Hello BP Community, from a useless broker in Los Angeles

Hello BP Community, from a useless broker in Los Angeles

Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 95 posts · 52 votes

I was about to post a general question regarding my brokers license but realized I probably need to provide a bit of my context in order to appropriately convey the question I have so I figured I'd introduce myself as I have been lurking for some time.  The question is, "What should I be doing with my brokers license?"

A little about myself: My name is Joe from Los Angeles.  I have been working in the corporate finance world for the last 14 years in various industries.  When I'm not spending my time at my full time job, I'm spending time with my beautiful wife and 2 young boys.  I've always been fascinated with real estate but haven't really been active as an investor.

My wife and I don't make a ton of money (relative to Los Angeles), but we are relatively frugal and are able to slowly save.  We bought our first house near the peak of the market in 2005 and saw it decline 50% in value by 2009.  As rough as that was, we continued to live there until we just sold in January of this year virtually at the same price we bought back in 2005 (at least we recouped our down payment and principle payments made).  We also bought our first and only rental in 2012.

My current sentiment is that prices seem fairly high in my area and I am reluctant to buy/hold another rental right now.  I'm willing to buy a primary residence but am having a hard time finding something I'm happy with in this low-inventory environment.  That being said, I am currently thinking about out-of-state investing, flips, private lending, etc.  BP has been a great resource to learn and read different perspectives I normally would not cross paths with.  

I got my California brokers license about 7 years ago (before the sales experience requirement) and haven't used it once!  I know it seems like a waste but my intent was to get it before having kids and that I would eventually use it sometime in the future.  My wife also got her sales license earlier this year.  We really have no plan on how to leverage our licenses but wanted to see if anybody might have some recommendations on how a dual income family with little time to spare can make use of our licenses that are collecting dust at this point.  Eventually my plan was for us to do our own deals going forward but I wanted to gauge the community here to see if there could be other options we have.

I appreciate any feedback and also wanted to provide an introduction.  Thanks BP!

--Joe

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Real Estate Broker · Redwood City, CA · Member since 2014 · 679 posts · 888 votes
9y
If you have a full time job, donot join other brokerage. They normally require a desk fee and a split on any deals you do. Since you are a broker, you can do deals by yourself. I got my broker license a few years ago and used it exclusively for my own investment. About 15 transaction. Also helped a number of my friends buy their home in 2013, and refunded them all the buyer side commission. The license is really valuable. Good luck.
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  • Dave VisayaPro Member
    Moderator
    Audio Engineer and Investor · Cebu City, Cebu · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 881 votes
    9y

    Hello @Joe J., welcome to the site! Here are some good places to start: http://www.biggerpockets.com/meet- find and connect with other BP members that are in your area.

    http://www.biggerpockets.com/alerts - Set up keyword alerts to be notified of the topics that interest you.
    And, of course the
    http://www.biggerpockets.com/forums - ask any question about real estate!
    See you around!

    BiggerPockets
  • Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 95 posts · 52 votes
    9y

    Hi @Dave Visaya.  The first link doesn't seem to work.  Thanks for the warm welcome!

  • Lee RipmaPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Prairie Village, KS · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    9y

    @Joe J.

    I know there are a lot of RE agents that want to invest or would like to have an independent business. You could let folks use you as their broker on deals for a very small fee. Either flat rate or a percent of commission. My understanding is that if you work for one of the big RE firms they take 40-50% of your commission. You could offer a lot less then that. You could also partner up with other investors and use your brokers fee to get a small share of equity in their deals. I'm not an agent nor do I know too much about this but those seem like potential avenues! 

  • Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 95 posts · 52 votes
    9y
    Lee Ripma Great suggestions Lee. I have thought about some of those options. I guess it's just a matter of networking and creating relationships. I'm hoping to be a bit more active on that front.
  • Rental Property Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 62 posts · 18 votes
    9y

    Hi @Joe J.. I have a pretty similar situation as you. I first obtained my brokers license six years ago and, like you, have yet to use it even once. However, I've been more active as an investor for the past few months now and what I can say is that having access to the MLS has been an indefensible tool for me; not only for sourcing new deals (for whatever few good deals that are actually on the MLS), but also searching recent sales for comps. Even when scooping up a property from a wholesaler, having access to the information on the MLS is golden. For someone who is coming from corporate finance, I'm sure data analytics is important to you. Also, being able to directly and quickly communicate with a listing agent has been a great benefit for me, rather than having to go through a buyer's agent first. When you get to the point of writing multiple offers a day, you'll see the value in this.

    As far as out-of-state investing goes, I too have given this serious consideration as the market in LA is not beneficial to my real estate goals. Have yet to start doing much research, but it's something I'm certainly going to explore more of and try to see how much I can handle while still living in LA myself. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any questions! 

  • Flipper/Rehabber · Houston, TX · Member since 2016 · 108 posts · 19 votes
    9y
    I could set you up with with a meeting at one of our Keller Williams offices out there. Send me a pm.
  • Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 95 posts · 52 votes
    9y

    @Sam M.

    Good to know. I currently don't have an MLS account but will have to look into that in the future. Data analytics is very important to me (sometimes to my detriment). I am naturally very conservative and have the "gift" of finding the bad in any deal and talking myself out of many opportunities. I am trying to take baby steps to change that going forward. What kind of deals are you looking to do these days? Just curious to get the perspective of another LA investor in today's real estate environment.

    @Broaderick Brown

    I am actually not thinking of joining a brokerage right now, but who knows what the future holds.  For now, I'm going to continue to do the Corporate thing until I come up with a clearer plan on what I want to do.  Appreciate the help!

  • Real Estate Broker · Redwood City, CA · Member since 2014 · 679 posts · 888 votes
    9y
    If you have a full time job, donot join other brokerage. They normally require a desk fee and a split on any deals you do. Since you are a broker, you can do deals by yourself. I got my broker license a few years ago and used it exclusively for my own investment. About 15 transaction. Also helped a number of my friends buy their home in 2013, and refunded them all the buyer side commission. The license is really valuable. Good luck.
  • West Hollywood, CA · Member since 2016 · 235 posts · 72 votes
    9y

    Welcome to Bigger Pockets @Joe J.

    I'm not very familiar with how you can leverage your license except for slowly but surely becoming an expert in your neighborhood or field will help or being a great source for referrals for other agents and brokers. Since moving to LA 2 years ago, I have been able to refer a few clients to top agents because I became a guy that liked connecting quality people.

    Now, I have CA agents and brokers like you, coming to me with clients looking to invest out of state. I wish I had a better answer for you, but I would use the limited resources you have as well as possible and look for the long term not just in the next few years.

    - Brad

  • Investor · Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2017 · 95 posts · 52 votes
    9y

    @David Song

    Thanks for the feedback.  I'm anticipating leverage the license in the future similar to how you have done so.

    @Bradley De comarmond

    I am continuing to learn a handful of neighborhoods around me and will continue to expand that to other areas as well.  I definitely see a trend of a lot of Angelinos looking out of state.

  • Surveyor · Hemet, CA · Member since 2015 · 797 posts · 112 votes
    9y

    Welcome to bigger pockets from Southern California!

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