New investor looking to network from Northern VA

[Eric Ly]

Hello, all. My name is Eric and I have been a lurker for the past year or so. I am from Northern Virginia, a high cost of living area. I am a full time Physician, a Pediatric sub-specialist, and love my work. I read the White Coat Investor and Rich Dad, Poor Dad and have fallen down the Real Estate Rabbit Hole!

I have been gradually reading through the BiggerPockets library of published books, listening to the podcasts, lurking the forums, analyzing properties using the calculators for about a year or so. I am most interested in buy-and-hold rentals, but I am amenable to all strategies.

I am looking to network with: other investors in my general area, contractors, sub-contractors, and generally like-minded people. I am also looking to get in touch with some Part-time Real Estate agents. I have started a Virginia real estate pre-licensure course and am considering getting fully licensed to either facilitate my own deals, or possibly have some part-time work on the side. 

I always want to practice medicine, so I never intend on going full-time into real estate. I'd like to network with those who are in a similar circumstance where they love their full-time career and are a part-time real estate agent, or have their own license to facilitate their investing. Which brokerages have you chosen? There are some virtual brokerages that have caught my eye, but I'm not totally sure what the best route is. Are there any other low-cost brokerages I should be considering? Suggestions on mentors?

Thanks all and take care!

Eric

[Russell Brazil]

You are in one of the most competitive markets in the country. Tons of properties are being traded off market between the top agents. Deals are getting done on the market by reputation. 

I was a part time agent for 10 years. There is almost no value in being a part time agent unless you plan to go full time at some point. It is thousands of dollars a year to maintain your license, and youre going to be competing when writing offers against some of the best agents in the country. 

[Julio Gonzalez]

Hi Eric, welcome to BiggerPockets! You found the right place for information.

[Douglas McCullough]

Eric,

Congratulations on jumping into the real estate game. I am a real estate investor/home inspector that lives in your area (Alexandria, VA) I actually just became a Bigger Pockets member not long ago but have been listening to the podcasts and reading books by the commentators for a long time. I work with a lot of fellow investors and also some of the larger property management companies. Feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions I can help you with. I work in Northern VA, parts of DC, and travel further out for my rock star agents that need me to.

Congratulations again, you've come to the right place. 

Doug

[Drew Sygit]

You'll want to find a brokerage that can support your investment goals.

[Martin Smith]

Eric, 

Welcome! I'm a realtor in your area (licensed in DC, MD, and VA). I want to second what Russell Brazil said above - this area is very competitive, and especially given that we span three different licensing jurisdictions within just a few miles, the costs just to maintain your license(s) as active can get into the thousands of dollars each year, very fast.

That's a bit of the catch-22 of doing this type of work part time in this area - you'd likely be relying on friends and family, plus a very small client base. That actually makes it more important to have all three licenses, because you don't want to lose one of the smaller number of clients you DO have just because they are shopping across the border from where you are licensed. Ironically, that also makes it more costly to stay part time - a full time agent can choose to only work in one, or perhaps two, of the jurisdictions and forgo the expenses of the other license(s) more easily. 

Feel free to reach out anytime if there's anything I can do to help :)

-Martin

[Nate Sanow]

Welcome to BP and best wishes.  

[Ika Sargeant]

@Eric Ly Welcome, this is certainly of better platforms with investors and people who work in real estates in varying degrees.

We certainly are in an expensive market here in NOVA but there  is now a shift and some

opportunities will open. While I agree that being an agent allows you to learn a lot, I am not sure been a part time agent is the best thing. The demands of the job especially when you start can be a lot, and not to mention the money you spend to keep your license active. If you do decide to do it, think of what your goal is. If you plan to help others buy, then you might want to keep an eye for brokerages that provide a lot of training. But if this is just for you, then may be consider virtual ones, if the costs are minimal.

[Amanda Brickell]

Hi Eric,

Welcome to BP! I am impressed with all you have done during your lurking phase while still working fulltime. I am in a similar boat- binging BP books and podcasts, and living in a high cost of living area. I live outside of DC in Montgomery Country MD but have been looking all over maryland and virginia for potential areas of focus. I am also connecting with people in the area. We can help each other succeed as we learn. 

I am curious:

What book/podcast/resource have you found to be the most helpful in your learning process? 

For me it has been the Rookie podcast and a WREIN (women's real estate investors network) course. Hearing other people's journeys, fears, struggles, and triumphs really has helped me get into a REI mindset and to believe its possible for me to succeed.