Real estate liscence

Thinking about it as well, just to run comps on my own(temporarily!)
Would like to know if there are any restrictions too.

RENinja

license offers no "net value" to someone that wants to be a real estate investor. If you are both, you must give disclosures on any real estate transaction you do for yourself. You will be held to a higher standard in court if someone sues you as you are an "expert". You must participate in scheduled continuing education. You must participate in scheduled activites that your broker plans....floor time, canvassing, slicitinh, etc. You must pay dues to local and national boards. You have to work with other real estate agents which will reduce your intelligence. (Okay, that last one was my opinion. Sorry.)

but I can only speak about where I live, which a large majority of investors, developers are either brokers or agents.

Speaking with friends and associates I know in major cities, that is the norm.

It all depends on what you're looking for.

Thank you. You jogged my brain; it was the disclosures and being held to higher standard, but I forgot about all the other dues and being accountable to a team. I guess I wasn't planning on practicing, but just having a bit more "knowledge" and access to the MLS mainly. That quote unquote Knowledge was for you Bill. LOL.

Tammy,

If you end up not obtaining your license, you can still get access to the mls...Find an investor friendly agent to work with and they will give you access. You just have to ask them. Technically, they can't allow you to use their account unless you are their assistant...so technically, you will be their "assistant" I gained access from 2 different agents before I was licensed, so I know it's possible.

A great resource to find agents is Homegain.com ... You indicate that you are seeking an investor friendly agent and you get to interview them!

Hope that helps..

and unnecessary

the real deals are with properties that are off market or from an agent that has access to other agents and developers who have properties no one else knows about.

Just my thoughts.

I was sure someone would bring up the FSBO, and this seems the way to go, since they are not probably in the MLS.

The mls is a great tool, but it depends on what your objectives are. I use it to find cash buyers, for stats on what's selling, days on market, what towns are hot... It's great for market research, plus you can see who the cash buyers are in your area and who the repeat offenders are.

Sure you can solicit the Expireds to find motivated sellers, which is great, but you can find motivated sellers in many places.

If you really want to research your market and know what's selling, days on market, style of home in live time then the mls is a fantastic tool!

It won't make or break your business, but it will help.

Tammy,

No question is silly. Well, maybe the one that isn’t asked. Here are a few points to consider.
You have to disclose that you are a realtor when doing your investments. This isn’t an issue, but you always have to share that. In addition to the disclosure, there are annual fees that are paid that can run hundreds of dollars, and you are required to accumulate a certain number of continuing education hours to keep your real estate license current and active. All of this is after you have paid to attend school to begin with, and is done on an annual basis.
The MLS is a great tool, but as mentioned above you don’t have to be a realtor to have access to that. As I coach students I always advise them to get a realtor on their power team. If you do you will have all the access you need, and you will be able to focus on doing more deals. The phrase “2 heads are better than one.”
Either way, you need to make an educated decision weighing both the positive and negative, then see what comes out on top.

Good luck!

For your input. I think for now I won't focus on more schooling and dues, etc. It is something I could consider down the line. I think for me now the benefits don't outweigh the negatives of seeking a liscence. Thanks!

check out fsbo online sites as well as yard signs and newspaper ads,flyers--check moving sales/yard sales

@Bill, you crack me up...good one
"You have to work with other real estate agents which will reduce your intelligence. (Okay, that last one was my opinion. Sorry.)"

I will do that. Sometimes it is so easy to overlook one aspect of a piece of the puzzle. Nice to have reminders.

Hello Tammy, I am a realtor myself and I see some pros and cons. Of course, I was an agent first before I became a real estate investor. I now hold my license as a real estate broker as I wanted to become more independent and I really love real estate and helping others. As investor, you must disclose that you are acting as a Buyer or Selling / Agent. This tells the other party that you are knowledgable doing real estate transactions. It is true that you have to pay fees, etc, but you can also overcome this by listing properties and making commissions. There are some other liabilities, but you have to keep up your ethics and professionalism to minimize any potential liability. I also use E&O insurance as we are all humans and you never know too.

You could delegate all of this to your Realtor as well and make him/her find you comps if you wish not to get your license. Bottomline, you don't need a license to be a real estate investor, but in my opinion, it opens other avenues that I use regularly as investor too. Hope that helps.

Hi Tammy,
I too wanted to be a real estate agent and investor because I thought it would give me an advantage in the real estate game. I took the $450 class, paid the $300 for the the license, and still after the all the that they told me that I could not be active in real estate until I paid the $400 dollars to be a realtor and gain access to the mls. And on top of that, I would have to take continuing education classes, pay annual dues, and renew my licence every year. And wanted to be an agent cause I thought I could help people, but I can do much more good being an investor. Not all in vain though because studing to be an agent gave me all the basics I needed to know about real estate. So good luck in whatever you try to do.

All the particulars like fees are irrelevant if you're making money and there is nothing wrong with getting educated on your profession because who wants to work with someone who doesn't know the latest laws and loopholes???

And having to reveal that you're an agent is moot; it's not going to kill a deal or anything. If anything it'll show the seller that you know what you're doing and there's a better chance of the deal closing.

It works perfectly for me because I do very well and when I am able to better weed out the fraud 'investors' from the real ones when I request their paperwork, I get no reservations.

Again, having a license is not for everyone, but if you get it, make use of it to the best of your abilities.

Once you get your license, make it a point to make sure you pay yourself back with the deals you want to close.

I'd be ****ed off if I took the class, license fee and you don't have your license???

Finish the process and move on to using it.

Rawshaun you should pay and get the advantages. YOu can at least see if being an agent is for you. Thanks everyone for your input.

the 96% of people that buy REI courses and QUIT...what a WASTE of time and money