All Forum Posts by: Kelly Putz

I am speaking from experience. In most states, an agent can allow ANY "assistant" MLS access, they just have to have it signed off on by the broker. The "assistant" access is paid for outside of the broker. There is no risk of losing MLS access or license and the "assistant" does not even need to be in the same state. Virtual assistants are used all the time for research and given MLS access as assistants daily. All you have to do is find an agent willing to allow you access who actually knows how the system works rather than being afraid of it. Check with Realtors who are licensed in San Antonio to get your best answer, because the MLS there may have different restrictions.

In that price range, if they don't have one, I've given a Keurig coffee machine. If they are first-time home buyers a great gift is the Readers Digest Do-It-Yourself home fix book. 

This will be their bible whenever something in the house needs minor repair, so they don't have to pay the expense of a repair guy.

I'm licensed in DC, MD and VA and about to get my brokers licenses in all three. Being a Realtor has been my full-time job for 5 years now and I've been an investor for 9 years. If you want access to your local MLS, you don't need to bug your agent or get your license. If you have a Realtor who is your go-to person on all your deals, ask them to sign you up in their MLS as their "assistant". You pay the fee for access and you have your own account to do all the research you want to your heart's content.

The cons of getting you real estate license, if you don't intend to actually use it to make a living are:

- the expense, about $3,000 per year, because you cannot be licensed without parking it with a broker. All brokers will charge you fees (desk fees, admin fees, IT fees, royalty fees - that's if you DON'T have office space) and require that you join their preferred Realtor association, which also comes with fees, plus the CE classes, plus lockbox access fees, plus MLS fees. Plus, you have to pay that broker a percentage of ALL your commissions. Most are a 50% split, better ones are a 65-35% split. There are some brokerages that do a flat rate fee rather than a split, but you better hope you never get into trouble because they WON'T be there for you, or even be there for you to ask questions. They just collect their fee.

- the disclosures are not just about disclosing that you are an agent. If you flip a property or have owned a property, by law (at least in MD, VA and DC) you have to disclose EVERY defect that you know about that property that has not been fully addressed, or risk losing your license or, at the very least, get fined for not disclosing latent defects discovered by the buyer. They WILL go after your E&O insurance, so you better make sure you have it. Expect to spend at least $10,000 just in lawyer fees, if it ever happens.