Becoming a licensed agent or not?

[Samantha Ferber]

Hello Bigger Pockets community, 

        I am at a crossroads. I have almost completed my real estate license course and I'm wondering if having my license will delay my investing. In Oregon, for the first three years my principle broker needs to oversee all my real estate transactions including those that are for personal gain. Are there principle brokers out there that are willing to work with an investor? Does having your license hinder investing in any other ways besides this one? 

    Ideally I would like to work for a principle who does not mind me investing in addition to selling real estate. Best case scenario would be that they didn't even mind me doing creative financing such as "subject to" deals, but I do not know if that is even possible.  Any advice would be very appreciated. 

Thank you, Samantha

[Douglas Larson]

Hi @Samantha Ferber

Becoming an agent with a great, investor-centered team would be a great place to start! There are great, flexible brokers in every market that would love to have the enthusiasm and the potential business of an investor/agent.

Some people think that technology will make real estate agents obsolete in the next decade. I'm not buying it!

I am not an agent or broker, but the more information i have at my fingertips, the more I seem to rely on agents! They look for deals, find buyers and sellers for my wholesales and retail flips. They negotiate as an unemotional 3rd party with agents, banks and principles. They even play “bad cop” at times with uncooperative tenants, buyers and sellers when needed. Agents have watered my lawn when I’m out of town and negotiated with contractors to take care of final repairs before a sale. I think agents who solve problems and have great customer service will ALWAYS be in demand! One of my favorite local agents has made many thousands of dollars in the last 24 months with my buy/sell transactions, all while building his own network and portfolio.

Go for it and have fun out there!