All Forum Posts by: Bethany Corey

I want to be a real estate investor. period. But, as I have said before, I am also woking towards my real estate salesperson license. I do not particularly want to be a professional real estate agent, though. I simply want the benefit of being able to use my own yard signs, the know-how of the technical lingo of real estate transactions, and be my own agent.

But once I get my license, are there certain legal formalities that I have to follow that would limit an investment business (besides broker commissions), such as having to give deals that I find to buyers besides myself? I know that good agents will do so, but for someone who is not planning on becoming a professional agent, would I be legally obligated to be more generous with my findings?

I read a blog post on BP that said that putting yourself out as an agent, name tag and all, helps people be more confident in your abilities, opposed to just saying "I'm a real estate investor", which makes people who are unfamiliar with investing scratch their head and question your credibility. But it also makes people expect you to behave like an agent, and less like an investor..... which means giving more deals to other people and spending more time as an agent than as an investor. I don't like the idea of splitting my attention 50/50 between investing and "agenting". I'm either going to be an investor or an agent: I don't want to be both. I want to be an investor who just happens to have a license. Would having a license take from my revenue more than it would give? Is it as restricting as I think it is?

I am currently taking my real estate licensing class, and I am looking to become an agent. I already have a broker in mind, but I am sort of lost as to how the whole process of officially becoming an agent works. What are the specific steps of becoming licensed (step by step) right after I pass my test? What are the obligations of a new agent under a broker? It is fairly easy for just anyone to become an agent, which is a good thing for me because I am fairly new to this whole real estate thing, but I am worried that my inexperience will cause problems for both me and the broker under whom I will be training.

What should be my main priority after I become an agent?

Thank you; it did hlep.

I am meeting with a local broker this week, looking to find out more about what it takes to become a successful real estate agent, and I hope to hang my license up with her real estate company eventually. What, as a total newbie, are some good questions I should ask her about becoming a licensed agent who is also looking to become real estate investor?

(I have not yet close my first deal or done any sort of real estate-related transactions. So when I say newbie, I really mean it. I'm at level zero)

I am just starting out in real estate, mostly learning from Bigger Pickets and reading business books. Until I get my CA driver's license in a few weeks, I will not be able to "drive for dolars", go to the courthouse steps to look for potential deals, or go to meetups and the like. Getting my driver's license will be my big break, and I will begin the makings of a business.

However, I am also seeking my CA Real Estate License, which may prove just as helpful as a DL. I want to become my own agent and invest using the MLS. I have an idea of which school I am going to go through (Kaplan), but I wanted to check with licensed realtors before I spend the money. Are there any online "schools" that agents on BiggerPockets would recomend? Which ones are the least expensive, yet at least meet the bare requirements?

Will do, Ingrid. I am looking forward to learning about it just as much as I want to actually do it.

High, my name is Bethany, and I'm from Yuba County in California. I found out about the Bigger Pockets community through my dad, Tim, after listening to him play some of the BP podcasts. I've only been vaguely interested in real estate up until know, through what little second hand knowledge I gained from just listening to the podcasts; but I am ready to become a serious student of real estate. I am almost 18, and looking to my future, I realize that in less than a year, financial independence will become a major priority, as I transition into adulthood. At first, I had no real motivation to invest in real estate, except for the natural want of money, but now, I can't think of any better way to enter into adulthood than through attaining not only financial independence, but financial freedom. If, due to me still being in high school, all I can do In the real estate community is learn the stuff, then at least by the time I graduate, I'll be able enter college as both a part time student, and as a knowledgable part time house flipper.

Besides real estate, art is my passion - martial, musical, visual, and literary. I spend my free time writing, sketching, painting, and shooting photography. Traveling, seeing new things, and going to new places really inspires and invigorates me, and fuels my art. I see real estate as both a financial and social avenue for such inspiration, as it seems to involve a lot of traveling.