Looking to Start with Wholesaling

[Anthony Sarrouf]

Hello!

So this is my first post at biggerpockets, and the first time I'm asking anyone about real estate in general. I am less than two month away from finishing my Industrial and Systems Engineering  undergrad degree from Ohio State University, and have done several attempts to "make money" on the side. My most recent one was car flipping, with intentions to save up some money to start with wholesaling.
I don't see myself being employed and work as an engineer. I have had some engineering experience, but I know that engineering will not lead me to be financially "free". My brother and I and teaming up to learn more about wholesaling (and other real estate topics), and are serious about dedicating our whole time to real estate in general. We spent some time on biggerpockets, read some guides, posts, threads, and have many questions to ask, so any help from you guys would be very appreciated.

1) I am thinking about purchasing a course. I have already read about the waste of money in investing in one of those (Steve Cook's Wholesaling 2.0 and Vena Jones Cox's Wholesaling course), but I think that I can learn a lot in a short amount of time, but please feel free to prove me wrong. I am convinced that biggerpockets has a ton of information and almost everything I need to start, but won't the course save me time?

2) Since I'm in Ohio, I read about a lot of legal issues regarding wholesaling, but as far as I know, it actually is perfectly legal if done properly. Is there any other source for finding a definite answer and some guidance on how to set up contracts than the forums or attorneys?

3) I thought about getting a broker license anyways since the community college in downtown Columbus offers the 4 courses required for the state licensing exam (Real Estate Principles and Practices, Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Law, Real Estate Appraisal), and I can do them online over the summer or in Fall of 2019 online/in class. What do you think? Is it worth it? My intentions are to start with wholesaling and possibly shifting into other real estate opportunities that require more financial investments. 

4) I checked out the REIA webpage for central Ohio, and am planning to go to some events to learn more about this topic and meet other people in the same field. I found other associations on meetup, any feedback/suggestions about those? Here's the list:

-Central Ohio Real Estate Entrepreneurs Association

-Real Estate Investor Networking Opp

- Business Real Estate Mastermind

-Newbie Real Estate Investors Meetup

-Real Estate Investing/ Real Deal Columbus, OH

-Columbus Real Estate Investors Association ColumbusREIA.com

I am really serious about dedicating my full time to this, and my goal is to flip a deal by July 2019. I have no plan B and don't want one (like finding an engineering job...), and this is what I want to do! Any advice will help, and am looking forward to hopefully meet one of you in Columbus soon!

PS: Brandon Sturgill, I have noticed that you discussed the legality of wholesaling in Ohio 3 years ago on a topic here with Keith Vinson.

Do you guys have any additional comments to do about this topic (or any other topic of course) now that a good time has past? I am not sure if any laws have changed since then.

[Robert Ellis]

Originally posted by @Anthony Sarrouf:

Hello!

So this is my first post at biggerpockets, and the first time I'm asking anyone about real estate in general. I am less than two month away from finishing my Industrial and Systems Engineering  undergrad degree from Ohio State University, and have done several attempts to "make money" on the side. My most recent one was car flipping, with intentions to save up some money to start with wholesaling.
I don't see myself being employed and work as an engineer. I have had some engineering experience, but I know that engineering will not lead me to be financially "free". My brother and I and teaming up to learn more about wholesaling (and other real estate topics), and are serious about dedicating our whole time to real estate in general. We spent some time on biggerpockets, read some guides, posts, threads, and have many questions to ask, so any help from you guys would be very appreciated.

1) I am thinking about purchasing a course. I have already read about the waste of money in investing in one of those (Steve Cook's Wholesaling 2.0 and Vena Jones Cox's Wholesaling course), but I think that I can learn a lot in a short amount of time, but please feel free to prove me wrong. I am convinced that biggerpockets has a ton of information and almost everything I need to start, but won't the course save me time?

2) Since I'm in Ohio, I read about a lot of legal issues regarding wholesaling, but as far as I know, it actually is perfectly legal if done properly. Is there any other source for finding a definite answer and some guidance on how to set up contracts than the forums or attorneys?

3) I thought about getting a broker license anyways since the community college in downtown Columbus offers the 4 courses required for the state licensing exam (Real Estate Principles and Practices, Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Law, Real Estate Appraisal), and I can do them online over the summer or in Fall of 2019 online/in class. What do you think? Is it worth it? My intentions are to start with wholesaling and possibly shifting into other real estate opportunities that require more financial investments. 

4) I checked out the REIA webpage for central Ohio, and am planning to go to some events to learn more about this topic and meet other people in the same field. I found other associations on meetup, any feedback/suggestions about those? Here's the list:

-Central Ohio Real Estate Entrepreneurs Association

-Real Estate Investor Networking Opp

- Business Real Estate Mastermind

-Newbie Real Estate Investors Meetup

-Real Estate Investing/ Real Deal Columbus, OH

-Columbus Real Estate Investors Association ColumbusREIA.com

I am really serious about dedicating my full time to this, and my goal is to flip a deal by July 2019. I have no plan B and don't want one (like finding an engineering job...), and this is what I want to do! Any advice will help, and am looking forward to hopefully meet one of you in Columbus soon!

PS: Brandon Sturgill, I have noticed that you discussed the legality of wholesaling in Ohio 3 years ago on a topic here with Keith Vinson.

Do you guys have any additional comments to do about this topic (or any other topic of course) now that a good time has past? I am not sure if any laws have changed since then.

 I'd recommend getting licensed and also don't go to the community college. do one of the online ones, a lot cheaper and you'll get it done faster. You'll learn more than you need to know about wholesaling. if you want to know more about in columbus, don't take it from a second hand person, call the division of professional licensing and ask about it. There is very specific language you have to use if you are practicing it, even if you are licensed. Being licensed protects you a lot more because you have a license to practice real estate.