All Forum Posts by: Dorian Redden

@Ronald Allen Barney Great advice!Definitely something I'm going to look into. Thank you!

I am a newly licensed real estate agent in PA, and I am looking to start investing in property. I have decided that I want to start with buying a property to rent out. However, I am currently in the process of purchasing my first home that I plan to live in. So since I am getting a mortgage for that property, is there any way for me buy another property or should I wait some time? Is there any other we for me to start investing other than trying to borrow the money from an institution? Just looking for some ideas on how I should get started. I appreciate any insight or advice.

I passed my PA licensing exam a year and a half ago, but I got discouraged because the costs to start working for a brokerage were a bit much for me at the time, and a lot of the brokerages that I talked to said that I wouldn't succeed if I only wanted to do real estate part time (which is what I wanted to do at the time). However, now I am at the point where I know that real estate is what I want to do and I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get started in this industry, but I'm not sure if it's worth it to go the route of trying to become an agent, or if I should just go the route of investing and not worrying about becoming an agent. I would really appreciate any helpful advice.

@Martha Nowlan @Matthew Teter @Monica Pina I really appreciate all of your feedback. It puts me a little at ease because I was beginning to get discouraged because I didn't think it would be possible for me to do real estate part time. However, I am very determined and disciplined, and whatever I put my mind to I always accomplish so I am ready to do whatever I have to do to make this dream come true.

Thanks for all of your responses

So I just recently passed my real estate salesperson exam (about 3 weeks ago) and I am now in the process of trying to figure out which brokerage company I want to work for. The problem is I currently have a full time job and I can't just up and quit my job right now because I am the bread winner in my home (although my goal is to eventually quit my job and go into real estate full time when I can). I've been to 2 big name companies and they both have told me that they wouldn't be interested in taking me on as an agent unless I was willing to come on full time, which is a bummer, but understandable I guess. On the other hand, another brokerage company said that they wouldn't mind taking me on part time. Then I had a brokerage company email me today about the possibility of working for their company as a referral associate. Now I've never heard of a referral associate, but I could tell by the name what it entailed. Basically, I would get paid for referring people to my brokerage company, but I would have no dealings in anything else dealing with the transaction.

So I guess my question is should I go to the brokerage that will allow me to work part time just to get my foot in the door and then when I'm ready to go full time switch to a different brokerage? Should I start out as a referral agent until I'm ready to become full time? Or should I just wait until I can work as an agent full time and then decide? I know a lot of you probably think this is a dumb question, but I've been doing some research and I've been reading and hearing so many different things that I'm totally confused and don't know what to do. I appreciate any feedback you guys could give.

Dorian Redden

Hi! My name is Dorian. I joined biggerpockets a little while ago, but I haven't been on in a while because I felt like I had absolutely no experience so I wasn't really benefitting from this site and I couldn't really give any input. However, since my "hiatus", I have finished the coursework needed to get my salesperson license, and I am currently studying for the exam.

My question is, how do I go about finding the right brokerage company to work for. I was told that in order to get your license after you pass the exam, you have to be working under a broker and they have to verify that. So should I be looking for a brokerage company now or should I wait until after I have taken the exam? Sometimes it seems as though brokers are not really interested in you unless or until you have your license. So I'm just a little confused as to how I should go about this. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! 

@Brandon Beale@Kenneth Barr@Chris Boyd@Chase Hancock@Charles MooreThanks so much! I really appreciate all of your feedback. I am definitely gonna start with finding a mentor and I will continue to save and search.

I am just starting out in my real estate investment journey. I have been reading, researching, listening to podcasts and actively using bigger pockets for about a month now and I feel like I have gotten great information, but I am scared to start investing. I know that in order for me to really begin investing I am going to have to take that next step and start making deals, but i am unsure how exactly I should get started. 

My plan is to start out wholesaling just to get my feet wet and get a feel for the business, and use the money I am able to save from wholesaling to do some house hacking and buy a duplex or triplex. My ultimate goal is to become a full time house flipper because I love the idea of taking a house that is run down and old and falling apart and turning it into something beautiful. 

With all that being said, I am not exactly sure what the best way to get started wholesaling is. Should I find a home first and then begin to look for potential buyers? Should I find a buyer that is looking to flip a house first and then begin my hunt for finding a property? Or is wholesaling not even a good way to get started? 

I would love any feedback that I could get from anyone that is currently wholesaling or has done some wholesaling in their career. Both success and not so successful stories so that I can know what to expect. I am just looking for some guidance before I get started.

Thanks! Dorian 

I have become very serious about wanting to get involved in real estate and eventually make it a full time career. However, I know that I do not have enough knowledge or skills (or money) to get started on my own. I am located in the Philadelphia area and I would be more than happy to get in touch with some investors in Philadelphia that are looking for help that I could learn from. I am not necessarily asking for a job, more like the opportunity to get some experience, learn, grow, and build good relationships with those already investing in real estate. If there are any investors that would be interested I would love to hear from you.

Dorian Redden

@Gregory H. @David Bokman I appreciate all of you guys good feedback. I am still reading and researching to figure out exactly what area of the business I want to get started in. I have been hearing so many different things from different people about the right and wrong things to do. I have just been introduced to the term "bird dog", so I am definitely planning on looking into that and see where it takes me.