Is it worth it to get your real estate license?

Question

I’m a newbie in the real estate investing world and there’s definitely a lot to take in. Would you recommended getting your
real estate license to help understand the verbiage, industry, and eventually help you find properties? To all the real estate investor out there, if you went a head and got your real estate license, how much has it benefit you?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Coua

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Coua

Brendon K. · Answer

Lots of "it depends" here. I've been looking at getting mine too but have decided that it's not the right time for me. Factors:

• Do you really want to be a salesperson? 
• Would being an agent be an increase for your income? (This is one reason I decided not to)
• Can you get your investing needs done through working with other people? Can realtors get you the same kind of information? (Check out the long distance real estate investing book)
• Do you have any need to be a broker? Most states effectively require you to be an agent for several years. There are ways to do it differently but being an agent is always the easiest.
• Do you require the boost in networking ability? Or can you network in other ways just as effectively?
• Are you okay with going out into zombieland in the age of corona?
• Is your local region even good for being an agent in? Most agents will say that most of their work is local.

As of learning the terminology, we have just about everything we need at our fingertips. Learn through going through the forums and participating while getting good at the biggerpockets books and maybe a few other resources that are available. Take it step by step. The biggest thing you can do is to start investing actively and you'll start learning the terminology as you go.

Lara White · Answer

@Coua Lee This is a hotly debated topic here in the forums and other places!  In my opinion, getting your RE license is helpful, but only really if you intend to become an agent (good side hustle if you have the time/network to develop it). If you don't intend on actively selling RE, I'm not a fan of an investor becoming an agent - to buy RE you don't pay a commission (the seller generally does that); it's expensive  (REALTOR dues, MLS fees, LLC upkeep,etc..); and time consuming to keep up with post-license education. Others have different opinions of course. RE school didn't  really teach me how to sell/understand RE - it was just a overwhelming amount of qweep IMO. You do need a good foundation, but I think you can grasp that easier and quicker other places.

Here's some articles I found from BP on it:

The Pros and  Cons of getting your RE license: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Should I get me RE license: https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Morris Geyser · Answer

Definitely depends on what your plan is. If you're not going to keep up with the fees and continued education after a year or two then what's the point but if you know you will be in the real estate world for several years then it's absolutely worth it but not entirely for the reasons you list - the verbiage and industry can be learned anywhere and deals will be brought to you. If you're going to be buying and selling you'll be leaving thousands of dollars on the table if you're not licensed. Yes, the seller pays buyer commission but if you are licensed yourself you can negotiate directly with the seller's agent  + list your own projects. You can argue that any buyer, licensed or not, has the ability to negotiate directly with the seller's agent but there will be more respect and trust in the conversation if you are licensed. I live in CA, with the property prices here being what they are you can easily save $50k on an investment. Neighbors will see your work and want to talk to you and if you're licensed they will sell through you too.

Account Closed · Answer

Actually, the buyer IS paying the agent. The cost of the property is increased by the amount the agent is charging and that is passed on to the buyer as a "mark up".

I always buy without agents and I split the difference with the seller and they love me for it. On a "$300,000" house at 6% for the agent, ($18,000) I can buy the house at $290,000 and still save the seller $8,000. I know, "math is hard" but that is how the math works.

Karen Margrave · Answer

Having your real estate license definitely has value if you're an investor. As mentioned above, the seller is technically the one paying commissions. However; if you are going to make an offer on a property that is listed, the listing agent more than likely won't deal directly with you, unless they're getting both sides of the commission. If you are the agent, that means you get the selling side of the commission, which has real value, and can be used towards down payment, etc. I've used my commissions over the years on many development deals.

Another advantage of having a license, you can join MLS (which will require you be under a broker) and have access to new listings, etc. However; most MLS searches are online now with realtor.com.

As for the lingo, you don't need your license for that. Taking a real estate principles class may be a good idea as it helps you learn the process. Different states have various processes for escrow, title, who can write offers, etc.

Is it worth it to get your real estate license?

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