To get real estate agent license, or not to get...

[Mike O'Connor]

Hello All!

My business partner @Matt Wood  and I are, in the grand scheme of things, new to real estate investing in the Atlanta area. We are putting together our "5 year plan" to make this a full time career and have debated back and forth one question in particular that we would love to get outside opinions on... that is, should we both get our real estate agent license, or should we limit it to one of us? Someone that we have a great amount of respect for in this industry cautioned us against both getting getting our license as it would limit our ability to negotiate deals. We would love to hear insight on the pros and cons for both sides of the coin on this as well as what has/currently works for others!

Thanks in advance for the insight...

Mike

[Chris Farrugia]

As someone with a real estate license, I couldn't imagine doing what you're speaking of without it. As mentioned before, just having immediate access to the MLS data is crucial. Plus, saving the commission $ on even one deal will outweigh any association or licensing fees you pay that year. The other thing to consider is that with a real estate license, you'll have a Supra Key (or similar) so you can see properties on your terms. If a deal comes up that seems too good to be true, don't you want to know before the rest of the public sees it and puts in a contract? I like the idea of only one of you getting the license though--if you're partners in this, it really would be redundant for you both to have a license. That being said though, the one with the license will need the most availability in his schedule.

How to get a Georgia real estate license. Read that, take an online course and go make some money!