Is it possible to be licensed in all states?

Question

Hi everyone,

My goal in Real Estate is to have my own company, where we handle sales/leasing, investments, developments, and property management. In order to start a brokerage, at least in the few states that I've been researching, you need an active salesperson or agent license for a minimum of 2 years. I believe this varies state by state, could be wrong though.

When I start the brokerage, or the company itself, I want to be able to work in all 48 states, and eventually Canada. First of all, is this even possible legally? What is my best way or method of reaching this goal and getting this done?

Do I have to obtain a salesperson license in every state and hold it for the minimum time?

As far as developments and investments go, I am 99% I don't need a license for that. Sales/Leasing is something I would need a license for, especially if I want to hire RE agents .

Happy mothers day to all the beautiful moms out there.

Please let me know what your thoughts are on this plan, and what I need to do to execute it. Thank you!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Yes, there is a reciprocity agreement, at least among most states. But that doesn't mean you can get licensed in New York and automatically be licensed in the other 49 states. You have to go through state-specific training and testing and licensing. An agent licensed in California has to attend a Wyoming Law class, which is 3 days long and about $400. Then they have to pass the test which will cost $130. Then they have to apply for their license and meet all the other requirements. For you to do that as an individual in all 50 states would take years to complete, not to mention the financial burden. And if you are living in New York, what good would your license do you in Alaska, or Montana, or Arizona? You would not know the market, you would not have a presence.

there are large companies that have licensed individuals in every state, but they do it by establishing a national business presence and then expanding into those states by hiring agents that are licensed in that state. It sounds to me like you want to fly to Mars but you haven't even demonstrated the ability to fly from New York to New Jersey.

Francois G. · Answer

For starters, you need to fix your attitude. You can't come on a public forum, ask a question, then be a jerkoff when people try to answer your question.

Now it's my turn. Is it possible to get a license in 50 states? I guess so. But who would ever want to do that? Real estate is local. Even if you want to do business nationally, there's other ways to do that without having to invest so much money/time/energy.

Out of curiosity, why wouldn't you just network with agents in the states you're interested in and split commissions with them? They can be your feet on the ground. Some agents will only want to give you a referral fee for that but depending on the value you're bringing to the table, you can try negotiating to a 50/50 split instead.

So yes it is possible. But it would be extremely time consuming and cost you tons of money (I'm talking just to get all the licenses, we're not even talking about continuing education). I've honestly never even heard of someone attempting to get licensed in every state. Good luck!

Nathan Gesner · Answer

Yes, you could earn a license in all 50 states but it would probably take you years, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and all your time. Why?

Instead of you being licensed in every state, it would make more sense to have a company presence in every state and hire licensed agents.

Joe Splitrock · Answer

I took a look at your previous posts and you mention being almost 21 years old and starting a construction company a year ago. Two months ago you mention that you would like to own your own trucking fleet. Now you talk about starting a national real estate company. Any of these businesses would take considerable time and money to grow into a successful business.

You need to pick a business and focus on it. Start small in your local market and grow from there. That means get your license in one market. After you do that, worry about a second market.

Marian Huish · Answer

@Harpreet Singh are you currently licensed in any state yet? If not, I would start with that so that you can get a better understanding of how lofty your goals are!  Not sure why the need to get licensed in every state… i’m currently licensed in 4 states, belong to 3 MLSs and 3 state & local associations which is required by NAR. and as mentioned above, the CE is daunting! Not to mention the fees associated with all of this.  I am however able to work referrals with agents and locations where I am not licensed. (Better to get a part of it several agent’s sales than to get 100% of your own!).  As others have mentioned not only due to the cost and time but also the liability of managing agents in every state!￼￼. Would you be opening offices, hiring and on-boarding agents, providing ￼all of the technology, IT support, training, MLS listing Idx feeds, etc?  My advice would be to develop your own brand get licensed in a couple of states and sign up under eXp Realty were you can market under  your brand, receive payment from the sales of other agents (without being a broker) and have EXP do all of the above for you!  We’re not only in all 50 states but are now in 14 countries (including India) with plans to expand into 3 more countries per quarter. You could potentiallybe selling worldwide based on referral fees to countries and states that you’re not licensed in.  This would not only make your goals much more ‘doable’ but you could end up much better off financially as you would not have to pay for all that overhead!￼￼.  I would do some research and I am happy to further discuss.  Best of luck!￼￼

Arya S. · Answer

lol this dude already deleted his account. I was too busy making popcorn

Francois G. · Answer

I see you're going to make a ton of fruitful connections on here... keep it up.

1) I bothered replying because when I see you giving attitude to someone like Nathan, who has more REI experience in his pinky than you have in your entire body, I feel the need to tell you to check yourself when YOU'RE the one asking the question.

2-3) Lmao.

4) Hmm... I don't know, I'll take a wild shot and guess they're probably representing the BROKERAGE? I mean for someone with your attitude, are these really the questions you're asking?

A "one-stop shop" who's asking if he needs a real estate license in all 50 states. Then asking what company is the other agent representing? LOL! Can't make this stuff up. Yeah man, you got this!

Good luck.

Russell Brazil · Answer

We have this one quirk in our area. West Virginia is reciprocal to Virginia. But, the WV real estate commission wont issue a license to a VA licensee unless they actually live in Virginia...so no DC or MD residents that are licensed in VA can get a WV license. There is no law or regulation that says that is a requirement, but they simply will not do it.

Michael Rutkowski · Answer

There are 17 states with no reciprocity, which a quick google search can elucidate, so you would need to take take ALL your education over again. Each state will want you to have the State portion of their education done too... So like $250 for 50 exams, $400 for the state portion of 50 states, and $300 for 17 states education. Then you have MLS fees which are totally variable. For example in Montana we pay about $3000 for MLS over the course of a year. And in Georgia, they take a cut from each sale. You're essentially talking about a huge waste of time and money here. Why don't you start out with one license, get some sales, and then consider a broker's license before you even decide to "branch out".

Account Closed · Answer

1. You keep mentioning "attitude". Obviously you failed to read what your buddy Nathan said, which led to my response.

2. Having more REI experience than someone else doesn't make you any better of a person than them. I think it's great that your buddy Nathan has more REI experience. Isn't that the point of this website / forum? To ask questions, make connections, etc.? Maybe you if you read the comment he made, FIRST, then you'll see why I said what I said.

3. Do I have the company opened up? NO, obviously I don't. There's a reason why I posted on here to ask likeminded individuals in the space, what's possible.

4. You told me that I could possible work with an agent in a different state, in return getting a referral fee. That's clearly not what I want to do, which is why I asked "who's company they are representing". ie. my company or the company they have their salesperson license tied to. If it's someone else's company, that defeats the whole purpose, so your advice is useless.

5. You need to understand that there are thousands of people like you on this website, and in this industry. Anybody can do what you are doing. Please humble yourself, you are replaceable AF. No need to give some snarky responses.

6. If my attitude bothers you so much, why bother replying in the first place? Why involve yourself in something that clearly doesn't involve you?  I will not "check myself". I think it's great that you are bothered by my attitude, quite frankly. Have a blessed day, and untwist your panties too while you're at it.