Should I get my real estate license?

[Nicolette Alger]

I've been considering getting my real estate license.  I am a newbie investor - working on getting my first property.  Should I get my license?  Is it helpful?  OR is it better to have a good agent on my team?  

[Jeff Copeland]

You might consider taking the pre-licensing course, at a minimum. It's the perfect way to learn the basic real estate laws for your state, typically at a cost of only a few hundred bucks. You can then decide whether to pursue the actual license.

There are many advantages to having a license (MLS access, saving 2-3% on every deal you buy/sell, and being able to legally earn a commission come to mind), but you'll find many different trains of thought here in the forums.

Interestingly, most of the people who say it's not helpful to have a license and who harp about the disadvantages of being licensed, are not licensed and never have been (so how would they know?). And those of us who are licensed can not imagine ever going back to being unlicensed. 

Sure, it may not be for everyone. But the advantages far outweigh any possible disadvantages (of which there are very few, in my opinion).