Should I become a real estate agent

Question

Hi everyone. I’m a new aspiring real estate investor in Southeast Michigan. I’ve been doing a great deal of research and actively trying to land my first deal concentrating on the acquisition of single family residences. I’m seriously considering obtaining my real estate license, but I don’t want to necessarily take on another “job” as I already have full time employment in another field. I simply want access to the MLS. My question is as an agent would I still have to work under a real estate broker to have access to the MLS and how much or little would I be required to work?

Christopher Phillips · Answer

@Devon Locust

If you just want access to the MLS it’s not worth the money to become an agent. All MLS listings end up on the major sites. You are only missing minor things on the listings that the sites don’t include because it’s too much info - None of it is for decision making in most cases.

Getting a license and maintaining it is expensive if you don’t plan on working as an agent. You have to pay for prep courses and for the test. Then you have renewal fees and continuing education you have to buy.

Mostly, you will pay around $600 to $800 per year to be a member of the local board of Realtors and you’ll have to pay your office a monthly technology fee and or desk fee.

The test material will not teach you how to be an investor. The material is mostly centered around things like rules and regulations, fair housing, ethics, and license related material.

There is almost zero math. So, no deal analysis.

Anything you would need to learn about investing is mostly outside the scope of having a license. Anything you need to learn about working with buyers and sellers is after you join a broker and that’s assuming they offer training. Not all brokers offer training. Some will offer coaching or mentorship, which you have to pay for. So, the cheaper office you try to join because you’re an investor, the less help you will get trying to get your investing going.

It’s also very difficult for a part timer to make money.

John Padilla · Answer

@Russell Brazil hi is it possible to share some of 3rd party sites - appreciate your reply/ post

Michael Kiley · Answer

@Devon Locust, if you get a license, finding a broker to sponsor you will be no problem. I think getting your real estate license is a great idea! You will definitely learn a lot in the process of getting it. It gives you access to the MLS. You will be able to see the hottest properties as soon as they hit the market and not have to wait for a Realtor to be available to schedule a showing. And last but certainly not least, you earn a commission every time you personally buy (and sell) a property. If you're in this for a while, that could really amount to a lot of money. Just figure you will need to sell one property per year to pay your annual license expenses.

Russell Brazil · Answer

Yes you still need to be under a broker.

Maintaining a license costs thousands of dollars per year. Just to have MLS access it ia not worth it. Heck Im a full time top producing agent and I dont even use the MLS that much. I use 3rd party sites a lot more.

Devon Locust · Answer

@Christopher Phillips Thank you so much for this very detailed response. I greatly appreciate your insight. Although I'm still working towards obtaining my license, the information and suggestions made gives me new perspective as I move forward making business and education decisions.

Devon Locust · Answer

@Michael Kiley Thanks so much for your input! Although I am leaning more towards getting a license because I love acquiring knowledge it’s still really great to get various view points on this discussing the pros and cons.

Devon Locust · Answer

Russell,

Your response is intriguing. Thanks so much for your input.

Should I become a real estate agent

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