To Wholesale Or Become a Real Estate Agent?

Question

so i’ve recently been intrigued by the idea of real estate whole-sailing. but I also dropped money on a real estate course to get licensed and become a real estate agent a few months ago before i even found out about whole-sailing. I haven’t finished my classes due to unmotivated reasons. The real estate industry is definitely something i’m interested in because i love looking at properties and the idea of becoming a real estate investor one day is my dream & that’s what i want to do. I want to get started in the industry. But i just don’t know which to pick. What do y’all recommend? i’d really like to know you guys opinions. Thanks!

Ashley Ramirez · Answer

@Mikael Winkler your response was insightful. thanks

Mikael Winkler · Answer

Hey @Ashley Ramirez! If you're choosing between those two, perhaps reach out to some local brokerages for one that is open to you wholesaling. I'm sure you're already aware, but a licensed salesperson, you'll have to work under a brokerage. Some are ok with wholesaling, but you'll probably have to give them a percentage. However, you're able to wholesale without some of the restrictions non-licensed wholesalers are.

A wholesaler can't market the property, only their interest in the contract. So, that technically means they can't supply any pictures, property specs, or hold showings etc. But, if one is licensed, they can market the property, so all of those things would be fair game.

I'll be curious to see some other responses on this because the one grey area I've always wondered about with licensed wholesalers is how wholesaling interplays with their fiduciary duty as an agent. Basically, it's a licensed person's fiduciary duty to do what's best for the client. But, is that limited to doing what the client says or getting them the most for their property? As an example, say an agent is working with a seller who is willing to put their house in contract for $50k, but the agent knows someone would pay $65k for it. To a non-licensed wholesaler, that's their spread. But, as an agent, is that breaking fiduciary duty to the client by not getting the seller the highest amount warranted?

Some definite pros and cons to both. Hopefully we get a few more responses here.