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How to Become A Commercial Real Estate Property Scout (aka Bird Dogging : A Bird Dog 101)

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How to Become a Real Estate Bird Dog 101

I'm guessing you are interested in real estate. If you were not you would not be coming to read this how to article. You want to get into real estate or you are in it and want to expand if you are on this page. Have you been working on residential single family homes only? Have you thought that doing commercial real estate deals is too hard and beyond your reach? Well, you're not alone in thinking that.

Most people who have interest in real estate do not think about commercial real estate. It seems too hard for them and the numbers are so big it tends to scare them away. But, did you know that commercial real estate is easier and has less risk by many accounts that doing single family home real estate as a career?

Did you also know that there are few people who even try to do commercial real estate compared to single family homes in real estate? Just by the sheer numbers you have fewer people fighting for deals to fight against when you move from homes to commercial property. The best part is that you can start as a commercial property scout and you do not have to use your money, income, credit or sign for any loans! You just find a property that meets the criteria of the investor you are working for as a property scout consultant and then they pay you for finding it!

Now, the cool thing is that while most people stop at that point, you can actually go beyond it! Once you have some cash you can actually start bringing in investors as partners and partnering up on the deal that you found! So they bring most of the cash and you have some cash to help with closing costs and or you just find the deal and learn how to get better terms on being the man or woman to setup the deal to be a partner and not just getting paid for finding the deal!

Learn more about being a commercial property scout.

How to become a commercial property scout

The steps to take to start your scouting career

The first thing you have to do when you start as a commercial property scout is to find someone who wants to buy the deals you find. While you could just start looking for deals if you dont have someone who you are looking for to find deals first then you will waste time. First, because you don't know what exactly to look for with no buyer lined up. Next, because when you find a deal you want to have a buyer lined up who will want to make a offer to buy it next.

There are a few ways to find a buyer for a commercial property. The first is to ask around if you have real estate investor friends if they have anyone they know who buys commercial property and then go talk to them to find out if they will pay you on a deal that you find and bring to them. It is always nice to work with someone you know or know through a friend as you know they are likely to pay you for working for them.

The other way is to look for someone who is looking for a property scout to work for them. You can google to find people who are looking, although that can be risky since you never really know who you end up with if they are going to be able to follow through on their desire to buy deals or if they will even pay you for your work after you find the deal and they buy it.

I myself did not know anyone that bought commercial property and I did a lot of searching and looking for investors who were buying commercial property. I found many who were offering to pay me and who were happy to pay me for finding deals. When I asked them if they would make me a partner on the deal though I only found one investor who had an option for me to later partner on deals. Everyone else just wanted to pay me a fee one time and did not want to share ownership. I wanted to eventually get away from just getting a payment on finding deals and actually get into owning commercial real estate with partners and then eventually to owning it on my own. I needed to start with property scouting though as I was not comfortable just going into a partnership right away. I wanted to watch a deal and get paid for helping and not be on the ownership of the property first. I did want the stepping stone there though to make that next step when I was ready.

Learn more about being a property scout.

How to find a investor to pay you for the deals you find

Planning for the future and protecting yourself from the start

After I looked at many different investors proposals to pay me for a property scout service and considered the higher and lower amounts I was offered on a deal when it was bought by that investor I decided I wanted to plan for the future as well. So while I had offers that were higher on the property scout fee I went with Austin Davis with his commercial real estate partner program since he offered to let me partner in on deals. No one else would let me partner on deals unless I had 10% to bring to a deal. I did not want to buy small properties and I know that I also would prefer to just find the deal and put as little money down as I had to on a deal to save up my cash. Even if I made $50k on a deal, to save up to $1m in cash would take me 20 deals and that was a lot of deals.

While he is a bigger investor and semi guru like he has been around for decades and has a reputation for taking care of people he works with and isn't out for the quick buck. The other investors I found I could not find anything about online and of course no one would give me the names and numbers of their to call for references. I suppose they don't know if I am wanting a reference or if I am going to try and steal away their investors they sell to or buy from. No one would likely give me a reference that was bad anyways, but only one likely to say good things.

That is how I found the investor I decided to work with. Austin has since limited who he will work with and there is almost always a waiting list to work with him.

Learn more about being a Commercial Real Estate Property Scout.

