Newbie needing advice: Real Estate License?

Question

Hi everyone :)

I am new to bigger pockets and can't express how excited I am to embark on this journey of real estate investing. My friend recommended I join this site and use all the amazing tools and resources it has to offer - so here I am today.

I've been contemplating getting my real estate license. I have a full-time job that I plan to keep until this proves lucrative enough to pursue full-time. I figure it'd be a great way to learn more about the industry and also close some deals on the side for extra income to invest (my career is sales, so I figure the skills would transfer well). I've heard some people say I should stay away from getting the license due to higher liability or a stigma with buyers/sellers not wanting to work with an agent, while I've read others saying it's great to have due to the access to valuable resources.

What do y'all think or advise? Thank you for your reply!

James Wise · Answer

It really is. That's how I started. Getting licensed on the side just for my own deals........$125M+ in investor sales later I still feel like it was the best decision I've ever made.

James Wise · Answer

Get the license. Anyone who thinks buyers & sellers will stay away from a licensed individual due to stigma is an idiot. In reality it's actually the opposite. They feel more comfortable knowing you are a licensed individual. Makes them feel like they are working with an expert. Now to be fair  though in reality there is an annual real estate agent turnover rate of 80%-90% so the majority of agents are definitely not experts lol.

Bill Plymouth · Answer

@Mariah Destruel the whole reason I became an agent was to learn about investing.  A lot of brokerages won’t teach you about working with investors because they are a small pool of buyers compared to the general population.  Getting my license gave me some decent education about the laws in my state, gave me a reason to get in front of investors, and opened doors to some pretty interesting opportunities.

All of these things could have been done WITHOUT my license.  Although, I believe having my license made the process a bit faster.  I also love having MLS access.

It really depends on your goals.  You have to have passion for agency, not just real estate, to be a successful agent.  You can’t just be a “people person”.   I personally found agency tedious.  I much prefer being an investor with my license as a supplement.

Dennis Cosgrave · Answer

At the beginning, I had the same idea and I went ahead and got it. Unfortunately, it did not work in my favor. In many jurisdictions, when you make an offer on a property and you are a licensed agent, you are required to disclose that on the offer. Sellers automatically assume that you know more about the property than they do, so therefore it must be worth more than the price you are offering. They would invariably counter with a full asking price. I found that it was better for me to go through another agent. The education I received was well worth taking the course. The license itself; not so much.

Vance Courtney · Answer

@Mariah Destruel

Honestly, you don't need to go the real estate license route.  If you want to earn money while learning about the market from an investment point of view, you could go the wholesaling route.  This allows you to earn money and to learn about investing with little to no money upfront.

This is just one option, there are others but I believe a realtor route is just an option that everyone is familiar with.  With wholesaling, you learn the cash buyer market (aka investor market) and not the retail market as an agent (aka homebuyers market).  You want to know what a good investment is, what a distressed property really is and the different levels of repair.  As an agent you wouldn't be dealing with investments, you would generally be dealing with homebuyers (either seller or buyer).  There are agents that deal with investments but just know you don't need to get a license to learn the market as an investor.

Mariah Destruel · Answer

@James Wise

Thank you for your input. Yeah, I've decided to go ahead and pursue the license. It seems to be a no-brainer!

Mariah Destruel · Answer

Thank you so much for all of the advice and input, it has helped a ton!

@Vance Courtney @Dennis Cosgrave @Bill Plymouth

Mariah Destruel · Answer

@Vance Courtney - I thought about getting the license to leverage my sales skills to generate some side income for investing. I also figured it'd be a great way to learn more about the industry through experience and have access to tools that I otherwise wouldn't have access to.

Vance Courtney · Answer

First, ask yourself WHY you need it?  What's the reason why you thought about getting the license in the first place?  As I am sure you know and have read, Real Estate Investing != Real Estate Agent and of course vice versa.  Let us know why you think you want/need it.

Newbie needing advice: Real Estate License?

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