All Forum Posts by: Kasey Nordeen

@Ethan Perry Any update on how this worked out?

@Jack Butala I didn't see anything about mailing lists on the RealQuest site--what lists does the service provide? Are they only with RealQuest Pro, or Express as well? And how have you found the service for running comps?

@Sherman Ragland That's really helpful, thanks for the input. I think the Ohio real estate commission's position is that, if you sign the sale contract with the intent to assign it from the onset, with no intention of actually purchasing the property yourself, then the contract is not valid and you don't actually acquire any interest in the property at that point. However, like you mentioned, I'm not sure that position would hold up in court.

 @Wendell Raboteau I appreciate the input, that's actually what I was thinking.

Thank you both for the feedback, I'll take it into consideration. 

In regard to proposing that wholesaling be shut down, it seems that the statute is written so broadly that that just listing your own property for sale on craigslist could constitute "brokering" real estate, but I doubt anyone would argue that a license would be required in that scenario--so I don't think that the statute unambiguously requires wholesalers to have a license. Regardless of whether I get into the business, I think that wholesalers who operate ethically provide a valuable service that benefits both sellers and investors, and I think it would be a shame if the commission tried to stop the practice here.

I'm very interested in starting a part-time wholesaling operation in D.C., but I have some questions to pose to experienced wholesalers and investors in the area. 

I've read about how Ohio and some other states are cracking down on wholesalers, claiming that they're acting as a real estate broker without a license. 

Many states seem to define "real estate broker" just like D.C. does: D.C. Code 47-2853.161 defines it as someone who "for a fee, commission, or other valuable consideration, lists for sale, or sells, exchanges, purchases, rents, or leases property." 

Now, there are about 10 different ways to interpret most statutes, and there do not seem to be any judicial decisions on this statute that would offer any guidance as to whether a wholesaler constitutes a "real estate broker." So, until this issue is actually litigated, whether or not wholesaling is currently illegal in D.C. basically depends on how the D.C. Real Estate Commission chooses to treat it.

I'm not going to start a wholesaling business if there is any significant chance that it is, or in the near future may become, illegal. My questions are: Does anyone know if the D.C. Real Estate Commission has taken a stance on wholesaling? If so, do they actually take action against wholesalers? Have any wholesalers on here run into any legal issues with the D.C. Real Estate Commission?