A joint venture — also known as a “JV” — is a unique type of business arrangement that we utilize here in The Bird Dog Program. Many individuals who are new to the real estate industry are uncertain of what a joint venture is and how it works. So in today’s article, The Short Sale Gal Kristine Zelazo, founder of The Bird Dog Program, will explore what a joint venture is and why we utilize this approach with our program.
What is a Joint Venture and How Are They Used in Real Estate Investing?
Most often, in the real estate field, a “bird dog” is an individual who finds a deal for a licensed Realtor. But there are now laws in place in most regions that prohibit a licensed Realtors from paying a commission to a non-licensed referrer. What’s more, these traditional bird dog arrangements provided very little, if any, protection to the bird dog, who was often working on a handshake.
At The Bird Dog Program, we use the same bird dog type of concept, but we’ve made a few key changes. The Bird Dog Program enters into a joint venture with each member, complete with a detailed contract that clearly spells out each party’s role in the arrangement. The bird dog is acting in a real estate investor’s role in the joint venture.
So what is a joint venture exactly? Well, in business, a joint venture is essentially an arrangement where two (or more) individuals pool their resources and work together in order to achieve a particular objective. In the case of The Bird Dog Program, the objective is to find and acquire real estate investments, which are ultimately brought to closing.
With our program’s joint venture approach, the program provides you with leads, guidance and training, while the Bird Dog works to follow up on those leads and investigate the availability of various properties. When a suitable property is located, the program founder Kristine Zelazo will leverage her resources (including expert negotiators) to ensure the transaction arrives at the closing table. Once the deal closes and a profit is generated, the bird dog receives a portion of the profits since they’re a joint venture partner.
We have a detailed joint venture partnership contract, which spells out the role of the bird dog and the program/program founder. It also indicates how the profits will be split with you, as a joint venture partner in the transaction.
Additionally, joint ventures can be a stand-alone business entity, separate from your other business. So let’s say you are a real estate investor who has an LLC. The joint venture partnership could be wholly separate from your company, which gives you the ability to keep those business transactions separate if you wish.
While it doesn’t really apply to joint ventures in the case of The Bird Dog Program, it’s important to note that the JV can even be sold similar to the way that you might sell a company, such as a corporation or LLC. You can sell the joint venture as a whole or one party may sell their share in a joint venture. This provides an additional benefit to this business arrangement. So if you were to create a joint venture and found it was an especially profitable long term arrangement, you would have the ability to nurture that JV and ultimately, sell it (or your share in it) much in the way you would sell a company. For example, in Sony and Ericsson partnered to create a JV called Sony Ericsson in the early 2000s. The companies merged their resources with the goal of becoming a world leader in the mobile phone industry. Ultimately, after several years of operation, Ericsson sold out its part of the joint venture, and the JV eventually became the sole ownership of Sony.
Ready to Get Started in Real Estate Investing With The Bird Dog Program?
If you’re getting started in real estate, consider working with a real estate investing mentor like The Short Sale Gal, Kristine Zelazo. Getting started in real estate investing can be somewhat challenging, but when done right, you can stand to make significant profits. You’ll have lots of advantages in this regard when you enter into a joint venture and work with a real estate investing and short sale expert like Kristine Zelazo.
Here are some answers to commonly asked questions in The Bird Dog Program FAQ.
Based in Florida, Kristine works with bird dogs, investigators, buyers and sellers. She is an experienced negotiator. So if you’re an investor seeking to get started involved as a bird dog, want to start buying short sales and need a great mentor or wish to pursue a short sale transaction for the sale of your property, turn to Kristine Zelazo, the Short Sale Gal!
Click here to learn more about The Bird Dog Program, click here or call Kristine at 800.664.0616, x802.