Real Estate Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 1 vote
10y
You might find an investor friendly realtor at your local REI group.
Once they list a few properties for you they know helping you find a property to re-hab is a good investment of there time. Searching for bargain properties is not really profitable for them. Selling re-habbed properties may be.
Investor · New Haven, CT · Member since 2012 · 285 posts · 175 votes
10y
I Put an add on craigslist stating that I wanted MLS access in exchange for using them on all my transactions. I've created a great relationship with a realtor for 7 years now.
Real Estate Coach · New Zealand / USA · Member since 2014 · 296 posts · 82 votes
10y
@Ryan Smith - do you attend REIA's in your location? Often there are Realtors who attend to get business for themselves, eventually they become familiar with the investor situation and become investors themselves. These are good people to approach!
Failing that, try talking to your local "Investor Friendly" Title, Escrow or Attorney's. They may also know of these realtors.
Real Estate Coach · New Zealand / USA · Member since 2014 · 296 posts · 82 votes
10y
@Ryan Smith - anyone who's in the investing or "associated trades" businesses are good to ask - Contractors, Printers, even Motor Mechanics who fix the realtors auto's may have had a chat with these guys in the past.
Look for the properties for sale in your local "Investor" area's, and take down a few names from the "For Sale" signs.
Try also checking the St Louis Realtors, not too far away from you I think?
Creative thinking (out-of-the-box) is the key here.
They're definitely out there, be a Sherlock Holmes and find them!
Real Estate Investor · Jacksonville, FL · Member since 2015 · 4 posts · 1 vote
10y
You might find an investor friendly realtor at your local REI group.
Once they list a few properties for you they know helping you find a property to re-hab is a good investment of there time. Searching for bargain properties is not really profitable for them. Selling re-habbed properties may be.
Le Roy, NY · Member since 2014 · 18 posts · 1 vote
10y
Just find yourself a broker. I just made a couple of calls and received property info. the very next day. Explain to them what you're looking for, you should have no problem.......
Belleville, IL · Member since 2015 · 48 posts · 5 votes
10y
@Brendan D. that is actually what I'm leaning towards doing. I have been done a lot of research here on the site, and the good of being licensed seem to out weigh the bad, and like you mentioned, it could add that extra stream of income from the leads I have that I can't convert for wholesale profit.
@Bryan Colton I've done some of that also, but I want access to roam the MLS as I please and pull data.
Pensacola, FL · Member since 2015 · 6 posts · 0 votes
10y
Wife is an agent, investors buying 30-50k houses don't realize that it takes the same amount of time as a 500k house and the agent is looking at 2.1 to 2.5% as the commission. On the MLS most area's have a really stiff fine if they catch the agents giving out login info, I routinely use Zillow then drop back to realtor.com for more info as it has pretty much all the information except for the disclosure paperwork.
Belleville, IL · Member since 2015 · 48 posts · 5 votes
10y
@Chris Clanton thanks for commenting. Here in Illinois you can sign on to be an assistant to a agent, which is completely legal. I use those two sources also, but the MLS has more real time data.
Investor & Rehabber · Bartlett, IL · Member since 2013 · 98 posts · 21 votes
10y
Ryan, if you are serious about this business and you can't get assistant access, then get yourself a license. It's not too expensive to get a license and then you can do a lot more on mls than an assistant access which is really neat.
Discalimer-: I am not an agent or managing broker, just offering my advise.
I got my license this year, and it ended up costing less than $2000 for the year including the schooling. The classes weren't very difficult honestly. Just my two cents.
Belleville, IL · Member since 2015 · 48 posts · 5 votes
10y
@Vishal Gadhia I'm really starting to lean towards that option.
@John Warren I appreciate your two cents. I think I'm going to make that move at the top of the year. I know it will pay for itself. I'm thinking I should start looking for some investor friendly brokerages where I can hang my license. I plan to use the license mainly for personal investing purposes. But, I would not mind listing properties that don't fit my investing criteria.
@Brendan D. that is actually what I'm leaning towards doing. I have been done a lot of research here on the site, and the good of being licensed seem to out weigh the bad, and like you mentioned, it could add that extra stream of income from the leads I have that I can't convert for wholesale profit.
@Bryan Colton I've done some of that also, but I want access to roam the MLS as I please and pull data.
I thank you both for commenting.
That's exactly why I'm studying for my license. For every seller that doesn't accept my offer, I'll then go for the listing. Hindsight being 20/20, I should've done this a long time ago.
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2014 · 39 posts · 7 votes
10y
Ryan,
What criteria are you looking for and/or what are you looking to do with the MLS? I just got my license recently, to assist with access, networking, and to fully immerse myself in real estate as well as have another opportunity at income and/or to attack deals in a different way than wholesaling. Not exaclty sure what the rules are regarding assistants, but the main issue is whether a non-licensed assistant should be able to have access...a lawyer's clarification may help here.
Anyway, before committing to, or during your study period (depends on you, but 3-6 months), I or any broker can put your criteria in and you can get access to property details that match on a daily basis via email. What more would you need to do? Further, I am still looking to employ direct mail and other marketing for off-market properties, perhaps even more now as a broker--so don't abandon your current marketing for the sake of access to listed properties. Hope that helps!
Mainly looking for access to get real time comps and market data for my target markets. Im going to start studying to get licensed, because I see all of the great advantages of having that title under your belt. I have built up a pretty solid pipeline of cash investors, while they would prefer the off market deals. If I could bring them solid leads from the MLS, that would only be a plus. As I mentioned in previous post, it would also be beneficial, because often times I can not covert leads generated from my direct mail campaigns into solid wholesale deals, but with the license I could list them. So, I'll be looking to get my license at the top of the year.
Thanks for commenting. Do you have any pointers regarding the test that may be helpful? Anything will be appreciated.
Memphis, TN · Member since 2015 · 12 posts · 11 votes
10y
I am a licensed real estate agent in TN and MS. I mainly work with cash buyers on buy and hold deals. I used Pro Educate for the pre-licensing requirements and found the practice exams to be very similar to the actual state exam. I would recommend taking the practice tests until you are scoring at least 85%. Once you are able to do that you will have no problem with the actual exam. Hope this helps and best wishes!