Question for Agent/Investors...

[Jason Merchey]

Do you really end up netting say, 3% (if you pay your boss/broker a monthly fee of a couple hundred bucks to hang your license on their wall) on a purchase and on a sale if you have a license? I was thinking of retesting and becoming licensed, but I was thinking that perhaps the adversary in the transaction would refuse to offer a certain price, or refuse your offer of a certain price, if they knew that you were the agent who was keeping half of the 6% in commissions. Does it often work like that, or do you really net 3%? I was going to buy a property or two this year, and so at $175,000 each, that would be what, $10k in a year saved just for reactivating my license.

[Robert Leonard]

@Jason Merchey I think you are just overthinking it. The question is do you want MLS access and are you willing to accept the requirements that come with that? It might cost you money, or you might make enough commissions to pay for itself. Or you just might find deals or meet another investor who you partner with on highly successful deals in a continuing ed course that you wouldn't have without being a realtor?

MLS is invaluable to me and the fact that it costs money is a cost of doing business. I get some return on that investment when I get commissions on some properties I buy, but that's bonus money. If it made the deal, I would skip the commission in a heartbeat.

It doesn't really matter what anybody else's opinion is about whether or not you deserve a commission. Does having a license help you enough to do what it takes to hold it? Does it ad value to your business? Those are the things that matter to me.