Looking for guidance for a real estate newbie

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Looking for guidance for a real estate newbie

John Douglass
Tampa, FL · Member since 2021 · 1 post · 2 votes

I just got my Florida real estate license not too long ago but I’m not sure where to start. I’m 19 years old, based out of the Tampa, Florida which currently has a very crazy market due to inflation and numerous other variables. I’ve been talking with different brokerages to join as an agent but I’m also interested in becoming an investor with owning my own rental properties. I’m not all that sure where or how to start. If anyone could give me some tips or just general guidance on what you suggest someone starts out with in real estate I would greatly appreciate it.

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Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
4y

Too many new agents who want to be investors make this mistake. You are trying to pull your future goals into now when you can safely build toward them. A brokerage is not going to serve you well if you go in at 19 thinking you just got your license to be an investor. Get trained on how to do the business, find a team in Tampa at a good brokerage (there are several) and learn everything about the business. At the same time, start going to local REI events (there are a lot in Tampa) and meet and connect and learn before asking anything of local investors. See where you can add value and know that just having a license adds no value to other investors, they know 100 agents, they need something else from you.

[email protected]Podcast Guest on Show BiggerPockets Daily 667: 5 Amazing Benefits Multifamily Investments Offer (That Single Family Homes Don’t) by Gino Barbaro
Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing59 Reviews
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  • Andrew Orton
    Lender · Tampa Florida · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 2 votes
    4y
    Quote from @John Douglass:

    I just got my Florida real estate license not too long ago but I’m not sure where to start. I’m 19 years old, based out of the Tampa, Florida which currently has a very crazy market due to inflation and numerous other variables. I’ve been talking with different brokerages to join as an agent but I’m also interested in becoming an investor with owning my own rental properties. I’m not all that sure where or how to start. If anyone could give me some tips or just general guidance on what you suggest someone starts out with in real estate I would greatly appreciate it.


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  • Andrew Orton
    Lender · Tampa Florida · Member since 2019 · 15 posts · 2 votes
    4y

    Hey John congratulations on your real estate license! I work with a lot and of different brokers in the tampa area as a loan officer, let’s connect and talk over these different brokers. 

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  • Joshua Noth
    Real Estate Agent · Austin, TX · Member since 2020 · 338 posts · 296 votes
    4y

    Hey @John Douglass, and congrats on the RE license.  Florida is a bustling market, but still plenty of room for you to succeed.  Finding a good brokerage that has similar goals as yourself is a great place to start.  Talk with different ones, find their commission splits, what types of caps they have, how hands on they are, etc.  Being an agent and an investor can go hand in hand - many of us do it.  Wishing you good luck!

    1Reply
  • Jonathan GreeneBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Madison, NJ · Member since 2016 · 6k+ posts · 7k+ votes
    4y

    Too many new agents who want to be investors make this mistake. You are trying to pull your future goals into now when you can safely build toward them. A brokerage is not going to serve you well if you go in at 19 thinking you just got your license to be an investor. Get trained on how to do the business, find a team in Tampa at a good brokerage (there are several) and learn everything about the business. At the same time, start going to local REI events (there are a lot in Tampa) and meet and connect and learn before asking anything of local investors. See where you can add value and know that just having a license adds no value to other investors, they know 100 agents, they need something else from you.

    [email protected]Podcast Guest on Show BiggerPockets Daily 667: 5 Amazing Benefits Multifamily Investments Offer (That Single Family Homes Don’t) by Gino Barbaro
    Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing59 Reviews
    WebsiteView Page
    1Reply
  • Luke Rorech
    Real Estate Agent · Greater Tampa Bay · Member since 2017 · 392 posts · 290 votes
    4y

    @John Douglass there are a number of local brokerages that work with investors. Reach out to them and see who may be a good fit for you moving forward. As @Jonathan Greene mentioned though, learn the business first and then your investing career will benefit down the line. @Jeff Copeland at Copeland Morgan, LLC has put together a solid team of agents with a focus on working with investors. Best of luck! You're miles ahead of where I was at 19 just by having an idea of the direction you want your career to go.

    1Reply
  • Nick Kamrada
    Investor · Tampa Bay · Member since 2021 · 21 posts · 12 votes
    4y

    @John Douglass Hey brother it really comes down to what you want to be. If you want to be an agent then getting your license and joining a brokerage is obviously the way to go, but if your end goal is to be an investor it's largely a distraction. Not that you can't be both, but if your end goal is to be an investor, don't think being an agent first is the best way to learn investing and get started. I thought the same thing at the very beginning of my journey which is why I'm telling you. I love helping out new investors, so feel free to PM me and I'd be happy to explain further. 

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  • Ben Nelson
    Specialist · Newberg, OR · Member since 2009 · 93 posts · 71 votes
    4y

    @John Douglass first congrats on getting in the game so young. You've got lots of time to figure things out, so don't feel rushed. :) I'd say you shouldn't look at being an agent or investor as things that have to be mutually exclusive. Many do both. Being licensed just to invest doesn't make sense, you should only be licensed if you plan on building a business as an agent as well (IMO). Use your real estate license and get some revenue coming in, and use your commissions to buy some investment properties along the way. You'll likely get the inside track on some deals from your normal broker activity as well. Being in the game on a daily basis helps you learn the market so that helps too. A big mistake I see is picking just the first one...sales...and never investing. Don't be an agent instead of being an investor, be an agent who invests!

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  • Michael Haynes
    Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2016 · 679 posts · 288 votes
    4y

    Hello John Douglas in Tampa. Again we have this question, "What should I do to start investing in Real Estate?" I fault BP for not being more specific with this. I had Rentals in South Tampa for thirty years and went through four Economic Bubbles bursting. I have to ask every Newbie if they own a Home? If not, then, why are you thinking of putting the Cart before the Horse? The safest thing to do is to find a fixer upper and make it your Home. Take advantage of all the First Time Home Buyer programs and make this your basic Business Plan. When you move into your Home, you start looking for a Deal on another fixer upper and you fix that one up to be a Rental. The Real Estate Law says that if you live in your Homesteaded Home for two out of five years, when you sell it, it is a Tax-free Sale of your Residence. Up to $250,000 of the profit is tax free. Then, you move into your Rental and do it again. Got it? There are youtube videos with BP on this subject  

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