should I get my real estate license

[Amy Frisella]

I'm a student at Mizzou in Columbia, Missouri, completing my last year in the Architecture and interior design program. I'm currently employed at Central States Construction doing interior design, and architecture as well as renovation spatial design. Over the course of my last few years in school, flipping is something I greatly considered so I began educating myself and listening and reading what I could about real estate. Currently I'm looking to make that first next step in my real estate career somewhere in my area either at school in Columbia or in my home town of Washington, Missouri.

I plan to make my first deal within the year but have been considering getting my real estate license while i'm in my last year of school. I've heard some of the pros but I've also heard its not worth my time. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt to get( other than my budget of a college student) and i think it would familiarize me with the way real estate works to better prepare me for the way my future deals play out.

[Andy Sabisch]

A real estate license is a plus when listing your flip as it saves you the commission. You can also find deals as soon as they come up and have access to the MLS to run comps. With that said, no all brokers / companies are the same so you should see what they charge you to get in the office and what they expect from you. If you are selling homes, remember most traffic is on weekends so that might make a difference in the decision. There are also certain things that you have to stay within being a realtor that an investor woudl not so another factor to consider. There are pluses but as you have already noted there are costs and you need to determine of they are worth the hassle.