legal issues with bird dogging

llc will incur costs; I don't see why or how you would have a llc protect you as a birddog?
here's a link to a thread about llc's that you may want to read...
http://www.deangraziosi.com/node/927

I did bird dogging, and don't know why you even need one, as you find properties and run numbers, and maybe get other info for the investor and sell them that info basically. What would you need an LLC for?
But be sure you have something in writing with the person you bird dog for before you hand over the info. It cost me $14k and he gave me $10 and he kept the 14k.

As Val and Sandi said, there is no need to incur costs of forming a LLC to bird-dog. There is nothing in bird-dogging that you would be held liable for. My first two deals in this business were bird-dog fees and I have never looked back. You might want to check with your attorney about drawing up a standard contract for your services. This should cover you in case your buyer changes his mind in mid stream. You will learn soon enough in your career that your attorney is a vital part of your team. Best of luck...Jan

Thanks all. I was thinking in case the llc/business I bird dogged for was sued for some reason for a sour deal and the claimant could some how have legal re-course toward me as well. has anyone ever heard of this? obviously i'm not an attorney so i don't know all the ins and outs of the legal situations.

Some people are confused as to what a bird dog actually does.

When you bird dog you locate property that someone may be interested in buying. Different people have their bird dogs do different things. Some of the duties might entail taking pictures of the property, doing a little research to find out who the owner is, finding out info about the house such as 3BR/2BA, 1200SF, etc. There may be other duties, just depending on who you are BDing for.

Bird dogs DO NOT negotiate prices and get the property under contract. That is what you would do as a "wholesaler".

So you can see here that you are doing nothing as a BD that would make you liable for anything. The end buyer is responsible for doing his due diligence and the buyer and seller work out the details in the deal.

Getting an LLC too early is a waste of money. Believe me, I made that mistake! And in CA that is a VERY expensive mistake!

When it comes time to do that, you may want to check w your CPA to find out if an LLC is your best way to go or an S Corp. I actually found out afterward that the S Corp would have been better for me. It will be awhile before any of this is necessary though.

Karen

Get your feet wet before jumping into an LLC or S Corp. Those are real easy to setup, all you need to do is pay the fees. Getting an LLC does nothing to advance your business. It might feel good that you are doing something constructive towards your business, but in reality it does not help you generate business. Actual results, not motions, count in this business.

There has been a lot of good thought and advice given. I would just add that most of the time when an agent or attorney claims that you can't bird dog is because of the way it is explained to them. Being a bird dog is on illegal because you are not representing anyone but yourself in the deal. That is where the misunderstanding of what a bird dog is/does comes up.

You may find the way you take your payment runs in the "grey" area of law in some states (not all).

A very easy way to help qualify yourself for payment without issues is to call the fee something else such as an advertising fee or finders fee.

You can even create receipts that show this was how you were paid.

Your lawyer could give more insights but this has worked for us when we ran into issues.

VERY IMPORTANT - ESPECIALLY READ POST 1,9,18

http://www.deangraziosi.com/real-estate-forums/contracts-and-offers/1455...

Thanks to all. I am new to this and I have found all the info in these post to be extremely helpful.

Hello I'm new to bird dogging or property locator what type of contract do you need to keep the buyer of properties and the seller from going around you to connect for continue business if that is possible? "But be sure you have something in writing with the person you bird dog for before you hand over the info. It cost me $14k and he gave me $10 and he kept the 14k." Did you continue to do bird dogging or did you move on to other things in real estate? Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.