Share your scouting experiences

  • paul Aug 5, 2011 @ 11:15 pm | delete
    i tried to get more info on the cre scouts .com but they are not taking new scouts right now. how can i get started?
  • al Jul 28, 2011 @ 6:52 pm | delete
    what areas should i start looking in?
  • KP Jul 8, 2011 @ 10:46 am | delete
    Scouting is a great way to get started in commercial real estate. I started scouting 9 years ago and found a few good deals and got a scout fee, but more importantly made relationships with investors with more resources than I had who I was later able to partner with on deals instead of just getting a scout fee. If you can find someone who will partner with you on a deal you find to start that is ideal, but if you can't then starting as a scout which investors are more comfortable with to start than a partnership most of the time, is the way to go.
  • jason Jun 20, 2011 @ 2:46 pm | delete
    scouting is a great way to make money in commercial real estate without having to have lots of money to get started. ive been doing it for years and am always looking for new buyers for deals as well as lead sources for deals. i will check out your buyers and see if they want to buy any deals i have. thanks for sharing the source!
  • nick Jun 16, 2011 @ 11:09 am | delete
    great blog! so true on scouting as its the way to get started. the web has made it much easier to do now too than ever before. when i started in the 80s it was a lot harder to find and access data to find buyers and sellers but now its a lot easier.
  • dan Jun 15, 2011 @ 12:17 pm | delete
    i started scouting and found a deal and was able to partner up on it. thanks for sharing how to do scouting. i had never heard of this before and had been trying to buy property on my own and got no where after 2 years of trying. doing the scouting i was able to get a property with it in 73 days from starting. thanks again
  • Barry Jun 8, 2011 @ 2:20 pm | delete
    i want to be a property scout but have not been able to get started. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get started?
  • Gary Apr 25, 2011 @ 10:11 am | delete
    Have you ever done a deal with maverick real estate investments inc?
  • Sara Apr 19, 2011 @ 10:24 pm | delete
    i started out scouting for austin but stopped doing the scouting and went into partnering on deals with him and his investors. if you scout deals you dont have to pay any money or take any risks or be on any loans etc, but you only get a little of the money from the deal. if you partner on the deals you are finding instead of being a scout you can get 50% or more on deals for doing the work. way better deal. i sign on the loans but they are non recourse and i dont have to personally guarantee them like i had to in single family loans. def look into both options and if your alright with a little more risk on the deals you can get ownership and in my opinion its a way better deal.
  • gary Apr 16, 2011 @ 4:59 pm | delete
    i have been a scout for austin for a year now and had 3 deals placed with him that were purchased. Ive tried others who I could make more money with in doing the deal with them in theory but they didnt ever close on the deal and it ended up wasting a lot of time. If you know any buyers please let me know as ive got lots of deals I can find with my contacts and am always looking for new buyers.
  • casey Apr 14, 2011 @ 5:58 pm | delete
    i would love to get started in doing this. how can i learn more?
  • Tanya Apr 13, 2011 @ 10:08 am | delete
    I really like scouting. I will check out Austin Davis. I am always looking for new buyers for deals I find. Do you know any other buyers looking to buy deals? I find lots of them and can use more buyers.
  • ben Apr 10, 2011 @ 10:36 pm | delete
    scouting is a very rewarding niche. it takes time to learn and there isnt a easy way to just pick it up over night but i have been doing it for over 15 years and love that i can work any where with doing it. its hard to find new buyers who will work with you (at least it was for me) but so worth it.
  • sam Apr 4, 2011 @ 10:23 am | delete
    i tried to apply to work with austin like you but it says he is not taking new applications. i asked his staff when i could apply and they said to try back next week but could not guarantee me there would be any openings. guess i will just have to wait and hope i can get in later. sounds like a really good guy.
  • sara Apr 3, 2011 @ 11:55 am | delete
    id like to help find deals and get paid for helping out. how do i get started?
  • Larry Mar 31, 2011 @ 9:33 pm | delete
    i've been bird dogging and scouting deals for a few years. I strugged to get started but really have done well for myself with it. Do you have any buyers you would be willing to present deals I find to? We could split the finders fees?
  • shawn Mar 31, 2011 @ 9:34 am | delete
    i tried to apply at the crescouts.com but it says i can not and they are not taking new applications and to check back later. i really want to do this but cant get started since they are not taking new scouts. how can i get started?
  • Joyce Mar 30, 2011 @ 10:37 pm | delete
    i want to become a property scout and this has been a really new thing for me to find and hear about.i have never heard of anything like this before where i can get paid and work my way in. really sounds like a perfect way for me to start.
  • Cindy Woodall Mar 24, 2011 @ 9:18 pm | delete
