Bird Dog Versus Wholesaler – What’s The Difference?

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a real estate bird dog and a real estate wholesaler is, then you are not alone. Lots of people confuse the two and some actually use the terms interchangeably. But in my mind, there is a significant difference between the two in terms of what each does and what each earns.

Let’s look at each one and see what the differences are between a bird dog and a real estate wholesaler.

First, bird dogs point out potential deals to real estate investors. They do not usually negotiate deals and put them under contract. Their fee for pointing out deals is usually either a small up-front fee regardless of what happens, or more commonly a slightly larger fee if the real estate investor actually purchases the deal. How much are typical bird dog fees? $5 to $10 for pointing out a potential deal regardless of whether it closes or not. Or $100 to $500 if the deal actually closes.

Compare this to a real estate wholesaler. A wholesaler will go out and find a potential deal, but they will do much more. They will actually negotiate with the seller, agree to a price and terms and will write up the contract or option on the property. Then they will bring the contract to the real estate investor that will actually buy the property and negotiate with them the price and terms that they are willing to sell their contract for to the investor. While this fee is highly negotiable and can vary widely, it is not unusual for it to be several thousand dollars.

As you can see, wholesalers not only do more than bird dogs, they make more money too.

Until my next post,

James

P.S. Real Estate Investor Bronze Members may be interested in checking out the extensive collection of Wholesaling Resources in our Real Estate Investor Wiki.

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