Question Summary:
Can the agent between two parties take a fee from an investor?

Question Detail:

A deal would be found either by an online listing or for sale sign. I would compare what the seller of the property is asking for with how much the market value is, which would be estimated using real estate websites. I would then contact the investors informing him about the deal. If there is enough potential profit and the investor finds the deal worth while, I would be paid a finder’s fee, e.g. : $500 or so paid out by check or cash by the investor.
The investor would contact the seller and go through the entire purchase process. Is this permissible? Basically all I would be doing is informing the investor of the deal, so I wouldn’t know if the investor is using interest or not for the purchase of the property.  

Answer :

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
According to our understanding of your query, you are an agent of potential investors in purchasing properties. You are offered an agency fee. You find suitable properties and after having conducted a profitability study, you inform the investor who would consider the deal. If the deal was successfully concluded you would receive an agency fee according to your agreement. If our understanding  of your query is correct, then it is permissible for an agent to earn agency fees[1] on condition the fee is stipulated by amount or on a sound mechanism in which there is no ambiguity, for example percentage on the purchase price.
The payment for the purchase of the property has no bearing on the permissibility of your agency fees.[2] However if you are aware of a Muslim investor dealing in interest, you should avoid identifying properties for him.   
 
Allah Ta’ala says in the Quran:
“And do not assist each other in sin and transgression.” (Surah Ma'idah , verse 2)


And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Ismail Dawoodjee
Student, Darul Iftaa
Zambia
Checked and Approved by,
Mufti Ebrahim Desai.