I am currently looking into real estate investing and i keep hearing that getting your real estate licence is a good start for you. It that true or would i be better off going another route?

I think getting your real estate license certainly does not hurt anything. You learn quite a bit about RE and the laws in your area, you'll network with many buyer and sellers and other agents, you have access to the MLS and you'll have an early look at listings. Why not?

Pros, MLS access, networking, save on commissions,

Cons  Expensive (around 2.5K for me in Chattanooga), slightly less freedom in deal making because of required disclosures and prohibition on talking to represented parties.  

depends on what you're trying to do.

I buy in a state where seller pays closing costs, and I've only bought assets never sold. my realtor is a KILLER as well so MLS access is moot. Having an RE license would be an expensive waste of resources for me

but if you have a different strategy, it can be incredibly useful. As you learn more and develop your goals, it'll become more apparent if you need one.

I certainly wouldn't START with getting a RE license.

Originally posted by @Alexander Felice :

depends on what you're trying to do.

I buy in a state where seller pays closing costs, and I've only bought assets never sold. my realtor is a KILLER as well so MLS access is moot. Having an RE license would be an expensive waste of resources for me

but if you have a different strategy, it can be incredibly useful. As you learn more and develop your goals, it'll become more apparent if you need one.

I certainly wouldn't START with getting a RE license.

Buying in a state where seller pays is fairly normal but as an agent when I buy I still get a cut of that back as a commission.

@Jeffrey Holst Don’t you already have access to the MLS or is it different when you get your license.

Public mls shows active listings but not all the supporting data, past listings for comps, or the agent notes.  Plus you get some additional resources as a realtor.

It's a personal decision for each individual.  I myself don't have one due to some of the regs and requirements I don't have to otherwise deal with.  That said, you can make a pretty nice chunk buying big assets which we do a couple times per year so I made my wife get her license so we could run deals through her.