All Forum Posts by: Luke McCann

Ryan,

Based on all that I have read on and off BP I would suggest a house hack. If you are not familiar with the term it means you buy a SFH or small multiunit and rent out the rooms. Being in college I'm sure you know plenty of students looking for off campus housing. Take advantage of this and start your career as a landlord.

Also I would recommend getting a part time job or paid internship with a real estate firm. Some examples would be a property management company, brokerage firm, investor apprentice, etc. Learn the business without taking on any of the risk. You can build up some capital as well.

Hope this helped. Good luck.

@Dustin Bragg

Thanks!

I am referring to the textbook that the course provider gives you when you register for the class. 

BP,

Two days ago I passed the Florida state exam to get my Real Estate Sales Associate License. I intend for this post to help those considering getting their license gain a better understanding of what to expect. 

Before I dive into my experience, I should disclose WHY I chose to get my license. I am not planning on becoming a full time real estate agent. I am a student in St. Augustine, FL seeking to build a foundation of experience and cashflow so that when I have finished my time at Flagler College I am able to invest full time. 

I got my license to get access to the MLS for research purposes, save money on deals for myself, and make the connections in my area (Northeast Florida). I plan on buying my first property in the 2nd quarter of 2017 and conducting a house hack.

Overall, I had a good experience getting my Sales Associate License. (By the way, a sales associate is what is commonly referred to as an agent, a broker requires two years of experience being a sales associate before getting licensed.) Like I said, I live in St. Augustine but I took the 63-hour course in Boca Raton, FL through Gold Coast Schools. 

As you can imagine, 63 hours in a classroom over a 7 day period is pretty miserable. There is no other way to put it. It takes discipline and courage to complete this process from start to finish the right way. However, Gold Coast Schools utilizes different strategies that make it manageable. They break the course up into blocks and provide a review each day, so that by the end of the week much of the information has been cemented into your mind. 

In order to pass both tests (the course exam and the state exam) the first time around, which is what I was fortunate enough to do, I strongly recommend two things. The first is to read the book THREE times.  Once is enough for the course exam, but for the state exam three times can be the charm. I also strongly recommend making notecards. I made approximately 400 notecards total. It may sound overwhelming but it is not too terrible if you break it up into rounds of 50 or 100. 

It would take an eternity to memorize the entire course. It may seem overwhelming on the first day when you see how much information will be covered in such a short time. Never cease to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is a tremendous accomplishment and it opens many doors of opportunity. 

I hope this post was beneficial to some. Whatever path you go down, good luck!

@Patsy Waldron

Thanks for the feedback. One question I have for you is aren't most motivated sellers already taking a loss their property, and thats often why they are selling it?

BP,

I am a freshman in college and have been assigned to write on a controversy in the field of my future career. Being that I am an aspiring real estate investor, I have chosen the topic of taking advantage of motivated sellers. The question I have for my fellow BiggerPockets members is this: where do you draw the line when negotiating down a price with an extremely motivated seller, if at all?

Any input helps, or if there is another controversy you have in mind I'm wide open for suggestions.

Thanks all!

@Zana Blue interesting. Thanks for the reply

BP,

I understand that the wholesaling business is seen by many as very shady, because it is essentially brokering a deal. However, if I were to get my sales associate license, would that protect me against any potential legal issues?

In my particular case I am an 18 year old student in St. Augustine, Florida.

Thanks,

Luke

@Duane Kidman

Great idea. Thanks for the advice!

@Account Closed 

Thanks

BP,

I am a student and looking to get into wholesaling. I will be doing my first house hack next year with the help of my father (also a real estate investor) near my college campus in St. Augustine, FL. In the mean time, I would like to talk to an agents opinion about a particular neighborhood I am interested in wholesaling. Should I tell the agent up front I am an aspiring wholesaler? Or just mention my plans for a buy and hold next year? I would imagine that most agents don't appreciate what wholesalers do.

Thanks all

-Luke