I'm thanking everyone in advance for your advice. Thanks!!!

A little background:
I've been a realtor for the past 2 years or so and I haven't really used my license much; however, I grew up in RE. My mother was an investor and my formative years were spent looking at distressed property sales, going to auctions, etc. You get the idea.

Fast forward to 2 years ago and I had a friend who wanted to purchase a property. She wanted my help and wanted to compensate me, but I couldn't get compensated legally unless I was a Realtor. I went and got my license just for her. I've helped friends here and there, but being a realtor has not been my primary source of income.

Here is my situation today. I was recently contacted by an agent from my own office looking to expand into the city that I work in. He's an investor and works with other investors purchasing luxury distressed property, cleaning the title and flipping them. I met with him 2 weeks ago to discuss me being their bird-dog here and in the course of the conversation I mentioned that I had seen a commercial multi-family unit (200 units) up for sale that also happened to be a distressed sale. He said that he knew of some investors that would be interested in such a property.

Here is my question. If I actually succeed in selling this property to his investors, how does the commission work in commercial??? Who pays??? How do I make sure that I would be payed?? I'm thinking there has to been some form of contract for that. I haven't disclosed to him actual specifics of the property, for fear that I may get shut out of the deal. What can I do to protect myself, so that I don't get screwed?

Super realtor, I'd really appreciate your insight. I know you have A LOT of commercial experience.

Once again, I thank all of you in advance.

PS: I really love this forum. I've been reading it for the past several months. I find it to be very insightful.

When too many people are involved in a deal there is not enough money to go around to make the deal work.

Before presenting a property in commercial you want to CONTROL the property. Either by being the listing broker/agent or having an option contract under the property whereby you cab assign the rights for a fee. You have to make it where if they want the deal they have to go through you.

Investors always say they are interested in everything but rarely follow through. You need to know realistically what distress sales are trading CAP wise for in your market depending on commercial asset type.

Usually a LOI (letter of intent) is first issued to the seller to garner interest on the potential buyers proposition. With this 200 unit complex you need to see if it is in an A,B,C location and what age the property is A,B,C,D classification.

Is this 200 unit complex listed by a broker? If so who owns the property ? Is it a corp in distress,a bank that has already foreclosed etc.? Where the property is at in distress and the type of loans and structure will determine buying options.

The seller might just let the buyers assume the note or owner finance with enough down. Banks would rather let a new owner who is well capitalized take over a note on reduced terms where they can turn the property around than to foreclose and take a big loss.

If you really want to do this forget being a bird-dog. Put money into taking commercial investment classes so you will learn how to analyze deals properly. Once you have found a potential candidate put it under contract as an option with many outs so that you keep your earnest money. Then use the time to shop the deal and assign rights for quick cash.

"Before presenting a property in commercial you want to CONTROL the property. Either by being the listing broker/agent or having an option contract under the property whereby you cab assign the rights for a fee. You have to make it where if they want the deal they have to go through you.

Is this 200 unit complex listed by a broker? If so who owns the property ? Is it a corp in distress,a bank that has already foreclosed etc.? Where the property is at in distress and the type of loans and structure will determine buying options."

Yes, the property is listed through a broker. When I originally saw the listing it stated that a cooperating broker would get 2% of the sale price after having submitted an LOI. However, the listing was recently updated to reflect a price change and that part of the listing was no longer was up. Should I assume that they are no longer offering a co-broke? The property is in receivership.

"If you really want to do this forget being a bird-dog. Put money into taking commercial investment classes so you will learn how to analyze deals properly. Once you have found a potential candidate put it under contract as an option with many outs so that you keep your earnest money. Then use the time to shop the deal and assign rights for quick cash."

To be completely honest, this all just fell into my lap. I was going to do just regular RE residential. Easy Peasy stuff. I hadn't contemplated bird-dogging for anyone or even selling a commercial unit. I just knew about the unit because I like to know what's going on my area commercial and residential wise. (And also because I dream about owning a commercial complex like the one being discussed.)

I'm assuming the classes that you are talking about are CCIM classes??

What would you recommend for me to do in this particular situation? I would like to take this opportunity and turn turn it to my advantage.

Regardless of the co-broke you put your percentage in there with the offer. Either the seller pays or the buyer pays your commission. Example if co-broke is 2.0 and your regular fee is 3 then the buyer will have to pay 1 percent on their side.

Spend a few hundred to have an attorney draw up forms and stips to protect you if forms are not readily available from your mls or real estate associations.

Who owns it? Does the FDIC own it as part of a loan they took back when they closed a failed bank ?

What is the existing cap rate and vacancy rate of the apartment complex?

Generally if a complex has high vacancy and in distress you are looking at a cash buyer or JV fund.

This is all good advice.

You have to control either the buyer or the seller in writing!

If it isn't in writing, don't spend any more time on it until it is!

Super has some good advice for you - obviously you have to get into the deal somehow. My question is, what is the other agent giving you in return for being his "bird dog"? You should have asked him this. It doesn't sound like he's offering anything, or if he is, he's offering very little. Otherwise you wouldn't be here asking about how to protect yourself.

Second, will you be putting the deal together? What is the other agent bringing to the table, other than having a buyer? Since you can't get the listing - maybe a referral agreement or something along those lines is in order.

There are a lot of ways to waste time in commercial real estate, don't let a guy push you around just because he claims to have buyers. Push back, tactfully, and don't be afraid to ask hard questions.

It's easy for new agents to think, "I have this deal that just fell in my lap" without realizing that they really have nothing but hopes of a deal. It sounds to me like you have nothing but a hypothetical situation that has been phrased to sound like reality. In other words:

"I have a buyer who would be interested in a property LIKE that."

Really means, "I MIGHT have someone who MAY be interested in SOMETHING".

And the agent usually hears, "I have someone who will buy that property!"

If this guy is real, and he really needs your help - he will work with you and sign a contract, even if it is not an exclusive contract (although I would definately want an exclusive for the area).