Should I become a Real estate agent

Question

Hi everyone,

Im new to real estate. I want to be an investor but I'm limited on capital in my expensive NJ market.

I have always said I do NOT want to be a realtor. I don't want to spend my time showing people houses. I heard listing is way better but you cant start with that. I tried getting into wholesaling because you don't need a license and I feel like you can make a greater profit than the realtor commission fee. However wholesaling is difficult and time consuming and I'm getting nowhere.

My uncle was a realtor and he keeps telling me that by taking the course I will learn a lot that will help me in all aspects of real estate and i will also meet and expand my network more than just going to REIA meetings once in awhile. I am interested in the course and learning more but not interested in being a realtor but I am interested in expanding my network in the real estate world and gaining more capital than my current 9-5. Maybe I do not have the full picture

Maybe theres a lot more benefits im not aware of and maybe it would make sense for me to go down that path?

What should I do?

Janelle Ginyard · Answer

I love this question, especially as someone who started off wholesaling and specifically did NOT want to become an agent.

Wholesaling was successful for me at first, but I started losing opportunities in my market because sellers were savvy. They knew they could get more for their property by listing it with an agent, even if they were distressed. That’s ultimately why I got my license — I didn’t want not having one to be the reason I lost an opportunity, especially after spending so much time building rapport with a seller.

The market knowledge and network I gained from getting licensed were worth it too. I wouldn’t change a thing!

I’d say keep doing what you’re doing: attending your local REIA, creating off market opportunities, and keeping your 9-5 ;) — but add a real estate license to your toolkit.

Once you’re licensed, keeping your license active is relatively easy, even if you don’t choose to become a full time traditional agent.

Happy to connect if you ever want to chat more in depth. Good luck!

Hayden Gray · Answer

I actually started taking the realtor courses for a similar reason. My original thought was that I could “save on commission” on my own deals. Pretty quickly I realized I didn’t really want to be a realtor, but I decided to finish the coursework anyway.

I’m glad I did. The information was really helpful and gave me a much better understanding of contracts, the purchase process, disclosures, agency, and how transactions actually come together. Even though I didn’t pursue being a traditional agent, it gave me a lot more confidence navigating my own deals and communicating with agents, lenders, and other people involved in a transaction.

I wouldn’t necessarily get licensed just because you feel like you have to become a realtor, but I do think the education itself can be valuable for an investor. If you’re interested in learning the business more deeply, it may still be worth taking the course even if you ultimately decide the agent side isn’t for you.

Ashish Acharya · Answer

Whichever way you go on the license, the part that actually changes what you keep is how each path gets taxed, so that is where I will focus.

Whether you wholesale or earn commissions as an agent, both are active, ordinary income to you, taxed at your regular rates and hit with self employment tax on top. That is the piece a lot of new folks miss, the profit you are comparing against a commission is pre tax, and self employment tax alone is another 15.3 percent before regular tax. So the real comparison is not gross spread versus commission, it is what lands after both.

The one thing to watch as an investor is the dealer label. If you are flipping or wholesaling as your regular activity, the IRS can treat you as a dealer, which means that income is ordinary and cannot use the investor friendly tools like long term capital gains, 1031, or depreciation. If your real goal is building a buy and hold portfolio, you want to keep that activity separate from any dealer type income so you do not taint the portfolio side.

Once any of this starts producing steady income, that is the point an entity like an S Corp can start saving you real money on the self employment side, but not before the numbers justify it.

BiggerPockets is a good place to find a CPA when you get there, and most real estate focused ones work virtually. Happy to connect!

Igor Ganapolsky · Answer

Emily, I'm also based in NJ (Englewood) but I've been sourcing deals in Florida through county tax deed auctions instead of traditional channels. I don't have a real estate license, and honestly, for what I do, I haven't needed one.

Here's the angle nobody else has mentioned yet: if you're capital-constrained and struggling with wholesaling, tax deed auctions might be worth exploring. You're buying properties for 30-50 cents on the dollar, often with cash, directly from the county. No MLS access needed, no agent commissions, no traditional financing hurdles.

The downside is you need to do your homework — you can't inspect properties before bidding, and there's a quiet title period in Florida (2 years in Broward County where I operate). But if you're willing to put in the research time, you can build a pipeline of deals without spending money on marketing or driving for dollars.

