Should I Get My Real Estate License Before My First House Hack?

Question

Hi everyone,

I’m 23 years old and planning to purchase my first house hack in Q3–Q4 of this year. I currently work full-time in cybersecurity (8–4) and also serve as a waiter on weekends (Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday during the day) to accelerate my down payment savings.

I’m considering getting my real estate license and would appreciate advice on whether this makes sense for my situation or if it’s something I should delay.

My interest in getting licensed is mainly for:

• Direct MLS access to improve deal analysis and underwriting on my own
• Potentially replacing my serving job over time with something more performance-based, where income scales with the value I provide
• Gaining experience and knowledge that could benefit me as both an investor and a buyer

The licensing course would begin in early February, meeting Monday and Wednesday from 6–9 PM (online), which is manageable with my current schedule. If I moved forward, I’d likely be licensed around the same time I plan to purchase my house hack.

For those who’ve been in a similar position:

• Did getting licensed help or distract you before your first deal?
• Would you recommend doing it now, waiting until after the first house hack, or skipping it altogether?
• Any pros/cons I should be thinking about given my timeline and workload?

Thanks in advance for any insights—I really appreciate the perspective of this community.

Bruce Lynn · Answer

I think getting your license to buy one house makes you, your own worst enemy. I mean you could go get your mortgage brokers license, HVAC, Electrical, Plumbing, and Insurance License too and save even more money. Depending on where you live, you don't need a license to access the MLS potentially. Also some brokers don't allow you to keep the commission on your first 1-3 transactions. They don't like the risk of taking on new agents who might just buy one property and quit. Some brokerages might charge you a "mentor" fee or "supervisory" fee on your first 3-4 transactions as for example Texas law requires you be supervised now, not just left to your own devices.

I say get a great realtor on your team, along with a lender, and a home inspector, an insurance agent and a contractor or 2 or 3. contractors.  Real estate is a team sport.  Get experts on your team.  Absolutely no reason to go at it alone.  Great experts will likely save you time, money, and a ton of expensive lessons vs doing it on your own.

Also depending on where you live, we may have free real estate courses available to you.  You can do them online, at your own pace, when you want to do them vs being tied down to specific hours.  I do encourage you to take the classes if you have the time and interest.  You can learn a lot if you want to.  They don't make you an expert, but they will help you feel more comfortable and have a better understanding of your transaction.

Marcus Auerbach · Answer

You could also get your plumbing license - that might even make you more money.

The funny thing is after you get licensed you realize you don't really know anything useful and everyone at the brokerage is looking at you this way. Without getting supervised on your first 10 deals you are a danger to yourself (and others), and the first 50 deals you'll still find yourself asking your mentor a lot.

financially speaking as a new agent you'll also be on a higher split, probably 50/50. So after splits, expenses, taxes and fees you are luckly if you are left with a couple grand.

Stuart Udis · Answer

@Mike Manchello A good real estate agent will be far more effective at helping you find your first property than trying to do it yourself simply because you have MLS access. Access alone doesn’t replace experience, relationships, or market awareness. Spend time networking and finding the agent you are most comfortable working with. That's a far better use of your time in preparation of purchasing your first property.

I’d also add that an agent who can only perform brokerage work in the evenings and on weekends is at a real disadvantage. Real estate is a time-sensitive business, and opportunities don’t wait for someone’s availability.

Personally, I prefer working with professionals who devote their full career and time to the business, rather than treating it as something they fit in around another job. Their services cost the same to utilize.

Janice Carter · Answer

You do not need a real estate license to be an investor or to complete your first house hack. Licensing can be helpful for MLS access and future income but it also adds time, costs and compliance obligations. Given your timeline and workload, I would recommend focusing on closing your first deal using an investor-savvy agent, then revisiting licensing after you have completed the house hack and have more clarity on your long-term strategy.

Tre DeBraga · Answer

whats up Mike,First of all I would say that there is nothing wrong with using an investment based realtor even if you have your license if they know much more than you and could get you in a better situation when buying.Also, you can definitely find deals on the MLS but most deals you are going to find that are home run deals are off market anyways.. And, anything you see on MLS you can likely see on zillow anyways. with that being said.. Why not get your license? It cant hurt. And, like you said you can work towards replacing your waiting job.I would just suggest until your actively doing deals with clients you hang your license with more of a small mom and pops type brokerage to save money on all the fees with the bigger brokerages.

Bruce Lynn · Answer

@Mike Manchello   If you work at a bank, often they won't allow you to hold a real estate license or practice real estate on the side, so you might want to check in with your compliance department about that.  Not sure why that it, but I've often heard they will make you give up your license.  Maybe some kind of liability there, or they don't want you prospecting customers from the bank or maybe some kind of RESPA compliance issue if they end up getting the loan.

I think it is a good idea to check to see what kind of discounts your bank will get you on the loan, but I also say shop around.  I've had many customers over the years tell me the exact same thing with several of the big banks, and it ended up not being a good deal.  So weird to me that the bank would not take care of their own employees, but seemed to use them as a profit center.  A couple of the big names were actually very expensive even when they would tell the employees they would waive this or that fee.  Their other fat fees just made up for the discounts.  So don't be afraid to shop around.  That's where great team members can save you big money.

Mike Manchello · Answer

@Bruce Lynn Definitely plan on shopping around but I thought it would be a good place to start. Thanks for the advice though I'll definitely meet with some lenders outside of the bank before deciding which one would give me the most favorable loan product and rate.

Mike Manchello · Answer

@Wale Lawal Hey thanks for that perspective Wale, I think for now due to my time constraints, I'm going to hold off on the license at least for my first house hack. Instead, I'm going to focus on building a solid team of an agent, lender and potentially some contractors in the case of forced appreciation opportunities. I could probably manage the course but I feel it would take away from my abolity to invest the necessary time and effort to actually purchase my first house hack by doing the proper due dilligence. Therefore, I appreciate your perspective and the valuable insights you shared.

Wale Lawal · Answer

@Mike Manchello

To be frank, you are actually in a favorable position whichever side you choose. I think the license that you get can turn out to be a huge plus for you if you make proper use of it with the MLS access, improved underwriting and the saving of commissions on your own house hack being the actual benefits but it can also become a hindrance if it diverts attention from getting that first deal through. Also I think in case purchasing the house hack is your primary objective for this year, I would consider the license as a means, not a new profession yet, go ahead if the time that you will spend on it will not slow down your savings, deal analysis, or execution and be very particular about how much you take on at the beginning.

Good luck!

Mike Manchello · Answer

@Bruce Lynn

I really appreciate the thoughtful reply. I agree that prioritizing my time and focusing on building a strong team makes the most sense at this stage while I’m learning the industry.

I’m based in Rhode Island and plan to purchase either in RI, MA, or near the RI–CT border, so I’ll start looking into local meetups and investor groups to begin making those early connections. I also work for a bank, so I may be eligible for a reduced mortgage rate as a colleague. I’ll be meeting with a lender soon to learn more, but I mainly wanted to get insight on whether pursuing an agent license now would be beneficial.

Like you mentioned, I see the value in surrounding myself with experienced professionals and learning from them rather than trying to do everything myself from scratch. Thanks again for taking the time to share your perspective — it was very helpful.

Should I Get My Real Estate License Before My First House Hack?

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