Why Real Estate Investors Should be Their Own Agents

[Nick Atwood]

As an investor, it didn't make any sense why I was letter a buyer's agent collect 2.5% of the purchase price, for the minimal return I was getting. After many sales, I knew the real estate forms well and had the buying/selling process down. I decided it was time to get a real estate license. It took me about a week to get my license, start to finish- education, testing, forms, etc. I did the research and found one of the cheapest, low overhead, transaction fee based brokerages in the state of OR, and then over 3 years later, started my own brokerage! You end up saving thousands on each deal compared to your traditional brokerage commission split (20/30/40/50 etc.). It ends up costing a little over $2k a year to maintain a license at the minimum, but even doing just 1 sale a year more than pays for itself. A 300k property returns a $7.5k commission, or 3-4 years of the cost to maintain your license.

Being my own realtor provided so many more benefits! Being able to view properties anytime, anywhere. Negotiating on my own behalf. Not worrying about lowballing distressed properties, not worrying if I lose the deal if I'm negotiating too much - there are always more! Plus I can structure deals in a unique ways that provide a plethora of great benefits such as tax benefits, and less money needed to close deals! 

Someone debate with me, as an investor, why would you not invest the little time and money to get a real estate license and save yourself thousands?