Is contract assigning is legal in my state?

Hello,
My suggestion would be to call a few attorney's and ask if they are able to close on a assignment offer. Great Success...
Sincereley,'
Lubertha

Anybody out there doing assignments in Maryland ? I will be calling a few attorneys , but just wanted to be cognizant of state laws....... Good luck to everybody !! Dean's strategies are amazing !!

As far as I know assigning contracts isn't illegal in any state. Collecting bird dog fee's on the other hand, mostly depending on how the agreement is worded, is another story and can be noted as illegal (acting as a real estate agent) in some states.

As noted above from mydestiny you should also check with a "REAL ESTATE" attorney, bring a list of the strategies which you want to use and make sure they can all be used in your state.

Hope this helps...

"SEE YOU AT THE TOP!!!"

Hey Everybody,

In state of Maryland , you have to create an addendum it says Assignibility agreement.Every law office can drw it up for you.Then you can insert that aggreement to purchase aggrement and you good to go...

Good Luck.

thanks for the advice everyone. I appreciate it

Thanks for the info ....... Glad to know that is all that is required for Maryland assignments.

Anybody doing these assignments of properties right now ? Let us know the details so we can get a clear picture of the process...... This is a great way to get your feet wet in real estate and to start accumulating cash for the bigger deals !!

Please fill us new people in on the small details of the transactions.... We need to be able to put all the pieces together........

Best of luck to all here on the site........

Everyone,

That was my question too...I have just finished Profit Now and I am so excited to begin the journey, but I can't help but thinking that in the most attractive approach to me, the reassignment technique, that I am basically acting as an agent, yet without a license in NY state. That is a little unnerving.

Any more advice? I am especially concerned about Matt's 25:1 concept. Not sure how I would pitch it to an agent to basically come work "for" me, doing most of the leg work and not knowing how to promise that it will be a win-win for us both...any advice?

Staying positive, just some intial "bumps"!

Thanks to all!!

Tracy

Tracy
No no no...you are not acting as an agent. You have got to put that out of your mind. Don't let those real estate agents tell you that you are acting as an agent and it is illegal. That will be the first thing you encounter is negative realtors who totally do not understand investors and wholesalers. They will try to tell you it is illegal but they cannot prove it cause it is not illegal.

You will be called a wholesaler. You find properties people want to sell...you and the owner will come to an agreement on a wholesale price on the home...they (the owners) will be aware that you are going to resell your interest for a profit to your investors....you put the house under contract for 30 or 60 or 90 days..whichever you can get...the more days the better chance you have to sell it.....
Once you have the house under contract you now have an "interest" in the contract...not the house cause you don't own a house you own interest in a contract on the house....you find your end buyer and sell your INTEREST in the contract for a price. You sell your INTEREST in the contract for $$$$ to your investors. Make sure you have a nice list of investors to shop the houses to.

I think to do Matts 25:1 you need to go in with much confidence and really know what you are talking about. Be assertive and take control. Tell them straight up you are looking for a very aggresive realtor who doesn't mind putting in lot of lowball offers...and let them know what all you expect. Take control!

Good luck and don't let them realtors bully you. You are a wholesaler and there is nothing in the world illegal about it. The main thing you must remember is disclosure...always make sure the seller and the end buyer know that you are making a profit. You title company will want to make sure everyone is aware you are making a profit.
Sissy

I forgot to mention...birddogging is different than wholesaling. When you birddog you locate properties for investors and make MAYBe $500 per deal. Some of them might pay more. Wholesalers make much much more because you are involved in selling your interest in the contract for much more than a birdog would ever make.

...but you are not being a realtor. It is easy to think that when you look at it in a general sense, but you aren't selling houses for people. You aren't even selling for the most part. You are selling your deal. With the market the way it is you can amazing deals when you are looking for only amazing deals. Realtors sell a house, they sell the features and the fit for the family moving in. A person doing assigns is selling the deal they have locked up for themselves.

As others have said, look up the laws and/or consult an attorney - but to date no one has posted a link to a state statute/law that says assignments are restricted by law or considered a Realtor only transaction. There is a lot of misinformation out there that has been drummed up to give agents a monopoly on real estate transactions of all kinds. This is not to say no laws exist for any state in the country, but I have not personally seen any and this question comes up a lot.

