Is is best to get a license?

Question

I am new to RE investing and was wondering if it's best to get a real estate license or remain as an investor/wholesaler w/o a license.  Are there any RE Agents that started off as investors and eventually decided to get a license?

Brian Briscoe · Answer

@Carey Lynch

I agree with @Brenden Mitchum - it depends on what your investment strategy is.  I've heard lots of flippers and wholesalers say that having the license increases their profits because they're also getting commissions on each sale.  If that's the route you're going, a license is useful.

Personally, I took most of the classes required to become a licensed realtor a few years back at a community college and the information has been very valuable to me as a real estate investor.  I never took the licensing test, though -- I invest in apartments and there's no benefit to being a licensed realtor for me with my chosen strategy.

Bottom line - the classes were very valuable to me, but the license was not.

Account Closed · Answer

@Carey Lynch its a no brainer. Yes.

Here is a basic reason:

You find a motivated seller and give them 3 options.

You can pay 70% ARV. You can pay them full price on Owner Finance or you can list it for them... All three ways you get paid..

And when you buy/sell properties you save $ on commissions and can even make $ via referrals.

Last month I made 15k just on referrals. So yes. Get your liscense and then yr brokers and run your own show.

Brenden Mitchum · Answer

Hey @Carey Lynch

As an investor and REALTOR®, I can tell you that it really depends on your specific situation. If you have the time to spend on getting your license, it may be worthwhile. Like anything else in real estate, it just comes down to the math. If getting your license will cost you x (for me about $1000) with another y ($500 for me) every year following, how many deals would you need to close for this to make sense? Probably just one/year, whether it's your own deal or someone else's.

However, if you already have a full-time job or are a full-time investor, perhaps your time is worth more doing what you already do? If you already have a rockstar agent, or if you find most of your deals off-market, getting your license is probably not worth it.

So without fully understanding your situation, it is not possible to entirely recommend one direction or the other.

That being said, feel free to reach out anytime if you want to chat about your particular situation and what might be the best course of action for you.

Brian Briscoe · Answer

@David New

I said it was a few years ago, I think it was 2007-2008, so it's been a while. When I took the classes, I knew very little about real estate investing...

Now, up front, in 2020, it's easier to get the same knowledge on blogs, vlogs, podcasts, etc., than it was 12 years ago...

The courses basically go through everything involved in real estate transactions.  It talks about valuations and different methods of arriving at value, it discusses lending market (to include secondary market), how you can hold title, how you can transfer title, title insurance, liens, classes of property, leases, landlord-tenant issues, etc.

I think it really provided a baseline for future education and exposed me to how wide and varied real estate is.  For a creative mind, there's a lot of options besides the traditional seller selling and buyer buying... like subject-to, lease-options, master leases, etc.

I took it as a college course, so it was heavy on knowledge and light on practical application.  For the price I paid in 2008 it was a good value.  But, in 2020, there may be better options that focus on your investment strategy.  If you want to be a flipper, take a course for flippers; if you want to be a multifamily syndicator, take a course on that... etc.

Carey Lynch · Answer

@Brenden Mitchum thanks for the information, I appreciate it. I am currently working to build a team of investor friendly agents and have actually already reached out to one. I will start off with this route and go from there.

Carey Lynch · Answer

Account Closed thanks, that is a good way to look at it and good information.

Sam Shueh · Answer

That depends. If you are buying 10 properties and commission is important income by all means.

The realtor has a lot of maintenance if you only do a few transactions a year.

Yannik Cudjoe-Virgil · Answer

In my opinion, it only really helps in the residential space. You don't need it to be a wholesaler. But you will get access to comps and be able to represent clients (if that is what you would like to do).

The cons are that it can be an additional cost of 3-4k per year depending on jurisdiction, broker fees and subscriptions, MLS subscription and other subscriptions (sentrilock, etc).

David New · Answer

@Brian Briscoe Brian, if you don’t mind me asking. What were a few of the things you learned that were valuable? I’m a new investor myself and have been thinking about going through the training just to further my education level after I get a few deals under my belt. In the limited research I have done, I haven’t found much on the specific topics that would really benefit an investor and have been wanting to ask someone who has gone through the course for feedback.

Thanks!

Is is best to get a license?

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