Should I get my real estate license??

Question

Hello… a little about me so you can understand where i’m coming from.

I invest in Lancaster PA area.

I am 20 years old I bought my first single family rental 1 1/2 years ago. and i am settling on 3 townhouses at the end of this month. I was able to afford the town houses(400k) by paying off my first single family, and refinancing, with my job as a plumber making 60-70k. I am self managing and planning on doing that on all my rentals considering i am competent in construction and the business side.

I would like to BRRR my next property(and live in it) in the next year or 2, and continuing to BRRRR to build a portfolio. and i would like to find properties that need a good amount of rehab, doing what I can myself considering my job is flexible and again I am competent in construction.

I have been considering getting my real estate licenses online, but don’t know if it would even be worth it for me to do that? would i be able to be the agent on my own deals? what kind of deals would i find on the MLS? or is it just better to find deals on the market? I am mostly looking for a better way to find deals in the future and i thought maybe getting my license now while i am not as busy might help me down the road.

Bear with me i am very much a beginner and i am open too any information you might have that could potentially help me, i would greatly appreciate that.

Thank you in advance! If there is anything i could do to benefit you let me know, i am very passionate about real estate and want to learn it all!

Account Closed · Answer

Looks like you're makin' the grade, man. I wouldn't change anything except join a REIA ($20 a month type group) where you can learn more and meet people. Don't pay big bucks for a guru, you don't need one. I've been at this for a long time. I am not a real estate agent. I always represent myself on my side of the sale. The only thing you would have access to is the local MLS. However, Redfin.com may be active in your area and if so, they cover most of the listings anyway.

Patricia Steiner · Answer

Please don't represent yourself in a real estate transaction.  As a buyer, you pay no commissions so why not add bench strength by adding an investor-focused realtor to your team.  Real estate is a complex business; more investors fail than succeed.  Seek and surround yourself with those who know more than you...and beware of those who claim they do.  Look for who is representing investors in your market and meet with him/her.  Share your vision and get input.  Then team up and get it done. The realtor will bring resources that will take you forever to find and vet.  A real estate license won't give you anything - it's the experience that you gain from actually being in the business and those related ones like financing, insurance, construction, and more.  Even the most seasoned/successful/largest real estate developers/investors have trusted advisors.  Why would you want less?

Bottom line:  when you're the smartest person in the room, leave.

Sawyer Martin · Answer

@Patricia Steiner Thank you for taking the time to help me! i signed up for 2 local real estate groups on the meetup app and i am going to try to go to as many meetups as possible. As far as that i am not too sure on how to get into a room with people smarter than me, but thanks again i will do my best!

Sawyer Martin · Answer

@Mike Hern Thank you for your help!