Also, realtors have a place in many people's strategies so leveraging the right realtor can be a good part of your plan, but don't take their word for it when it comes to something standing in the way of your plan. Do your due diligence and find out for yourself with certainty.

Thank You so much for your knowledge and encouragement Sissy! The initial fears are the hardest, eh?

All the best!

Tracy

So since I am reassigning deals should I tell my real estate agent that I am a investor or a wholesaler?

Hello everyone, Im new to D.G., just finished both books and Im ready to sign my first purchase and assign deal this weekend. Is there any one that is familiar with doing this in Oregon. I have tried to contact one Attorney after another to seek legal council but havent had any luck yet. Help... he he I would appreciate any advice offered. Thanks everyone

Brent

Hello all,

I was recently told by a realtor that I speak with frequently that contract assignments are illegal in Ohio. She said she spoke with lenders, title companies, boards, etc. and they all said they were illegal. She says its basically jumping title. Any thoughts????? Thanks!

When a buyer has been turned down by the bank how do you find a broker that can find them a loan?

We are very new to this as I am sure you can tell by the question. We are trying to do assignments also. We have run ads in all our local papers and penny savers but so far have had no response at all from legitimate investors. We have however had a deluge of emails for unrelated work at home businesses, most of which are just scams. I guess this is something everyone runs into.

Can anyone out there tell us a more effective way to attract investors? We live in northern CA. We do have a long list of properties but just can't seem to find buyers.

Dave

I would try and find a mortgage broker in your area that helps investors find financing. as far as marketing your homes, have you tried craigslist? I would put the house under contract, but only after you have an idea of who your buyers are. Dean's book talks about finding your buyers first, that way when you put your home under contract, you have a good idea of who will buy it. Also, I went to a investment club last night and thats a great place to find buyers. Try and join your local investment club. Best of Luck

The way I am finding mortgage brokers is sending the emaill out to a mass amount of them. All you have to do is type this into google, " Mortgage Brokers in (your city and state here)" After that click on one and when your at their website go their contacts and email them using the letter that Deans provides you in PFRERN. or you can fax it to them. I alos have provided the letter in the everything else forum called Email Broker.

As far buyers list ads in craidlist saying..." I NEED BUYERS FAST FOR MULTIPLE INVESTMENT PROPERTIES" as the title and then in the body say" I have multiple investment properties locked up at 40 to 50% off! please email me asap! Also try ****

i haven't used the craiglist yet for buyers, only my investment club. when these buyers call you, what do you tell them? Do you say u are in the process of finding properties (since you are starting out)?

We are so excited! We've gathered together information on about 10 properties, found a realtor (who wants to partner with us)who is putting together our 50% offers to be presented, found two people (ones we know in person) interested in us assigning deals to them, have a list of buyers we don't know personally, and should soon have our first deal! We can't wait!

One question, I've already received a POF lender - but when filling out their online request (Coastal Funding), I put in my address on the request thinking that is what they wanted. The letter, however, makes it look as if we are trying to buy our own property. Will they make out letters to multiple addresses? Our realtor thinks we need one with each offer - I think we shouldn't need one until we get a purchase agreement. What's the recommendation?

MartyK

I'm just getting started myself, so I don't have a definite answer for you. But it seems like your best source would be to ask a Real Estate Attorney. I wouldn't just take a realtors word for it. Remember a lot of investing techniques aren't known to people who haven't used them before. Good luck!

Heidi

After my trip to the bank yesterday. It seems I am going to have to use assignments and bird dogging to start out.
Has anyone done either of this techniques in West Virginia? Is it Legal?

Many of the conventionally minded closing agents and lenders will state that assigning a contract is illegal. Why? The best answer stems from lack of knowledge and understanding. FHA, VA, Fannie and Freddie have implemented 90 day title seasoning periods on their loans. Keep in mind, this is NOT a law, it is an UNDERWRITING GUIDELINE!!! They will refuse to fund a transaction where the seller has not owned the property for at least 90 days. Howwever, there are many other funding sources out there that can be used to fund deals that do not require 90 days title seasoning, such as hard money loans, private investor funds, self directed IRA's or retirement funds, and other less conventional funding sources.

