I'm considering becoming an agent, but I have questions

[Victoria Barger]

Hi all,

My hubby and I are house flippers in Butler county, PA. I have considered getting my real estate license in the past, and even began the process at one time, but my program timeline expired. I'm considering restarting the process and with that, I have several questions:

If I become licensed, do I need to work for a broker in order to get the benefits from my license? For example, if I simply become licensed without working with an agency, can I have access to the mls? Can I place offers on properties? Can I sell my own properties?

If I do have to work for a broker, are there brokers out there that are willing to work with agents that are only interested in finding/selling their own investment properties?

Lastly, what real estate class/program do you recommend and why?

Thanks so much!

[Robert Carmody]

If you have an active license, most states or associations require that you also have an Errors & Omissions Policy, which is basically malpractice insurance in the event that another party sues you for damages or files a complaint against your license. Most E&O Policies do not provide coverage for an agent selling their own investment property, and your property must be owner occupied to be covered. Real estate claims can be very expensive, and some don't have much merit but can absorb a lot of your time and money, especially if you don't have adequate E&O coverage. And, your own assets are at risk if another party is awarded money resulting from a lawsuit that your E&O policy doesn't provide coverage for. Be aware of this if you are licensed and most of your real estate activity involves flipping houses.

As a licensed agent or broker, you are held to a different standard, and expected to be an expert and to have a higher level of knowledge, duty to disclose, and are responsible for protecting the public's interest, not just your own. Your exposure or risk of a claim is greater when you flip houses regularly as an agent. There is a negative perception of flipping due to the bad apples out there that have done cheap flips, leaving the buyers to inherit the costs of fixing everything that was done poorly after the "flipper" cashed in on a quick profit. We know that isn't usually the case, and that most investors flip houses on a smaller profit margin that the flippers on reality shows like to boast about, and most care about the quality of their product. However, the perception that house flippers are greedy people with too much money, who take advantage of buyers that don't know any better, still exists and so an agent that is flipping houses can be a target. There are ways around the issues, such as having another broker in your office list the property. It's just something you might want to be aware of, and to make sure that you hang your license with a broker who knows you'll be flipping, and that you have adequate coverage in the event that the buyer of a home you flipped tried to make a claim.