I'll try not to ask too many questions all at once but here are a few off the top that have been eating at me.

1. Who can i pay for leads? lead gen company? some guy off the street with a good lead? current agents? a friend? etc.

2. Can i have a licensed home inspector as an agent? yes, if you don't do this or that? no?

3. Can an agent agree to give a portion of their commission to a third agent whom wasn't involved in the transaction? if so, would it have to come through the broker first or directly from agent after the fact? or another route?

I apreciate any input, i have 1003 more questions that I'll save for another day :)

Why in heck would you want to give commission to someone not involved in the transaction?

Home inspector as an agent could lead to conflict of interest but I guess if you don't inspect your own sales I guess it would be OK. I would suggest being either one or the other though because to do either job right requires full attention....

You can pay me for leads. Cheap - $10 a phone number. I'll be glad to supply you with 100 a week.

Keep in mind most of these companies utilize information from the listings we put in the MLS to gather the leads they sell back to the agents. They attract buyer traffic and capture information and sell it via a referral fee. Starve that beast if you can.

I would think that if you payed another agent it would legally have to be through the broker. If that other agent was involved with the transaction somehow the would owe their broker something.

these leads would be paid for when there is a closing. the lead closes, they get paid for the lead. you get me a lead that closes perky, i'll send ya ten bucks :)

a local company has brought this to me and wanting to figure out the legalities.

also, agent has asked "can you take 15% of my commission and give it to mrs. jones, I don't really care why she wants to give it away just care if it's legal for me to do.

thank you, would love to hear more from you all.

That's different. And that's not paying for a lead, that's a referral. Then my price changes. For referrals, I want 25%. Heck, I may even raise it to 35%. Why not?



That's weird.

As a broker you should know what's legal in your state regarding rebates and stuff...

In most states you have to be a licensed broker, or an agent who's paid through a licensed broker to get a percentage based referral. Most lead generating companies are licensed in the states that they do business in, but it would be worth checking.

After you are paid you can give a gift to anyone you want, but if you want to write it off on your taxes, you are limited in how much you write off ($25).

I am not a lawyer or a tax consultant and offer only my opinion.

Thats what has me scratching my head (I hope).

I hope so too - lol

rebates etc certainly aren't black and white here, many shades and colors, ways to make this and that work.

look perky and REO, i get that you're both super realtors here on this forum, i get that, i'm looking for wisdom, ideas, etc.

thank you deepsea for your input.

So your state real estate commission says nothing about rebates??

I find it hard to believe.Here in Georgia we have state statute codes as well as the state commission provisions allowed to be amended by state law at the real estate commissions discretion.

First you have to define if rebates are allowed and legal in your state which some they are not.Then you have to define under WHAT PROCESS and DISCLOURE they are allowed and follow that process to a T.

Secondly if you are talking about residential RESPA comes into play and limits what you can can't do.

In commercial we are not regulated by RESPA and I can get paid a consulting fee for lining up financing etc. whereas in residential you have to be a licensed mortgage broker to collect a fee.

So what you really need to do is SPECIFICALLY run your scenario by a real estate attorney for legal counsel.The attorney will tell you IF you can do it and HOW you need to do it to be in compliance.

To ask multiple situations on a board like this does no good.Structured one way it can be fine and another way not be in compliance.

no legal advice.