As a REI, do you have a real estate license?

Question

I understand it is not required to have a real estate license in order to be a real estate investor, but I am wondering how many folks do have their license and whether they find it beneficial. Thank you! My husband and I are new to the real estate investment world and have seen it recommended but I want to see if it worth the time and money beforehand.

Guy Gimenez · Answer

Licensed since 1999, broker since 2007 (Texas), full time investor since 2000. Has it been beneficial for me? Absolutely. (1) saved a huge amount of money from not having to pay another broker to list my flip properties; (2) I can do property management for my rentals using my brokerage (3) gives me access to hard data to analyze potential investments (4) easy to make side income (commissions) by occasionally listing another investor's property. Obviously you don't need a license to be an investor but it would have cost me several hundred thousand dollars in the last 23 years by not having my license.

Eliott Elias · Answer

I am an investor and hold my license. It is beneficial due to the fact that I have MLS access and can run my own comparables. I can also make commissions on deals I buy.

Account Closed · Answer

Nope. Over 25 years, multi millions later and no license and would not get one. It slows people down. They think it means something and don't start until they are "socially approved" by getting a license, They do not teach you how to invest while getting a license. Now, if you want to be like 80% of real estate agents, get a license, sell one house, call it good and move on to something else. Those are the stats. "So, how many active real estate agents and Realtors® are there? According to estimates from the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO), there are more than 3 million people holding active real estate licenses in the United States.""Dee Dee Cortez, a top real estate agent in Corpus Christi and Kingsville, Texas, explains that while it’s a relatively easy industry to enter, it’s far more difficult to actually achieve success. She agrees that anyone can be an agent, but it takes experience, training, and the right communication skills to succeed as a top agent." And, hard work.

Carl Davis · Answer

Hey Amanda,I’m an agent here in Utah and It definitely benefits me for what I like to do.

Since I mainly focus on house hacking and help others house hack it makes it easier to acquire my properties for less down with the commission piece.

But helping other individuals residentially is much different than being an investor. I believe that is a whole different skill set so if you’re thinking you’ll make easy money doing that I would probably not expect to initially.

But just like others have mentioned, since utah is a non disclosure state, its nice to be able to run my own comps as well.

Logan McKay Zylstra · Answer

I am an investor and have my license. Being new to RE, I would probably get your first deal under your belt before thinking about getting your license. Three biggest benefits to having your license:

1. Utah is a nondisclosure state so access to the MLS and comparable sales will be extremely beneficial.

2. You can use the 2-3% commission as a downpayment.

3. You can submit as many offers as you want.

If you aren't planning on doing a lot of transactions yourself, I wouldn't recommend it. Before I was licensed, I won deals because of who my agent was. Agents can be overpaid but the good ones who are in the market every day doing deals are worth the 2-3%.

Account Closed · Answer

In Ohio, Hondros and Davis are the two colleges that offer courses that I hear about a lot. Hondros has been recommended to me by my peers and it includes Compucram, which is a very useful tool for studying for the final exam. Davis may be worth it if it is significantly cheaper, as Compucram on its own is around $100. Both offer all online courses, hope this helps.

Hondros packages- https://www.hondros.com/progra...

Davis packages- https://daviscollege.leaponlin...

Account Closed · Answer

With the right schedule/dedication ( and of course some background knowledge wouldn't hurt), a license can be obtained in about a month. Could be longer obviously, depending on how busy you are/how much time you devote to this. The main benefit would be access to the MLS, where you can find all listings in your area. The biggest benefit to an investor is being able to pull sales comps, which gives you a great idea of what you should be paid. REI's make money when they buy, not when they sell. In my area, it costs $1500 to register for courses, which would be a worthwhile investment if you find even 1 good deal via the MLS, or avoid 1 bad deal due to sales comps.

David M. · Answer

@Amanda Miller

Yes there are many reasons to have it, but it really isn't necessary.  Still, it depends on your strategy and goals...

A couple other issues not mentioned is you still have to learn the trade.  Licensure only covers the regulatory issues so the State can come after you if you mess up.  Otherwise, its not that useful for day to day purposes.  Also, its ~$2k to $3k a year is just dues and fees to keep your license active since you need to hang it with a broker, thats after you find a broker who will take you.  Remember, brokers make their money off the backs of the agents.  So, it you aren't producing, you generally are costing the broker money.

good luck.

Corby Goade · Answer

Investor and realtor here as well.

Contrary to popular belief, there is much more to this than just getting MLS access or saving a commission here or there.

Negotiation and managing communication in a transaction is a learned skill- you don't get better at it when you do a two deals a year. There is a reason the attrition rate in our field is 90%. It's no coincidence that 20% of the agents in any given market are doing 80% of the deals.

If you aren't doing at least 10 deals a year for yourself and for others, it's likely to be a waste of time. The reality is, even if you collect a commission here and there for yourself, your lack of experience will leave more money than that on the table, you just wouldn't realize where you gave leverage away.

Bob Stevens · Answer

No benefit, zero. With all the online sites you can run your own comps and do all the same " analysis " as a realtor. Also, the deals for the most part are off market.

As a REI, do you have a real estate license?

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