Rochester, NY Wholesaler vs RE Agent

[Tarica Davis]

Hello BP, just having some true issues with getting my feet off of the ground and started. I just finished my RE class and took my exam but haven't taken a salesperson position yet so I don't have my license yet but I am very undecided about how to get started. I have been working as a nurse for about 10 years and I planned to keep it to take care of my current expenses and lifestyle, while I wanted to start a RE business to begin to gain financial freedom. I forgot to mention the fact that I am a mother who homeschools due to the pandemic which is another reason why I questioned taking a full time position as an agent. I planned on wholesaling and bird dogging from home instead to gain a little capital and build RE relationships that I could use to obtain my first properties and/or partnerships for long term income. I plan on taking care of my everyday expenses with my nursing income and let my RE income fund my RE investments. 

I am reaching out to Rochester, NY local investors to see what they thought would be a good method of execution to get started. I have a very flexible Nursing position so I can work the ground area pretty much at my leisure. I am finding out now since completing RE school that there is slow growth potential as an agent unless I plan to pursue a full time position and plan to focus on a luxury market, thus teaching me more how to be an employee than a business owner. I truly feel like I would be able to grow exponentially by taking non-conventional methods of building capital and investing which can offer me more flexibility with bigger deals instead of starting so small with SFR like I originally planned.

What do you guys think? Should I take a salesperson position to gain exposure to the market and build those buyer/seller lists or should I jump right in wholesaling and build those relationships the old fashioned way? If I took a salesperson position would I have to disclose my side RE business to my broker? Is the Rochester, NY area even supportive of wholesale transactions right now? How would you suggest that I get started, is a local meetup my best option? 

I understand how to analyze deals and evaluate them for potential, but do you guys suggest any apps or software that can help make things easier/ faster for contact management and such? What would a typical day/ week look like for a local wholesaler? Should I open an LLC for the wholesaling business? Any insight would help.

I know that it may seem like a lot, but I rather ask of you guys than go out into the world blind. I had a brokerage reach out to me and claimed to have all these good things to help me grow and learn but were not BBB accredited and there were NO reviews for a business ran for over 20 years. That should be a red flag right? How do I know who to trust? (Just an example of why I am thinking of going the non-conventional route.) If you had the time, drive and know how that you do today when you first started, how would you do it again? I have the time and drive to get moving and I am willing to do the foot work, I am just not sure how to take off. Please BP, help! 

[Charlie Cameron]

@Tarica Davis congrats on completing the course!  Sounds like your head is in the right place and you are ready to hustle.  One thing I'll recommend is that you determine whether you want to wholesale or jump into sales.  Many brokers won't want you to wholesale (unless you are legit closing the deal and then reselling it rather than assigning a contract) due to liability.  So that'd be my first recommendation.  

And not to push you away from being a part time agent - because I'm proof that you can do it - but you'll need flexibility to do it.  If you are able to take days off with short notice, that's key.  I mostly work for out of state buyers and investors, which helps with flexibility too.  Two other things that make it possible are a supportive spouse and a brokerage that allows me to get training, support, and mentorship outside of regular work hours - that way when I DID take time off, it was for direct real estate hustling like showings, client appointments, and offers.  You CAN do it.  

Best of luck to you!  Happy to help in any way that I can.  Go forth and conquer!