Real estate license while stationed abroad
Hey guys,
Question about access to the MLS from out of state:
My home state is Florida, as far as taxes are concerned.
I'm stationed in Germany with the military.
Can I maintain a real estate license for a state while stationed abroad?
Whenever I go on leave I try to go home and shop for/ get investment properties, or so far it has been the goal (covid constraints have gotten in the way this year). We've got two condos renting right now. The license would really be to stay up to date with the market, and I think that I'd learn a lot by obtaining it.
Any guidance would be appreciated!
Justin
Yes, battle buddy. You don't have to live there to hold a license.
However, you'll need an active license to access the MLS, by that means you'll have to find a brokerage to hang your license and pay for the MLS. For sure you can learn a lot from the classes, especially about transition, laws, and RE fundamentals.
But also, you don't have to have MLS access to keep updated. Redfin, Zillow, etc. are actually pulling data from most data from MLS. Maintaining a license does cost some money, it is not necessary when you're not trying to practice as an agent.
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@Justin K. You can do it. Maybe you can also sell real estate virtually and earn referral fees. You refer your friends, family, coworkers to agents stateside or with the right brokerage, refer them worldwide and earn a small cut.
@Justin K. Hey brother! I'm active duty here in Florida, and even if I PCS, I'd stay licensed here. Like @Bruce Lynn said, yes you can, and as a military member, you can refer friends/family to other agents and earn 25-35% commission when they close. Do be aware, you should do your homework on agents you refer friends to, because that can bite you in the butt... it's happened to me a handful of times. But now I know what questions to ask! I'm able to refer nationally almost instantly. I received 3 referral clients myself just this week.
From afar, you'll want to keep your expenses down but value high. Having a built in referral network is helpful. You can also partner with an agent that can be your boots on the ground for you should you want to put offers in and do virtual walk throughs on investment properties from afar. I closed two transactions as a new agent while deployed by giving 20% to an agent I partnered with to be the boots on the ground while I handled everything else. Anything is possible with the right support.
You can also look for an option that actually provides support, tools, training, but also lets you keep 100% commission on your own personal deals (including investments). Best of both worlds!
Also if you're considering it, I took the Azure Tide course with a $50 Groupon (no joke, Florida is wild). Test was a breeze.
Hope that helps! Crush it.
Thank you all for contributing!
Come January I'll knock out the license. Good ideas about helping people find places before they pcs... that'll be helpful and it might be a way to make some extra cash!
Take care, justin