I've built Python scripts to scrape county appraiser data, identify motivated sellers from tax delinquent lists, and underwrite deals based on public records. It's not glamorous, but it works. The key is finding a sourcing channel that matches your capital situation and risk tolerance.

That said, if your goal is to build a network and learn the market, the license path Shawn and Janelle described has real value. But if you're purely focused on sourcing deals with limited capital, look into tax deeds, tax liens, and county surplus sales in your target market. You might find a path that doesn't require the license at all.

What market are you targeting — NJ or looking out of state?

Emmanuel Richard · Answer

I think the bigger question is whether becoming an agent supports your investing strategy, not whether you actually want to be a realtor long-term. The course and day-to-day exposure could teach you the market while putting you around buyers, sellers, lenders, investors, and other agents but there’s also a real opportunity cost if your goal is investing rather than building a sales business. I’d map out exactly how the license would help you source deals, build capital, and expand your network before committing. What part of the investing process are you currently struggling with most: finding deals, capital, or building the right network?

Ian Bertsch · Answer

It's entirely what you make of it and how much time you can apply.

I obtained my license this year after thinking about it for the past few years. I own and operate 4 properties, 5 units, before I obtained my license. Being an investor who understands the market gives you a leg up on a lot of Agents, even ones who have been around for awhile because they often look at the market from purely a sales person perspective whereas you're approach may be more data driven.

You will also need to find your niche as an Agent. I've found mind helping small house hackers and military obtain homes. I'm also originally from New Jersey so I understand your pain in that market but you could also do some out of state investing in a much cheaper market while making big New Jersey W-2 income.

Shawn Mcenteer · Answer

Being a realtor is whatever you make of it.  I got my license for the exact reason you are thinking of,  I didn't do much with the license the first 5 years.  As I starting buying properties I realized the majority of realtors are good at buying and selling properties but do not know much about investing.  I started focusing on house hacking and sharing what worked for me and what to avoid.  Fast forward to today, the Realtor side is one of my businesses that is a major income stream.  I help house hackers get to their financial goals.  I've been doing this for over 13 years now so naturally I have a lot of expertise and know the ins and outs of investing in New Jersey.  You can guess with a traditional agent, family friend or whatever realtor or you can work with an expert and repeat what works.  My business is very niche and is a great thing.  I dedicated the time to build it once I saw the demand was out there.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

wholesaling your on an island and a fraction of the deals that happen with real estate agents are happening with wholesalers.   And as you found out its really tough and many times pretty slimy end of the business IMHO.  when you get licensed and get in the game your working with other professionals and networking is 10 times what it will be trying to do this on a wholesale island or just going to meet ups..

For context I got licensed in 75 and a CA brokers license in 77  first 10 years I only sold owner financed deals keep in mind interest rates and such it was a poor market and I frankly being 18 to 20 years old had zero patients to work with appraisers inspectors and banks..  Owner finance for me really worked for about 10 years. I sold the odd improved property but that was rare.. over the course of the last 50 years I have owned 3 small brokerages some were purpose created to only sell my developments.  One was traditional with resi agents etc.. As most every one will tell you 20% of the agents bring in 80% of the revenue.  And at least back in my day it was common knowledge that if you were going to quit your day job you needed at least 1 year of living expenses in the bank. AS there is a ramp up period.

Now today you have Big Teams  and that I think is the best way for most agents to start if they are going into Resi be it selling to homeowners or investors.  GEt on a team the team leader who will be a top producer feeds you business get paid to learn and have someone who is going to benefit by your success mentoring you etc.

takes a decade or so and if you can make it that long you should be on your own and 80% or more of your bizz should be coming from referrals.

If you want to just work with investors then you might consider trying to get on with a commerical brokerage and when you do there you usually start out doing leasing. But at least you make some money as your learning..  I loved being a land Broker and when and if I slow down what I am doing now I am going to go back to work for a Land and Ranch brokerage ton of fun helping folks buy their dream ranch's

Michael K Gallagher · Answer

being an agent is an active business, if you want to get licensed to aide you in some other way in your business that's totally valid.  Some people decide to flip or develop properties and sell it themselves.

but its very active if you want to have cash/incomes from it, its a wheel that has to get up and spinning and its work to keep it there, and I'm saying that as someone still trying to figure it all out.

Has been hard in the best way though, really forces you to address your own self internally.

Should I become a Real estate agent

Should I become a Real estate agent

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