I have a question about private pilots and the compensation rule. I'm sure this has been asked for a thousand different scenarios, but I'm really unsure. Sorry if this is in the wrong area...

I'll use a hypothetical scenario:

Say a private pilot was sitting in a coffee shop when he noticed the guy next to him drawing boundaries on a satellite image on his computer. During conversation with the land salesman, it came up that the salesman could use someone to fly him over his listings so that he could take aerial photographs. Would it be legal for the private pilot to take this salesman on a flight and accept 50% of the flight cost, so that he is not paying less than his pro rata share of the flight, as stated in FAR 61.113 Section (c)? For example, rent a Cessna 172 for $160 per hour, and accept $80 per hour from the salesman?

If this is in fact legal, could the pilot also approach other land salesmen/real estate agents in the area with the same deal, allowing him to build time at half price?

I'm thinking this would be a nice loophole, but my "too-good-to-be-true" alert is also flashing.