Bird Dogging - What Is It And Can I Get Rich From It?

If you are reading this article, I am sure you have heard of and want to get a piece of the wealth that can be made in real estate investing. But if you don’t have any cash, can you be a successful real estate investor? Real estate investing can be a “Catch 22” type scenario…(You need money to invest, but don’t have substantial money at your fingertips currently). But does it have to be that way?

And even if you have money, how do you develop the expertise to make the big money you hear about? Until now, if you didn't have experience or cash it would be very unlikely that you'd be. New real estate investors or those interested may not have wanted to take on a risky venture without understanding how real estate investing works.In other words, how can you learn about real estate investing yourself without having to take on the risk and especially if you don’t have any money?

The buzzword among investors for those making a start in this field is "bird-dogging". This is something that some investors go into to learn the business and never leave.

What is Bird-Dogging?

Bird-dogging is a system which allows those who are interested in real estate investing to gain experience AND income with no risk.Bird-dogging combines the enthusiasm of the new investor with the money and experience of successful investors. Bird-dogs search out properties that are abandoned, lacking attention or are in disrepair and attempt to contact the owners about their interest in selling. The idea is to find home owners who are anxious to sell. This may also include owners with foreclosures, divorces or a death in the family.Depending on the investor, bird-dogs then either show the property to the investor or tell the investor about the particulars and let them go from there. For their efforts, the bird-dog gets a finder’s fee or referral fee for every property the investor closes on.

How do I become a bird-dog?

If you currently don’t know any real estate investors, find one. That can be accomplished by calling any of those “We Buy Houses” signs on the side of the road or those that advertise in your local newspaper. Investors like me are always looking for another set of eyes/ears on potential properties.

You will need to understand what their criteria is for buying investment properties. The criteria would include areas, price range and condition of homes they purchase. They may be a company that specializes in fixer uppers or they may work exclusively with pre-foreclosures, etc. The point is you don’t want to be looking at and possibly bringing potential deals that the investor will have no interest in.

Through that process, you will get the understanding of what your investor(s) are looking at over time. Be patient here. You can easily get discouraged because you will bring what you think is a deal only to have the investor shoot you down because it doesn’t meet their criteria. Remember, this is your time to learn the business with your only cost being time and gas. Depending on how hard you go at this, the learning curve can be as short as a few weeks or as long as a few months.

Ok, ok. But how much can a bird dog make?

Finder’s/referral fees paid range from $500 to $5000. The amount of the fee is dependent on how much info and how involved you were in the deal. When someone just gives me a lead with a name, phone, house info and we close, we generally give $500. I would have done the calling to see if the homeowner was truly interested and closing the deal myself. That is more of a numbers game. If a bird dog brings me the deal and all I have to do is put up the money, sign the deal, etc, the fee is obviously much higher. This is an area where you may need to negotiate based on number of deals, longevity of bringing deals to an investor, etc. We have some bird-dogs we give $1,000 to who give me a name, phone, house info. The thing is, I know we will close a higher percentage of their deals because they understand my criteria and their leads ALWAYS fit it.

Whether part time or full time bird-dogs can definitely make living. But while the pay is pretty good, most bird-dogs come into the business with an idea to learn it and become investors themselves. Good bird-dogs that have been at it for awhile can make excellent investors because they have a definite understanding of what makes a deal or not.

If bird-dogging for you? It can be if you are wanting to learn about real estate investing and don’t have the cash or the expertise yet. Bird-dogging provides an excellent, no-risk way of understanding real estate investing.

John Panico is the author of this article. John is an active investor of properties throughout NE Georgia. He is the General Manager of Local Guys Equities, LLC, one of the fastest growing real estate investment companies in Georgia. John founded the NE GA Real Estate Buying & Investing Group and wholesales properties to real estate investors around the country. Feel free to contact John about selling your house or other information.


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