    ive been scouting for 4 years and really enjoy it. finding buyers/investors is the tricky part, finding deals is easy, once you find a good base of buyers/investors its a gold mine in this market.
  • Lynn Chambers Apr 4, 2011 @ 3:23 pm | delete
    How exciting Cindy! I, like many others, have been trying to find the right program to purchase to learn how to become a property scout. I keep reading all the reviews I can find that will steer me to the right program. You are the first person I've ran across that has actually been at it for a while, most everyone else that posts is like me and still searching opportunities. Do you mind sharing how you learned the property scout business?
  • Cindy Woodall Apr 5, 2011 @ 6:31 pm | delete
    I bought a program on the internet on it, I dont even remember what it was called. The basics of it were 1) build a list of buyers, 2) find out what they want for deals and criteria for them 3) search for deals that fit that 4) contact your buyers when you find a deal and give numbers in general terms (nothing that makes the property identifiable) 5) take the best/strongest offers from your buyers you get back 6) review the offers and buyers (find the best fit, buyer strength, how honest you think they will be from talking to them (sometimes you just get bad vibes from buyers if they are short or rude with other people, or say things that are not right, etc stay away from them) 7) have them sign an agreement with you and give them the property info to sign the contact and include in the agreement how you get paid, etc. Keep your fees modest to start, you want to build a loyal buyer group and then just work with them. There may be people offering to pay more, but you want to have buyers who you can count on to close and who you can count on to pay you.
  • lurton Mar 20, 2011 @ 12:47 pm | delete
    Scouting is a great way to make a living. Ive been doing it now for over 14 years for investors. I work from home and have multiple referral sources now and investors that will buy deals I find for them and set up. Starting out I worked for any investor who would buy a deal and even think about it, but over the years Ive developed a handful of investors who have more money and who have very select criteria so I know when I find a deal that fits their criteria they will buy it and also know what to have my contacts send my way.
  • maria Mar 8, 2011 @ 12:34 am | delete
    what areas are best to start in?
  • greg Mar 9, 2011 @ 10:42 am | delete
    any major us city or medium sized city you can target.. there are deals in them all.. a lot of older people are wanting out and want cash. ive found many who dont want to pay a broker and or dont think they can sell who were happy to let me try to bring them a buyer.
  • Jerry Geiger Mar 7, 2011 @ 10:30 am | delete
    i have never heard of austin before but have been a commercial real estate property scout for years. Scouting/bird dogging for property is something I enjoy doing and it has really been a rewarding career that has allowed me to travel as I please and work remotely. Me and my wife bought a nice RV a few years ago and have been traveling every since, I just work from my laptop and cell phone during the day and we spend a few weeks or months at a spot and then head on to the next spot. The nice thing about traveling is I can go look at properties in cities as we travel through there too.
  • Rose Swanson Mar 6, 2011 @ 8:55 am | delete
    i have been looking for how to become a commercial property owner and had never thought about being a property scout to get started! so glad i found this site.
  • doug Mar 5, 2011 @ 7:25 pm | delete
    this is a new concept to me, but sounds very interesting. i was searching for how to buy commercial property with nothing down and found your website article on property scouts. it really sounds like a much easier way for me to get started and do a deal not having cash or credit. thanks for sharing this.
  • Corey Mar 3, 2011 @ 12:20 pm | delete
    it is never as easy as you think it will be, starting out as a property scout is not a walk in the park, you have to be able to talk to all kinds of people, often they can be rude and a real pain in the ass! you are going to also deal with flakes and people who waste your time. the thing that i have always loved through is you get great rewards with out the risk and you are your own boss! no set hours (which does require discipline) and one deal will make you as much if not more than a high paying salary job.. do 1 a month and you can clear half a million or over a million. thats not going to be realistic starting out though. it wil likely take you 2-4 months to do your first deal. its a numbers game too. if you dont have lots of leads and good ones then you have to sort through all the crap sources. loop net and other big time sites have a ton of people on them and its harder to find deals on there.
  • Garrett Mar 3, 2011 @ 12:21 am | delete
    scouting for investors is a very rewarding career! i started part time in college to make money on the side. even though i graduated with a degree in accounting i never became an accountant as the money i make as a scout is 10-20 times more than i would have made as an accountant and i only work part time. the things you have to do are get solid buyers to buy your deals and then build a referral network to get leads sent to you. i treat my lead sources very well and take care of them and they send me great deals. at first i had some buyers who flaked out but i kept on looking to build my base of buyers, and a buyers list, now ive got 47 buyers who ive found to be very solid and i dont work with new buyers. starting out you can work with groups or companies that will buy deals but they are going to be more picky and you wont get as good of a payout from them as they have hundreds if not thousands of people sending them deals so they pay lower and pick and choose the best deals.
