Always conduct your business with honesty and explain why if they question it, so they understand your reasoning and don't walk away thinking your another shark trying to rip them off.

Like many others here, I just finished the book and am ready to get started. BUT! i have bad credit and no money!!! I'm very nervous because i don't want to mess things up.

I have a client that has a property that was left to them. they want me to sell for them this would be my first. They are on the will mother and daughter the daughter is under a chapter and wants to collect her share without giving it all away to the chapter. yet they first have to get the property under deed before they can sell. My question is ho do I assist them with that. Where should I send them 2 do that so I can put the propety under contract.Oh yes never done a contract so I dont know yet how to lock in the contract. I understand the assigning part I believe.And hey, do u charge the home owner for finding the investor then charge assignment fee 2 the invstor also? Heeeelp

How do you submit an offer on a property that you want to assign to a third party if your not an agent and the property is listed with an agent? or if it is a "for sale by owner?"

Welcome to the DG family we're glad to have you here. When you find a house you need to make an offer, that means you take a purchase agreement and have the seller sign it. When you put the buyer's name you put your full name and/or assigns. This gives you the rigth to assign your contract to another buyer. To do that you must have an assignment contract with the end buyer. So it's two seperate contracts. Most agents won't do a deal that way as it cuts into their commission, so you usually will do this with the owner. The house has to be priced low enough for you to make an assignment fee, which is usually the difference between what you offered and what it's actually worth. So you need to do your homework and know those numbers. Hope that clarifies it.