Good Evening,

I would like to become a real estate investor, but at the moment I do not have the money or the capital. I'm active duty military and going on deployment very soon..I thought it would be a good time to start the process of becoming a real estate agent to work my way up in the real estate field. I'm located in Jacksonville, FLA and I was wondering if anyone could recommend good schools or advice. Thanks!

Hi Cintia, 

I'm not from the Jacksonville area, but I felt I got a great start on my licencing education starting online. Not only is it flexible, it's going to be easier to start, why you are on active duty. Praedo Institute is a great choice.

https://www.praedo.com/

@Cintia Chicon what state do you want to end up working in? As an active duty military member, you may not know where you will be right? I would start with the end in mind. "Where do you want to end up when  you are out of the military? 

Thanks Matt! I will look into that. And most likely Florida John.

@Cintia Chicon

You can find good schools online. I highly recommend Larson Education. I have attended their brick and mortar locations and they are by far the best. As to investing, remember OPM is the key. It is OK if you don't have money to invest (it will come) but in the meantime use OPM such as from banks, friends, family, etc. 

Hey Cintia, 

I'm a Veteran too and you don't need much money to get started in real estate investing because we get a VA loan which is guaranteed by the govt. 0percent down 3.5 interest up to $424k in most areas (I believe in Jacksonville anyway), $636k for bigger markets (NYC, LA, etc). Unlike most mortgages we don't need PMI or mortgage insurance, and are exempt from property tax. All you need is about a 620 credit score and have a stable income for atleast a year. Any bank, even your personal bank where your les is deposited every 1st and 15th can give you the loan. But you can only use one at a time, but you can split it between properties. Ex: you can have 2 separate properties in 2 different market areas that equal up to $424k. Property 1:$200k property 2: $240k. Disclaimer, there's also a weird situation with some lenders that'll allow you to borrow past the max of $424k or $636k but you'd need to pay 20percent of the overage. This can vary by lender but you need to know you can atleast ask about purchasing over the maximum. Also if you need assistance with cleaning up your credit call Veterans United Lighthouse program and they have a free specialist who'll monitor and give you a financial plan for free, cause we're are Veterans. If you have anymore questions or know any other Veterans please don't hesitate reach out to me.

👇👇👇

as for becoming a Realtor, that's actually different from a licensed real estate salesperson. You could use the GI Bill or Voc-rehab to pay for an online course for the real estate salesperson license (I believe it's a 63hr class) you finish on your own time. Then you take a proctored exam, pass that and take the state exam. After that your a real estate agent and also exempt for the continued education requirements because you're active duty. A Realtor is a member of a club of real estate professionals that pay dues and lobby Congress. You don't need to be Realtor unless you're looking for networking opportunities.

@Cintia Chicon , welcome to BP! I started my Navy career in Jacksonville and I still own property there. I got licensed through the Bob Hogue School of Real Estate (online) and I highly recommend it. You can get through the school while you're deployed and take the license exam when you return. 

@Cintia Chicon - getting licensed is the first step and that works a little different in every state. It gives you the necessary ceditials to join a brokerage and start your real education.

Most people (inclusing myself) have a litle bit of a romatisized idea what life as an agent is like. Sounds like lots of free time, showing some nice homes and getting accepted offers and big paychecks, right? 

Let me pop that bubble. It's not that easy: you can have a lot of free time, but then there is not much of a paycheck. What you will find is that about 10% of the agents do 80% of the business, then you have some that do okay and the vast majority is doing 3 deals a year or less. It's not an easy job and to be in the top 10% you have to work very hard. I believe I have read an article from the NRA that said the average income of a real estate agent in the US is $26k a year (it might have been 28k, I have to look it up). Most people give up after the first year. 

I am a full time agent now for almost a year and I start to understand why, because I see it all around me every day. Fortunatley things are going good for me. I got lucky to sign up with a national brokerage who offers lots of training. Most brokerages will say they do that and hook you up with an experienced agent to shadow them. Reality is the good agents are busy and they don't have too much time... Spending enough time on training, roleplay and practice in the beginning is definitley critical. It took me about half a year to build some momentum and thanks to the support that I have I am well on my way to 40 deals in year one. I have to ad that I work at least 6 days a week, and often 12 hours. (But, okay I have to admit, I also took 5 vacation trips with my wife since I left the corporate world lol).

I have been an investor since 2010, but I am only an agent since 2016, so its a very fresh experience for me. I am happy to share how it went, what I have learned along the way and what I would do differently today. Feel free to PM or call me!

@Marcus Auerbach  I am thinking of getting my license here in Ohio-do you work a lot with investors (that is where my interest lies)? I am wondering where to start networking with investors once I am licensed.

@Sarah Bojorquez oh well, where to start? There are so many ways.. Let me zoom out a bit and ask you this: Why do you want to work with investors in the first place?

Truth being told, most investors are not agent friendly, but they are looking for an investor friendly agent. Kind of ironic!? Makes it sound like all other agents are unfriendly. They are not, they have just lower hanging fruit that is much jucier.

What most agents realize is that it is much easier to help a family buy a new $500,000 home and sell their $300,000 home - as opposed to working with an investor to buy a $80,000 property. That's 10 times more comission for basically the same amount of work (sometimes less)!  Your paycheck makes you rethink your strategy real quick!

The reason I work with investors is that it's my passion. I am an investor, I love to share what I have learned as an investor myself, I personally benefit from the networking with other investors and it's repeat business. Investor deals make about half of my volume, but that equates only to a small portion of my income.

When I started with KW my instinct was to reinvent the wheel, because I did not understand that they have it allready laid out, tested and optimized for me and were willing to spoonfeed the necessary knowledge to me. All I had to do is follow the plan and it really works well.

I guess my best advice for you is to become an investor yourself and grow your own business. It will benefit you personally, but it will then also naturally bring you business. And it feels great if you can help someone to get started and you see them grow and become successful. That's emotionally very rewarding and helps you overlook the size of your paycheck a little.

Thank you that was exactly what I was looking for!