What happened is FHA, VA, Fannie, and Freddie have been burnt in the past , so now they want to know who they are dealing with. You can't blame them. The key is this, in most areas this is the big stickler that most people are claiming is law, however, there are a few areas that do have some more obstacles that you may need to overcome such as stated above in Maryland. I recommend talking to a few real estate investors in your area and getting referrals for the attorneys they use. then go to those attorneys and start asking them those same questions.

Now, you mention wholesaling. Is that the same thing as assigning the contract? I'm hazy on the term "wholesaling".

Vincent

I been wanting to know How does Contract Assignments and bird dogging work in
NY state.

Can anyone post a step by step Detail of the Bird dogging strategies?

Also, The Assignment of Contract, Can anyone Put up a example of how the contract should be Drawn up for NY State?

I am new to Dean's Success Academy (not quite 2 weeks yet) and was put on the path towards "Contract Assignments" due to my current financial situation. While reviewing some of the forum posts, I ran across someone who said that an RE broker told that person what he was doing (ghost ads in this case) was illegal. I decided to review the state regulations. The statute leads me to believe that if you are working "for another", then that is classified as "professional real estate activity" and requires licensure.

What I am reading into this is that I need to find deals where I can close on the property myself and take ownership before selling it to another. I don't believe that the rules apply to someone who is benefitting only themselves. What concerns me the most is that my credit is not the best and I have little personal cash to utilize. Maybe double-closings is the way to go but I will still need to come up with the money...even if it is a same-day closing. I think I need to switch gears and my thought process in some manner to make this program work in Oregon.

Here is the link to ORS 696. (The definitions can be found at 696.010.15) http://landru.leg.state.or.us/ors/696.html

If anyone has any further insight, I'd love to hear it!
Thank you for your time and the great posts!

Randy

When you do an Assignment of Contract you are not working "for another". What you are doing is simply selling your interest in the contract to another buyer for a profit.

Also, you don't necessarily need to do a double closing unless the seller(such as a bank on an REO property) will not accept the contract with "and/or assigns" or an assignment clause in it. If you do need to do a double closing however, you can use transactional funding from a company like Coastal Funding to cover your purchase of the property. In that case you just need to make sure that there is enough profit in the deal to cover the additional costs.

Hope this information is helpful.

I have just read deans books and am trying despiratly to get started with as little money as possible because i have none.

This is the part that has me concerned. In the state of Maryland to be a "Real Estate Broker" you need to be licenced by the state. A "Real Estate Broker" according to the law is anyone who engages in real estate brokerage services. The legal definition of real estate broker services (directly from the law) is:

(l) “Provide real estate brokerage services” means to engage in any of the following activities:
(1) for consideration, providing any of the following services for another person:
(i) selling, buying, exchanging, or leasing any real estate; or
(ii) collecting rent for the use of any real estate;
(2) for consideration, assisting another person to locate or obtain for purchase or lease any residential real estate;
(3) engaging regularly in a business of dealing in real estate or leases or options on real estate;
(4) engaging in a business the primary purpose of which is promoting the sale of real estate through a listing in a publication issued primarily for the promotion of real estate sales;
(5) engaging in a business that subdivides land that is located in any state and sells the divided lots; or
(6) for consideration, serving as a consultant regarding any activity set forth in items (1) through (5) of this subsection

I guess my question is does assignment get around this because you are not receiving compensation from the buyer, but rather for the equity in the contract??? Anyone that actually knows the ins and outs on this would be greatly appreciated for an opinion.

windrider1967 -

I was a former Realtor but deactivated my license a few years ago. Your comment reflects my concerns as well. It doesn't seem to me that assigning a contract gets around Maryland's definition of what activities depicts what a real estate broker is and therefore would require a real estate broker's license.

I thought about just reactivating my real estate license and then I would be covered, but you are required to be attached to a broker's real estate office which requires certain mandatory fees. I probably encountered at least $1500 per year (and probably more) in administrative fees while I was an agent. If business wasn't doing so good paying those fees could get difficult. That is one of the reasons I deactivated my license.

I would prefer not to have to do the license thing again if I can help it!

newage8767