Would you rather be a Real estate agent or whole seller

Question

So I’ve been a mechanic for some time now. I’ve done a little bit of it all. From general mechanics to playing with races cars and fabrication. I’ve learned a lot but it’s rough on the body and the pay isn’t the greatest. I have 1 rental and I’m trying to buy 2 more this year.

Mechanics wages aren’t very good and no retirement. I’m looking for something to help me make more money so I can buy more rentals. I very much so enjoy real estate and always have. So I’m curious.

If you could do it over again (agent or whole seller) would you choose one over the other? What is the biggest challenge of either?

Thanks in advance!!

Sarah Bojorquez · Answer

I do both and enjoy it but I can tell you being a Realtor is a career-and it is expensive if you aren't all in (board fees, licensing, e&O insurance, brokers fees, marketing etc.)   Oh and no retirement provided for either career btw :)

Sam Conway · Answer

im not sure if i could do both in CA legally. i see the down side of being an agent is working weekends, as where maybe whole selling i could make more of my own schedule. i do enjoy dealing with people and if i do it, im 100% all in on it. i see the opportunity to make far more money than in then mechanic field.

no retirement is 100% true lol, although no different than now anyways, why im buying rentals.

thanks for replying!

Eudith Vacio · Answer

Hey @Sam Conway - I think this question very much DEPENDS on your level of determination and skills.

Do you enjoy working with people? Do you like to be at the fore front of negotiations or at the back-end just finding the deals? Aside from the fees that you have to pay, just being your OWN business in of itself is very difficult. YOU have to manager your time, pay your fees, continue learning as a realtor, and continue sourcing leads for your business to grow.

Hope that helps a bit :)

Adrienne Bryson · Answer

Keep in mind that no matter which you choose, you are not going to have full freedom. At least not in the beginning. I'm not an agent but agents will tell you it's a hustle. It's the same with wholesaling.

On the plus side when it comes to wholesaling once you've made a bit of money (or if you have a bit of money to throw at it when you start) you can free up a lot of your time by delegating/automating. But it's still a hustle and at the end of the day you could sometimes be out on weekends, early in the morning, late at night, and on holidays. You don't want to miss out on a deal because your seller is only off work Sunday morning and you felt like sleeping in.

If what you're looking for is complete freedom and keeping most of your time for yourself, there are other wealth building strategies that'd do this better. Depending how much cash you have available you could even consider buying a turnkey multifamily and hiring a property manager.

Sam Conway · Answer

i do like the idea of being an agent. I think the only real concern is time/freedom, i very much so enjoy my weekends lol, but at the same time im itching to build a business for myself. I could easily start my own automotive shop but im getting bored with the industry and my body is about over it as well lol. thanks for your input!

Sam Conway · Answer

very good points! i will be putting some more thought into all of this, i like it! thank you for your input. im in a town right out side the bay area and even here average sale price is about $500-600k. ofcourse with that living expenses are higher out here as well.

Eliott Elias · Answer

Agent all day. There are so many more ways you can generate income via real estate when you get your license, wholesale, list, buy for clients.

Steve K. · Answer

@Sam Conway sounds like you’d make a great agent with your ability to get along with people and having a customer service background. I’d look at what the top agents in your area are making compared to what the top wholesalers make. It doesn’t have to be an either/ or scenario as well. Having your license complicates things a little bit for wholesaling as far as legality goes (you need to avoid any situations that could be considered a net listing, many brokerages won’t allow it, you’ll have a duty to treat both customers and clients with honesty and will need to disclose, disclose, disclose, etc.) but having your license also gives you more options to offer sellers. For example instead of just taking the normal wholesaling approach you can say, “I can list your property on the MLS for x amount and expect it to sell in x amount of time, or I can connect you directly with a buyer off market and net you x amount in x amount of time, or I can buy it from you right now personally for x amount and close on x date”. Just an example but having the ability to offer more options will be an advantage I would think. With you being in CA where properties are expensive/ commissions are high, becoming and agent and building that business would probably be lucrative enough without having to mess with wholesaling at all, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do both if you want to, as long as you are careful to do the wholesaling activities in a way that is above board.

Sam Conway · Answer

i do enjoy working with people. i was a service writer for a while and managed the entire auto shop for about 5 years. people tend to like me. i pretty much run the whole shop im currently working at, so i  understand time management.

since you do both, what is the most difficult thing about both sides? i feel like being an agent would be tough as your basically on call 24/7 and the hardest part of that i feel would be weekends as it cuts into family time with my wife and daughter. other than that aspect, i think it would be a blast. I love going and looking at houses, talking to people, i regularly jump on redfin or zillow in my local area just to look at what on is on the market.thanks for replying! I look forward to your input on this matter!

Sam Conway · Answer

my family is in parts of the construction field, and we have friends that are contractors so i could pick this up quickly, as i do all the construction on my own house along with my other family members houses. good notes though and i appreciate it.

thanks for replying!

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