Looking for some advice on starting up in the RE world.
I'm reaching out for some advice.
Some background, I'm in Northern Virginia, I'm currently working at a restaurant. I have been there for 18 years and have helped grow the business from $800K up to $1.4M The owner doesn't need to go in, and I've been at a point for years where I also don't have to go in, its been that way for quite some time. I still go in, but I'm not tied to the store. From hiring, firing, payroll, to daily book keeping, I've done it all. We were trying to buy another restaurant but have run into one bad deal after another. We are good with money and know when a deal isn't right. It's better to wish you were in a deal vs wish you were out! With that being said, I've had real estate related ideas in the back of my head for quite some time now. In fact we already have a rental and plan on buying another home soon which will end up being turned into another rental. After the last restaurant deal died. I've been thinking long and hard about shifting my effort to selling homes and or managing rentals.
I'm 34, married, and have 2 kids, we've always kept our spending in line where we can live off one income. as is, if I start anything, I do not need to make a single dime to make ends meet. In order to manage properties in VA I need to get my realtor licenses. However, if I get my realtor licenses, I think it would be silly not to also sell homes.
With that being said, do you feel it would be better if I were to get into real estate and focus on selling homes, or managing properties and not both? Maybe start with selling homes and once that gets a little bit of traction work on picking up managing a handful of properties on the side?
I'm super thankful that I'm in a position where I don't need to be making money out of the gate and can ease into things. I'm also thankful that we do have money saved which was meant for another restaurant so if need be I can hit the ground with both feet running with a solid budget behind me. My main issue is I'm not sure where to start! I'm also not sure if I were to get a job working under a broker if they would even allow their agents to manage properties on the side. Maybe a conflict of interest
Lastly, if I were to sell homes, what is the best way to find a company/broker that is a good fit for me? Do I interview them? lol
Thanks for any feedback.