From Software to Real estate

[Raj Anand]

Other than buying my first house in 1999, I haven't done a single real estate transaction. I live in Santa Clara and am software consultant by profession so most of the real-estate jargons are greek at this point.

But I am willing to learn, and was wondering if a 3 months course for a real-estate agent license makes sense even if I really don't want to make that my primary profession (I am told it does not pay very well :).

Investments are a different game for sure. Will it help if you have a realtor license and save costs on the deals that you do?

[Chuck Hattemer]

Hey Raj,

Very cool to hear you are making the decision to start investing in the local markets. These days, given current interest rates and stock market performance, real estate makes a lot of sense in terms of diversifying your investment strategy. I would agree with the others in the sense that you want to focus on your core competency.

Given your familiarity with the tech world, I would recommend taking advantage of the wealth of data and tools online to first find which areas of the South Bay have strong cap rates and active investment opportunities (they're all low compared to the rest of the country of course). As @Cindy Blanco mentioned, RE meetup groups are especially great resources and there is one coming up this week on Tuesday actually in San Jose at Harry's Hofbrau hosted by SJREI. Usually, there are around 100 RE investors there. Message me for those details if interested.

With all that said, If you spend your time up front with educating yourself on the right strategy and investment opportunities, then partner with someone for the transaction, then you may ultimately come out on top because you've taken a strategic approach and found the best deal in town. Plus, you may find a valuable investment partner at one of the meetup groups.

Once you close on your first home, if you plan to buy-and-hold, let me know and I'd be happy to provide some tips for managing the property.

Good luck!