A lead, in the strict sense used here, is information. An address, an owner name, the condition of the house, the fact that the owner sounded willing to sell. You hand that packet to an investor and your job ends there. The investor calls the seller, sets the price, writes the contract, closes. That's bird dogging.
What you're describing sits close to the edge. Writing down a number the owner volunteered is information gathering. Going back to that owner and saying "my investor will pay 175, would you take it" is a different activity, because you're now moving terms between two parties. Whether that crosses into unlicensed brokering depends on your state's real estate license statute, and those statutes differ meaningfully from state to state, so that's a question for a licensed attorney in your state rather than a forum.
The practical habit most careful bird dogs keep is simple. You gather, you don't propose. You don't say what the investor will pay, you don't carry a counteroffer back, and you don't tell the seller you can get the house sold.
One thing that will come up before the legal question ever does: your friend needs to tell you what a lead means to him. Some investors want an address and a photo. Some want owner contact info, tax status, and a rough repair guess, and they'll pay four times as much for it. Ask him to describe the last lead he was happy to pay for. That conversation is worth more than any script.
