Advice for an Estimator

[Aimee Orozco]

Hi BP community! I discovered Bigger Pockets a little less than a month ago and I am beyond amazed at how much there is to learn. I’ve been dedicating all of my free time to discover new things and hear success stories to continue pushing me towards achieving great things in Real Estate. A little background about myself - I work for a General Contractor in Central Florida (Longwood to be exact) as an estimator, and my role deals with creating bids and budgets for rehab work. I am usually using photos to create these estimates, however once in a while I’ll go on site to perform the inspection and then write up the estimate. I got into this field about 3 years ago, working only with Altisource in South Florida, but now I work with several other clients (close to 12 just myself) located in the Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, and Chicago markets. Since we usually sub out major repairs like roof, electrical, or plumbing, I haven’t run into any issues not having a license or certification in these areas. Meaning, I wouldn’t know all of the details in writing up a roof replacement or a complete house rewire. I only have my Xactimate Level 1 certification, which I got just recently and I’m actively working on getting the remaining levels. Based on the posts I’ve seen, it looks like I’m in an amazing position to take advantage and learn as much as I can. I am familiar with a lot of the problems investors run into with contractors and can use this to my benefit whenever I’m in the position to choose a contractor. I’ve been looking mostly into Wholesaling but got turned off by the risks of not having a RE license. So, as of now I’m on the fence between buy and hold or buy and flip (considering the experience) but still have some researching to do before I decide which avenue to pursue. I’m only 21 years old and I’m still in college, pursuing a Bachelors in Accounting which I intend to finish, but I’m just too eager to step out of the “employee” role and begin investing in financial freedom. I am seeking any advice you may have regarding how to maximize the benefits of my current position, any sort of additional education/certifications I should seek, or just any additional tips you may have. Thanks in advance and I’m thrilled to hear from you all!!