Bail agent or FRA, What do you think?

So, I've read 2 books from this suggest books, thread on this forum and I'm curious, and of course I didn't look at everyone profile, what in your personal opinion, you think is better, owning and running your own Bail Bond company, or fugitive recovery?

After reading Modern Bounty Hunting: A Real-Life Guide for the Bail Fugitive Recovery Agent, and How To Sart Your Own Bail Bond Company, my opinion and my complete interest is fugitive recovery, but thats based on purely reading those books and literature I have found on the internet. I like the author of the How To book started my working experience as a stock broker, and I lost interest in the brokerage business years ago, I'm much more interested in investigating, using my head, contacts and resource on catching the bail fugitive. Maybe in the future I would be interested in going back to a financial type business again but for now, my interest, time and focus will be with the hopes of becoming a fugitive recovery agent!

Also I want to thank the few people I spoke on the phone with, that shared their stories, advice and hope we can soon work together so I can learn the fugitive recovery business the right way with the correct training, licenses, and experience from people that have been in this business for years!!

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John Garra
Columbus, GA
646-420-0893

John, .. Go back in the forums & read, ... this topic has been discussed before. ... Respectfully, ... Yak

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Yak .... H.B.I.C.
Riverside Enforcement
Hackensack NJ 07601
Ph. (201) 538 - 2947
Fax (201) 342 - 5405

ok i will look for that thread and repost it there, i looked through alot of this website and didnt see it but i will find it, sorry for the reposted topic!

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John Garra
Columbus, GA
646-420-0893

These may be of some help:

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=8622

viewtopic.php?f=30&t=9007&hilit=illegal+names

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Skippy, that question cannot be answered by anyone but you.

Opinions are like ......... well, everyone has one and they are all alike but different... to each his own.

You will get thousands of answers and in the end, you will still have to decide for yourself and probably even more confused than you may be now..................

Decisions like this are just like buying a car. choosing a woman or man... whatever flips your trigger...

Here is a way that I sometimes use to decide something... it is called the Ben Franklin Close. (Balance sheet close)



Take a piece of paper... draw a line horizontally down the center... top to bottom

On the left put all the positive things about either of the choices you want.

On the right put all the negative things you can think of...

look at both and make your decision on the side that you find interesting, correct, positive and exciting...

END OF DISCUSSION AND YOU DID IT YOURSELF.

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Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

I actually did that, labeling the pros and con, and come up with my decision based off what I want and short term, long term goals.

I decided that I want to start as a FRA, and learn that side of the business,(short term goal), which I might add I start my apprenticeship on tuesday! I'm relocating to GA with a great company, and I'm really excited!!

Long term, I want to learn the bail bond business as well, so I eventually incorporate both, as well as expand fully on after that. That will happen in due time, I'm not in any rush, as I want to be a asset for the company that has given me the opportunity for years to come.

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John Garra
Columbus, GA
646-420-0893

Congratulations on your new adventure However, before you invest time and money into it, has anyone advised you of the reqirements for your new position ? I strongly urge you to research the GAPBA BEFORE moving there to make sure you qualify.

Secondly, make sure you get any kind of work in writing. Most of us on here have been burned at 1 time or another by a bonding company who failed to pay us for the work we did on their case.

For example, alot of the time a fugitive case evolves into a full fledged missing persons case. You can literally spend hundreds of dollars on database fees, gas, vehicles, hotels, meals, etc. tracking your fugitive down. So ask up front what the bondspersons budget is and work within it. If the case is only paying a couple of hundred dollars, then by the time you cover your overhead plus split the fee with your partner you could end up in the red.

Another mistake alot of rookies make is releasing their work product to their client w/o being compensated for it. What I mean is this: Let's say you develop and pay for alot of intel.....database reports, police reports, criminal histories, court records, field interviews of everyone who knows the fugitive etc. You have a ton of time and money invested in the case, but you can't close it. So the bondsperson asks for the case back to re-issue to a different bounty hunter. Now you have just given away hundreds of dollars of YOUR work product absolutely free ! So make sure that when you return a case file, you remove your intel unless the bondsperson pays you for it.

Another dirty trick bonding companies will do is use your intel to close the case themselves behind your back, thus they don't have to pay you. You may share your intel with your client, thereby completing the puzzle for your client, and then he/she goes and picks up the defendant themselves or gets 1 of their cop buddies to do it, etc. There are hundreds of ways bonding companies have of beating you out of a paycheck.


Additionally, you will need to learn how to mitigate your clients liability via other methods than "beating the bushes" pays off. It's the old sayings of "work smarter, not harder", "maximize profits, minimize expenses" come into play.

Best of luck.

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River City Associates
Decatur, Al. 35601

Skippy, you just got some very good advice, take it to the bank.

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Bill Marx, Sr.
"FREE STATE BAIL BONDS"
"FREE STATE INVESTIGATIONS"
DCJS: 99-176979
Cell: 434-294-0222

"Endeavor to Persevere" "Lone Watie"

"Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that , comes from bad judgment" "Will Rogers"

That I have and even more in PM! You guy have guided me to the light! I just can't wait to get to GA, and start training and working!

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John Garra
Columbus, GA
646-420-0893

when you get to GA (before) get in contact with snowolf here . . . he will set you in the right direction as to whom you need to see and what you need to do

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