Need some advice on wholesaleing as a real estate agent.

Rio Grande Valley, Texas
Wholesaling
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Need some advice on wholesaleing as a real estate agent.

Ezekiel Trevino
Realtor · McAllen, TX · Member since 2025 · 141 posts · 58 votes

I have been looking into different types of real estate investing. I heard and read about real estate wholesaling. Can I wholesale as a real estate agent? Would I be breaking any epthical rules?  

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Marcus E. Turner
Real Estate Consultant · Globally · Member since 2019 · 54 posts · 37 votes
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Yes, you can wholesale as a real estate agent, but it’s important to navigate it carefully to avoid ethical or legal issues. As an agent, you must fully disclose your role in the transaction and ensure that you are not acting in conflict with your fiduciary duties to clients. In wholesaling, you essentially act as a middleman between the seller and the buyer, and you must ensure all parties are fully informed and agree to the terms. I’d recommend checking with your local licensing board or legal counsel to ensure compliance with any specific state or brokerage rules. 

I am an agent-investor. I'm happy to talk.

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  • Marcus E. Turner
    Real Estate Consultant · Globally · Member since 2019 · 54 posts · 37 votes
    1y

    Yes, you can wholesale as a real estate agent, but it’s important to navigate it carefully to avoid ethical or legal issues. As an agent, you must fully disclose your role in the transaction and ensure that you are not acting in conflict with your fiduciary duties to clients. In wholesaling, you essentially act as a middleman between the seller and the buyer, and you must ensure all parties are fully informed and agree to the terms. I’d recommend checking with your local licensing board or legal counsel to ensure compliance with any specific state or brokerage rules. 

    I am an agent-investor. I'm happy to talk.

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  • Kate Sanchez
    Member since 2025 · 242 posts · 98 votes
    1y

    @Ezekiel Trevino Great question. From what I’ve seen, licensed agents can wholesale, but full disclosure is key to staying compliant. Have you had a chance to check with your broker or state commission on how they handle this?

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  • Zach Howard
    Hong Kong · Member since 2024 · 161 posts · 57 votes
    1y

    I'm pretty sure it is 100% legal - at least in certain areas. I'd assume you'll be fine as long as you're fully disclosing things and operating ethically. 

    Not a lawyer though :-)

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  • Don KonipolBusiness Member
    Investor · The Woodlands TX / Avon, CT · Member since 2009 · 6k+ posts · 10k+ votes
    1y
    Quote from @Ezekiel Trevino:

    I have been looking into different types of real estate investing. I heard and read about real estate wholesaling. Can I wholesale as a real estate agent? Would I be breaking any epthical rules?  


    The term WHOLESALING encompasses many different techniques, strategies, and actions. Further, rules regarding any of these activities will be at a state level, so you would have to become aware of the specific statutes, if any in Texas and any regulations put forth by the Texas Real Estate Commission. Further, assuming you're a member of a local NAR affiliate, you'll need to interpret how the wholesaling activities you plan to engage in syncs with the ethics area of the NAR. At a minimum you're required to disclose your license in any real estate transaction or proposed transaction you participate in. Since you will be NOT acting as an agent in a wholesale transaction, this needs to be disclosed to the property owner also. I personally believe that having to disclose and tread carefully makes wholesaling more difficult for a licensee than for a non licensee; yet many jurisdictions are now requiring a "wholesaler" to be licensed. This may be a "trap" where the jurisdiction requires a license to wholesale and a license holder is in violation of a code of ethics when they wholesale. Best advice is spend a couple of hundred bucks for an initial consultation with an experienced real estate attorney and thoroughly understand what each "wholesaling" action will entail in both risks and compliance.

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  • Steve K.
    Realtor · Boulder, CO · Member since 2016 · 3k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    1y

    This is a question for your managing broker, as it is up to them if you are allowed to wholesale while working for them. Most brokerages will not allow it (too many potential legal liabilities, conflicts of interest and ethical concerns such as it being too close to a net listing which is illegal in many places). So you may have to switch your license to one of the few brokerages that allow it. These are the ones that focus entirely on wholesaling and are set up for it. The way they operate is that they always clearly disclose to both buyers and sellers that they are acting as a wholesaler, not a traditional agent representing either party in the transaction. If you work for a traditional brokerage and blend representing buyers and sellers with wholesaling, it can be kind of messy and create legal grey area that your broker would probably like to avoid and that their E&O insurance may not cover. Plus you probably have to pay them a split on everything you make so it will be harder to find deals with enough profit to make it worth the additional risk. Probably best not to have a license if you plan to focus on wholesaling, or work for one of the brokerages set up specifically for wholesaling and that's all that they do.

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  • Ashish AcharyaBusiness Member
    CPA, CFP®, PFS · FL · Member since 2017 · 5k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    1y

    @Ezekiel Trevino Yes, you can wholesale as a licensed real estate agent, but you must follow strict legal and ethical guidelines. Always disclose your license and make it clear you're acting as a principal, not an agent in the transaction. You should also notify your broker about your intent to wholesale, as many brokerages have specific policies or require approval for personal investing activity.

    Avoid representing either party in the same deal to prevent conflicts of interest, and be fully transparent about your intent to assign the contract for profit. Using a separate entity (like an LLC) can help separate your investing from your licensed role. As long as you're honest, compliant, and avoid misleading practices, wholesaling is allowed but done incorrectly, it could risk your license.

    This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship. The information contained in this post is not to be relied upon. Readers should seek professional advice.

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  • Stephen MoralesBusiness Member
    Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2025 · 402 posts · 205 votes
    1y
    Quote from @Ezekiel Trevino:

    I have been looking into different types of real estate investing. I heard and read about real estate wholesaling. Can I wholesale as a real estate agent? Would I be breaking any epthical rules?  


    It 100% legal and in some states it is actually required. I have been licensed for 10 years and wholesaling for 7. It's all about disclosure - my contract specifically states that members of the LLC I'm wholesaling under has a license in the state of FL.

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