Becoming a real estate agent in the DC/MD/NoVA Market - My story

Becoming a real estate agent in the DC/MD/NoVA Market - My story

My real estate agent pre-licensing course is over. My test has been passed on the first attempt, and I have affiliated with a a broker/firm that I feel are a perfect fit for both my personality and real estate goals. I have received the last signature from the broker needed, and the sealed envelope is sitting next to me waiting to be mailed next week. I feel this is a perfect time to write a follow up to my initial post on the topic I wrote on Jan 4th of 2015. It is titled “Why I chose to be a licensed real estate agent, maybe its right for you too”

Did I ever imagine that I would be in the DC/MD/NoVA market? No I didn’t. Circumstances relating to my mothers health have me living in Arizona, and a year ago my plan was to become licensed in Arizona, and to practice in Tucson, but I just could not get excited about the Tucson Market for various reasons. I was so serious about the Tucson market I turned down a position with a prestigious government agency in the DC area, but I still could not get passionate about the market.

As the health of my mother improved, I began to rethink my decision to turn down the position in DC. I began to research the market, and those who operate in it. The comparison was night and day, and this excited me. The agency I had withdrawn from had been kind enough to let me know that if I ever had a change of heart they would be happy to accept me again without having to go through the application process again. It took a bit, but I had my offer re-instated. Upon the news of the new offer, I immediately signed up for Kaplan real estate school which could be completed anywhere with an internet connection. In addition I started to seek out connections in the area on the bigger pockets forum, the more I learned about the area, the more passionate I became. Now here I am with just a handful of days until I get the official paper from the state that will allow me to legally practice and improve my craft.

I see the question of ‘should I become a licensed agent” so many times here in the forum, and my answer to that question now is a lot different than my answer a year ago.

My only reasons for being an agent now are very simple.

I want to be the best salesperson possible

I want to know my market inside and out

I want to be the best advisor my client could hope for

If you took the time to read my first blog post on the subject, you can see my reasons are completely different today. I give credit for that to the education I have amassed over the last year, and the people I have surrounded myself with.

I don’t care about access to the MLS

I don’t care scouting properties for myself

I don’t care about any of the selfish reasons that I see talked about by other members as “good” reasons to get licensed.

If you are not getting licensed because you want to be a sophisticated professional in the industry, so you can help a client arrive at the best possible outcome in a transaction, you will fail.

You will become a statistic just like the 80-90 percent of other individuals who want to get a license every year.

I will not fail.

If reading this has sparked your interest please subscribe to my bigger pockets blog as I will be posting updates with insight and lessons learned during my first 5 transactions, and beyond.

Also, if you share a similar mindset, or just have questions feel free to reach out to me. I always like to collaborate with other members of bigger pockets.