Becoming a Real Estate Agent?

Question

Have others in the BP community started out in real estate with becoming a real estate sales agent?  If so, do you feel it helped or hindered your start into REI.  What are the advantages/disadvantages?  Do you feel like this is the next step to getting closer to buying your first rental property?

Russell Brazil · Answer

If someone actually wants to work as a real estate agent, even part time, I think it is worthwhile to get your license.  However if you want to simply be an investor, Im not sure if it is worth the time, cost and additional regulations that you then subject yourself to.

Being a real estate agent is a great career. However it is owning and operating a small business....and like most small businesses is not profitable for the first few years of operation. If someone is willing to put in the time, effort and capital to grow that business it can reap great rewards. Most agents fail because they view it as a job as opposed to a business though.

Drew Clements · Answer

I just finished my classes last Friday and will be taking the licensing exam Tuesday morning. I only have one flip to my name and I don't have any experience as an investor with a license (obviously), but what convinced me to move forward with getting a license was the collective experiences of hundreds of investors here on BP.

I saw a clear trend: Investors that got their license pretty much universally say that it's one of the best decisions they made in their careers.

The investors that jump in and say "it's not that important" or that you can "just find an agent and use them" typically didn't get their license... so how are they even qualified to say if it's of benefit?

For me, just having gone through the classes has really boosted my knowledge and confidence - clarified a TON of questions I had about the transaction process (even having done a flip), legal issues (like with wholesaling or landlording), etc. To get to this level (although still relatively basic) as a newbie just reading on BP would have taken much longer because of the time spend filtering out opinion and misinformation vs. fact, etc. Not at all saying that BP isn't awesome - it is - but is's still a forum and the moderators aren't attorneys.

Do it :)

NA Jones · Answer

There are lots and lots and lots and lots of threads about this very subject.   A little searching will help you find others experiences.

For me, I got my license to help kick start our REI ventures.  It has been worth it's weight in gold as far as being able to view MLS listings without going through another person.  That said - it was time consuming, costly, and has put a lot of pressure on me to create opportunities to use it - which has me doing more retail transactions than I anticipated doing - good for $$, not great for time, good for experience.  We wouldn't be where we are though without my license so at the end of the day I'm glad I have it.

Mindy Jensen · Answer

While this information is a touch outdated, it is still a good starting point to give you an idea of how much it costs to get your license.

JD Martin · Answer

This is right on the money IMO. I don't think I've hardly met anyone in my life that has achieved X - real estate license; college degree; priesthood; etc - that says "Oh, that was really a waste of time". Of course having a license is better than not having one, if you're investing in real estate, the same way being a licensed electrician lets you work on your own property if you're a landlord. However, there is a lot of time, effort, and money involved in any of those endeavors, and you have to judge whether it's really required to move forward on your true end game.

One other thing - it is good to have other trusted minds in your game. If you do, see, and think everything, your filtration process is severely limited. I like having outside inputs, and having a trusted realtor is a relatively cheap outside input. People "qualified" to do everything often fancy themselves experts at everything, and I am no exception. By having people who really do know more than me in arenas advising, I feel like it helps me make better long-term decisions.

Account Closed · Answer

time cosuming but great source for networking,income,and pocket deals

Debi McBride · Answer

I am reading all the threads/topics, and replies to reasons people choose to be real estate agents themselves.  As this seems to be a topic that has many variables.  As a new REI/BP here, although I do attend meetups to learn more about REI, I believed that when you have your team of helpers, having an RE agent would be one of these key people.  Thus why still pursue becoming an agent?  Does becoming your own agent mean you have less patient skills or is it that social skills are not up to par?

Is it that hard to find an RE agent to be on your team to help both build successful careers? Or are we all going to be RE agents working on our deals?

I hope to be successful as an REI, yet am not feeling great about going through the process to be a RE agent.  Is there any stats on successful people are NOT being an agent themselves?

Thanks for feedback on all my questions here.

Mark Prince · Answer

Christopher  @Christopher Giannino

I am looking into getting my Real Estate License as well, and with the comments Heather @Heather Jones made it reinforces my thoughts on why it would be a good opportunity as a career change and getting more involved with REI.

Mark

Becoming a Real Estate Agent?

Most Popular Reply