Become a Realtor or a wholesaler?

[Michael Gorley]

Hey BP!

a bit of background to frame my question.

I live in Ottawa Canada (expensive market) and my father is a Realtor on a great team in the city.

I am looking to do BRRRR deals on small multifamily properties and am looking at investing outside of the city to start, because the lower priced area offers much better cashflow to starting out.

My question is : to raise the capital required for purchasing and renovating my first BRRRR and to kick start my momentum into real estate, should I get my licence and become a realtor like my father or dedicate my time to wholesaling and creating a wholesaling business. I know that deciding to start is more important than deciding where to start, however I'm curious about what the BP community thinks. Thanks!

[Joseph Cacciapaglia]

I'm not sure how different the rules are in Canada, so my answer may be a little off if you guys do things differently. Getting your license gives you a lot more options. You can act as a buyer/seller agent, you can collect referral fees, you can do leasing or property management, you can refer property management, and you can still wholesale if you want to. Having all these options means that you can help just about anyone you meet with their real estate needs. If you only focus on wholesaling, your target market shrinks quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, there are some wholesalers out there that do just fine. However, if you have the drive and marketing budget necessary to make it as a wholesaler, then you will probably dominate as an agent.