  • Missy Johnston Feb 28, 2011 @ 6:54 pm | delete
    i used to be a member of a national property scout association but it has closed down without warning. i never really got started and have wanted to learn for a while now. do you have any tips on how to find deals?
  • Steve Mar 1, 2011 @ 10:20 am | delete
    I used to be part of a group too but it appears to have closed down. Their website is not online anymore. I am doing my own thing now though and have found my own buyers so didn't really ever use the group anymore. I find a lot of my deals through my buddy that works at a management company.
  • JB Mar 2, 2011 @ 11:14 pm | delete
    I was in the national association of commercial real estate property scouts (NACREPS) but they shut down their website. I don't know what happened to them.
  • tom Mar 7, 2011 @ 11:28 am | delete
    ya what gives? what happened to nacreps?
  • Rodney Feb 28, 2011 @ 3:50 pm | delete
    Bird dogging is a great way for anyone to get into real estate. It has great rewards and none of the risks! Ive been a professional full time bird dog for over 6 years. I have bought some smaller properties on my own and turned over many large deals to investors on my buyers list. You do have to work through the dead beat buyers and investors to find the ones who will act on what you find, but it is a great business to get into. I have built up my list of referrals too from the ladies at title companies (they are a GREAT source to get in with!!!). The same with the ladies at the management companies!! They usually have a great knowledge of people who may want to sell who have owned properties for decades (after all they do their books and collect their rents and they know their clients business!!). Of course getting them to help you out is not just a simple thing to do. The best way is to build a relationship with them by getting bids for deals you are working on and tell them you have a buyer looking for a new management company on a property. Of course for this to work you really need to bring them a client before they will warm up to you. Then when you do ask them something like, say Ive got another buyer interested in property here and am having a hard time finding what they are looking for, you don't happen to know any property owners who might have something that works for what Im looking for who is ready to retire or thinking about it do you? Bam! They almost always know of multiple sellers and you can write them a letter up introducing you and ask the manager to mail it to them for you and let her know if they sell that you will send them a bunch of roses and a $100 gift certificate to their favorite restaurant. Don't be cheap! A few hundred to thank them after you get a seller lead will really warm them up for future deals!! These gals often work their ass off and get paid little if anything and are not very appreciated. A little spoiling them goes a long way!! Best few hundred bucks you'll spend to get a lead source.
  • mary Feb 28, 2011 @ 1:22 pm | delete
    what property types and locations did you start in? can i start this if i dont live in a large city? do i have to travel to the locations to work on deals or can i work on this from my home?
  • Larry Mar 1, 2011 @ 12:33 pm | delete
    you will want to stick to big cities. or if you go to smaller areas look for areas with lots of tourists for non residential living, but retail shop areas, etc. you can work from any where just have to have a phone, email, web and likely a fax. start by finding your buyers and then look for what they are looking to buy. that is the best way to start.
  • Shawna Mar 4, 2011 @ 11:20 am | delete
    ya i agree with larry. stick to the big cities. its waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay easier to find buyers for them in large cities..
  • lisa Feb 27, 2011 @ 10:10 pm | delete
    i really want to buy an apartment building and have tried very hard for 5 years with no success. i just found your blog while searching for commercial property on google and this really sounds like what i have been looking for. I just need to find something to get me over the hump and into real estate and this may be the thing to do it. I will check out the site you used to and about austin. are you buying any deals by the way? maybe i can work for you? i promise i will do what it takes to get a deal for you.
  • Karl Feb 27, 2011 @ 5:36 pm | delete
    I have never heard of this before but it sure makes since. This could really interesting!
  • Andy Feb 26, 2011 @ 9:07 am | delete
    I have scouted for a few investors and am always looking for others to scout for too. I will check out Austins scout program. Is there any limit to the size of deals you can find?
  • steve Feb 25, 2011 @ 5:22 pm | delete
    I have been looking to start in scouting for over a year and have never found anyone who will let me partner on a deal I find. I am going to check out the guy you worked with as that is just what I have wanted to find. Thanks for sharing.
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