What are the advantages of having your own real estate license

[Sam Bruno]

Is it worth getting your real estate license if you want to become a Real estate investor?

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Brian Varmuza:

@J Scott How often would you have sellers wanting you to forfeit you commission as part of the deal on the buying side? 

Thats the only issue I've come across having my license, disclosing I am the buyer and the sellers will try to negotiate giving up the commission as part of the deal.

We will very rarely take a commission when we are purchasing property for ourselves.

First, the money is the least important reason we have our licenses. The big reason why we want to be licensed is to control our deals. To have the ability to chat with the other agent, to talk with the other side's inspectors, appraisers, lenders, and to work directly with the title company. If giving up a commission is going to get us a deal, we're almost always happy to do it as long as the numbers work otherwise.

Second, we will typically say up front that we plan to waive the commission, but we will look for a discount on the purchase price that is at least somewhat comparable.  Since we buy many of our properties to hold long-term, we will pay less in tax by paying reduced purchase price then we would by paying a higher purchase price and getting a commission.

Commission income will be taxed at ordinary income rates. The reduced purchase price will be taxed at long-term capital gains rates when I sell the property down the road. And even if it's a flip, I may be able to defer taxes if I don't sell in the same year as I buy.