To be or not to be a licensee?

[Terell Miles]

Curious about everyone's professional opinion on going through the process of obtaining a real estate license. I'm new to investing and have not made a decision on how I want to go about starting this adventure. All advice is welcomed. Thank you in advance.

[Jeff Copeland]

There are definitely two schools of thought here*, and it obviously depends on your personal goals. 

I am pro-license... there are very few disadvantages to having a real estate license. 

The costs more than pay for themselves by:

1. Saving you the commission on any deal you acquire yourself. 

2. Opening up an entire new income stream and employment opportunity for you.

3. Legitimizing your operations

4. Keeping you out of trouble with the State (the general rule of thumb is if you are practicing real estate for other people (i.e. buyers and sellers), for compensation, then you need a license.)

*In many cases, the people who are the most vocal in the anti-license camp have never had a real estate license themselves, and don't really understand what it entails or what the benefits are, but are quick to tell you how you should run your business. 

You do what works for you. But rarely will you find a real estate investor who obtained their license, but then gave it up because they felt it was a disadvantage, or unnecessary, or too expensive to maintain. Those old arguments from the anti-license crowd just don't add up.