Ultimately, I want the primary source of my income to come from investments in real estate and private businesses.Although I’m pretty much a silent reader for now, I will join the conversation as I feel like I have more to contribute.Thanks to the active members for sharing their knowledge, and good luck to everyone on their endeavors!

Be driven to focus your attention on deal making activities and ignore the rest.

Otherwise it can get complicated as you really are putting buyers and sellers together, facilitating sales.You need to read your state statutes very carefully word for word as to what requires a real estate license and then don't do those things if you don't have a license.You can be an employee or memebr in a LLC that buys or sells, as a principal, in other words if BAC LLC buys a property and you are a memeber of BAC LLC, you can then be entitled to profits for the work you perform in that LLC.Another way is for you to take an option to buy and then sell your option, this is placing you in a position of havine an interest in the transaction, but those you sell to may have financing issues with this, it also depends on property restrictions or title limitations as beeing seen as sales during a restriction to conveyances, again check and see how these issues are viewed locally.Generally, you can not act as a third party between a buyer and seller and simply arrange or introduce deals and be paid a fee independly as that is a function of a real estate agent/broker.Lastly, it's easy to get a bad reputation amoung Realtors if you're known as a birddog, they will likely see you as unlicensened competiton and expect them to complain and report your activities.

It may be accurate that those have reached the level of an advertised program no longer have time for one-on-one communications and have moved to a businessplan of volume and are no longer actively "in the trenches".

He's requiring me to take the Texas RE Sales course & exam, even if I don't become an active agent.

@Anthony Martin ,I am active in the Self- Storage niche and just wanted to clarify something I noticed in your post.

I've run various scenarios with the current market activity and think that as long as I live in the place for at least 2-3 years and do most of the renos myself, I won't lose any money (worst case scenario).

My one concern is that the stress of managing the tenants or worrying about burning out and losing intereste/desire.

Knowing what is going to be the next, big thing in real estate is important so we are able to provide financing for real estate investors who are active in those specific niches.With government-backed financing available in plenty for multi-family, assisted living, to name a few, these property types have been extremely popular among real estate investors in recent years.

It is wise to head their same concerns as they are more active right now in the market than you.