Who exactly are the "boots on the ground" and what do they get paid?

Question

Every video about virtual wholesaling says you need boots on the ground. Nobody says what that person is, whether they're an employee, whether they get a cut, or what stops them from just taking the deal themselves once they've seen the house and met the seller.

I'd have been too embarrassed to ask this out loud, so I'm asking here. Is this a contractor I pay per visit, an agent who wants the listing later, or something else? And do I owe them anything at closing?

paulgrant17 · Answer

From what I understand it's whoever you can pay per task, most often a handyman or a photographer, sometimes an agent who's hoping to represent your buyer later. Flat fee per visit is the common structure people describe, $75 to $150ish. Paying a percentage of the assignment fee is where it gets sticky, because in some states paying someone for finding or promoting deals can look like unlicensed brokerage, and that's genuinely a per state legal question.

samantha_ruiz · Answer

The stealing worry is overrated in my experience of talking to people who do this. A handyman charging $95 for photos usually doesn't have $150k in cash sitting around, and if they did they'd already be buying. What actually goes wrong is softer. They show up two days late, the seller loses patience, and your inspection window closes with no photos. So I'd have two people in any market I worked, and I'd pay both even when I only used one, because a walkthrough you can't schedule is the same as no walkthrough.

Who exactly are the "boots on the ground" and what do they get paid?

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