Three owners I manage for want out. Where does a referral fee stop being one?
I manage 140 units across 22 owners. In the last two months three of those owners have said some version of "I'm getting too old for this" to me on the phone. One is a 6 unit built in 1962, original boiler, tenants at maybe 80 percent of market. One is a pair of duplexes he's owned since the 90s. The third has already told me she'd sell to the right person if she didn't have to list it.
I have four investor clients who would look at any of those tomorrow. The obvious move is to introduce them and take a fee.
Here's what stops me. I hold a license because my state requires one to manage for others, which means my regulator has opinions about what I do that a random bird dog's regulator may never have. There's also the fact that these owners are my clients. If I take money from the buyer side, I've got an interest in the sale happening at a price my client may not love, and I don't think a disclosure email covers that in the way I'd want it covered.
What I have: three motivated owners who came to me unprompted, current rent rolls and maintenance histories on all three (which is real diligence value, not just an address), and four buyers.
What I'm unsure of: whether a licensed manager taking a finder's fee from the buyer on a building she manages is a referral, a brokerage commission, or a conflict my errors and omissions carrier would decline to defend. Also whether the answer changes if I refer the owner to a listing agent instead and take nothing.
Decision this week: I'm meeting the 6 unit owner Thursday. I either bring up selling or I don't.