Rental Property Investor · Denver, CO · Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 9 votes
Hi all! I’m relatively new at this, have been doing tons of learning and saving and am getting myself ready for my first deal.
Going all-in and committing to REI so my question is: about how long does it take to study for the real estate exam (I'm in northern VA and would be looking to purchase here)? Thoughts on getting my license now or waiting until I have more time/a property or two under my belt before pursuing that?
In terms of the timing of getting your license, it may be worth it to wait until you have a property or two, just to make sure you really are set on this being your path forward. Not to say it won't be, but as with a lot of things, the day-to-day can be a lot different than what you see from the outside. You'll also want to consider the cost of maintaining your license (can vary, but as a data point, I spent about $4k last year just on broker fees, MLS dues, etc) vs what the savings would be. If you're buying/selling a property every year, it probably would be worth it. Maybe even one every 2-3 years would break even. Other than that, you may be losing money. One last thought (then I promise I'm done!), is that as an agent, you have extra restrictions that you don't as just an investor that might not make it worth it.
I guess what it really comes down to is....what benefits would you be looking for from becoming an agent?
@Emily Smith Hey Emily, I’ll be taking the State exam in a few days. It’s 60 hours of pre-license class and then 30 hours of post license classes. I used Real Estate Express and did it all online at my own pace (took me about 3 months) but can be done a lot sooner. You can also do the 60 hour class in person with Moseley or one of these other providers.
I used the basic real estate express option and was great. You work your way through the module and take a quiz at the end of each section. At the very end of the course there is practice final exam and then the real final exam. With all quiz and practice exams they give you the answers and you can study and know what you did wrong. That helped me a ton. I would recommend Real Estate Express. Good luck!
Also, youtube has practice questions ( at least for the Florida ) that you can watch and learn. No cost.
For the math, practice before the exam. The calculations are simple as long as you know how to work the problems.
Great, thank you both for your input! As far as timeline of getting my license, would you say I'd benefit in pursuing that sooner rather than later, or should I wait until I have my first property under my belt?
In terms of the timing of getting your license, it may be worth it to wait until you have a property or two, just to make sure you really are set on this being your path forward. Not to say it won't be, but as with a lot of things, the day-to-day can be a lot different than what you see from the outside. You'll also want to consider the cost of maintaining your license (can vary, but as a data point, I spent about $4k last year just on broker fees, MLS dues, etc) vs what the savings would be. If you're buying/selling a property every year, it probably would be worth it. Maybe even one every 2-3 years would break even. Other than that, you may be losing money. One last thought (then I promise I'm done!), is that as an agent, you have extra restrictions that you don't as just an investor that might not make it worth it.
I guess what it really comes down to is....what benefits would you be looking for from becoming an agent?
I do not know your licensing requirements. One positive thing about your license is you get the commission if you purchase MLS listed properties. This has saved me thousands.
I recommend you take the licensing course through Real Estate U. It is very good and only $99 for the full course. They are the cheapest and the best, literally. @Emily Smith
@Emily Howlett All great points to consider. The costs of maintaining the license are the biggest caveat that I'm looking at currently - trying to poll around my area and see what the average costs are. As far as extra restrictions for licensed agents, what issues have you run into?
@Brandon DeVega Thank you for the recommendation! I'll look into Real Estate U
Sorry....extra restrictions may not have been the best way to word it. A better way to phrase it would be that you have extra requirements as an agent. Specifically I'm thinking of all the disclosures such as that you're an agent licensed in that state (some people really just don't like agents) and being held to a higher standard in protecting the interest of other parties (which should be standard for everyone, but for some people that would be an issue). Brandon Turner did a good blog post that you might find interesting and give extra perspective.