Lawyer/attorney thinking about becoming a real estate broker

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Lawyer/attorney thinking about becoming a real estate broker

Jason Ryan Ekk
Visalia, CA · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes

I am an attorney in the Central Valley of California with 5 years experience.  I am interested in becoming a real estate broker for commercial properties.  About 20-40% of my practice has been real estate related.  The other portion is mainly business law and estate planning (a lot of which is ancillary to real estate).  I am curious to hear if there are attorney/brokers out there and if they know of what the possible benefits but also the pitfalls, ethical issues, and downsides are of becoming a broker as an attorney. Thank you for your time.   

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  • Jake Alger
    Real Estate Broker · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2017 · 172 posts · 107 votes
    8y

    Hi Jason,

    I am not an attorney but do know plenty of brokers that have a license to practice law.  I would venture to say that the benefit is protection; if all else fails, you pull that card to protect yourself.  You also would have a deeper knowledge of the laws regarding real estate, particularly since a portion of your practice now is real estate related.

    I may be mistaken, so please let me know if I am, but as an attorney, can't you use your law license to broker transactions?  I've always understood it that attorney's do not need a separate license unless they want to hang the licenses of other brokers.  Perhaps that's something I misunderstood or misheard.  I never put a ton of thought into it seeing as it doesn't really pertain to me at the moment :)

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  • Jason Ryan Ekk
    OP
    Visalia, CA · Member since 2014 · 4 posts · 0 votes
    8y

    Thanks for the reply Jake.  

    Regarding using my law license to broker a transaction... (as far as I know...) Attorneys can put a deal together (which I have done) but we cannot receive the broker fee for it.  And I know that we cannot get referral fees for handing off a deal.  I know that if I become a broker there are benefits.  However, I know that there are some different ethical issues/questions that come up.  For example, I believe an attorney/broker can't broker a deal and do the legal work on it (however, I would like to see if there is a way I can do that as I want to be more of a "one-stop shop" for my clients).   

    I agree that there is a level of protection.  What I am worried about are the new issues that arise from wearing both "hats".  

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  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    8y

    would you not be able to get this info from the BAR.... or a senior lawyer..

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    8y

    Attorneys can handle real estate transactions but they bill like they would for any other legal service. Selling a $400,000 home may be $200 an hour for ten hours ($2,000) instead of 2% commission ($8,000).

    I don't know anyone that went from attorney to REALTOR but I don't see any downside to it.

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