realtors license not needed but...

if wholesaling goes slow and investors money starts drying up and end buyers can't get home loans, you can always do rentals

and if rentals go slow, you can always go with end buyers and wholesale to investors

and then if all of the above go south, you can always do open houses for your other realtors and get a nomimal fee. And if a buyer from one of the open houses buys, its automatically your client and you share in the commission

See the options???

that if you're licensed, you need to disclose so when you do any wholesaling, etc. From what I understand, as an agent, you work under a broker, and therefore under his/her rules...
I would do investing without the license first; you can always get it later if you decide to...

wishing you success,

Valerie

Hi Valerie - thank you for the input. I certainly prefer to limit any restrictions on how I do business and therefore am not particularly interested in having to report to a broker. I am still wondering however if I'm leaving money on the table by not being able to get referral fees from the other agents when a deal doesnt work for me.

That's what I would do. If a deal doesn't work, it can be for any number of reasons. All you would have to tell him (if he keeps bothering you about it) is that you'll think about it, but thank him for the advice.

it is hard to serve two masters......yourself and a broker. There are trade offs, but you can make money simply as an investor.

Laws and regulations are not written by the Broker. They are established by local, state and federal governments. The Broker oversees the transactions to confirm that they are being done properly and conform to established laws and regulations. I have always been able to show the principals in a transaction that it was to their benifit to work with a licensed agent to insure that the transaction was compleated properly and would reduce the liability to them. I do not recomend that an investor gets his/her license, because there is considerable time and expense to maintain it.

Think you for word that you put at the end. From:Adrianne Oliver Time:1:16 pm 3=18=2011

i have my real estate license and i would not do it over again. the expense is very high to maintain it and it's tough here in IN to find a broker who will "put up with" an investor on their team. i'm fortunate to have found 2, but i made a lot of calls to other brokers who wanted nothing to do with me. you always have to disclose you are an agent and when you are a principal in the deal, you have to tell the seller you are not asking for a listing. i do it, but it would be easier not to. you also cannot pay referral fees to anyone who is not licensed. that one really burns me. some people love having their license, others do not. if you can successfully invest without it, that is what i would do. now i am looking for broker classes, which are tough to find around here, so that i can be independent and do my own thing. i don't want to answer to a broker any longer than i have to. lots of variables involved, so if you want to get the license, do your research first about what you are really getting yourself into. just my 2 cents....

I hold a principal brokers license. Your not leaving a lot of money on the table, when you divide it all up. In Indiana you are obligated to hold a realtors license for a year while working for a principal broker before you can get your brokers license, then you have to take another 9 week brokers course to get your brokers license. You also have to take a 9 week course to get your realtor license to begin with. Around here the cost for that, last I seen was around 350.00 dollars per course. Also you have to join a board of realtors in your area to have access to the mls. Around here it is usually about 500.00 dollars a year plus 60.00 per month. All of it up front to begin, with an orientation class. Sometimes I wish I had never got my license, but now that I have them I will try to keep them. Every 2 years you have to have continuing education of 16 hours, which runs 100.00 dollars. I am not a member of our board because of the cost. Thats why I'm doing it Deans way. The biggest thing about a license is you have to disclose you hold a license and anything you know about the property that you are asked. Of course you cant tell things you dont know about like septics because your not a licensed contractor either. Just like you cant give law advice because your not a lawyer. I always tell people to have a lawyer look over things like contracts if they have any legal questions. Bottom line is it cost a lot to hold a license,for someone like me who doesnt have a lot of money. Around here a referral fee is about 25% of one side of the deal after you divide that with another realtor. Say you have a commission of 6,000.00 dollars. Half goes to the other co. So you have 3,000.00 left divided by you and your broker which leaves 1500.00. Then you get around 375.00 dollars. I think I'm right on that breakdown. And also commissions are always negotiable, and with the way times are now I see a lot of people cutting commissions down to get the listing or sale. Hope my experience helps you with your decision.

I can only speak for where I am, and even though I have a license, of which I am very happy with, it seems to me that most of you here

1. Work more as traditional agents/brokers than investors-styled agents/brokers

2. Use the MLS to make the majority of your income

3. Work more with other traditional agents/brokers

As i've mentioned before, I never use the MLS. I've said that most should try and use the method of finding FSBO's or real cash buyers or developers. Another reason why I like having my license is that when someone tells me they are a buyer, instead of just putting their name on a list, I can verify them faster by demanding their corporate docs and bank statements. Most non-licensed wholesalers have a hard time getting those when they ask.

I work for a firm that invests. Licensed professionals telling someone they are buying not as agents/brokers is no harder than saying "i'm an investor who wants to purchase your property". Disclosing that means nothing.

My firm will purchase a property and immediately have a buyer lined up within three days later and genenrally at the closing table the next week.

The best thing I could say is that you should work with a broker who has the same mentality as you or maybe where you reside or invest doesn't allow you to make more than what you would prefer.

I have all the costs that were detailed, but they are no big deal to me. I can only suggest that most of you work with a company that has the same philosophy as you, and then maybe you guys might see how having a license is not so bad.

It can really work for you if you allow it to

I simply choose not to get my license, because I know of multiple for sale by owner properties where the owner wouldn't deal with any agents. I'm sure you've seen those classified ads where the seller says: "No agents". If I am an agent, I must give disclosure and I may lose out on working with that particular seller. Just think of the numbers. It wouldn't mess up more than 10% of your deals, but that can really add up when each deal can make you $15k to $20k. So either way, it can work. I know of people who have their license and they invest just fine. I just choose not to have it myself, and I have never missed it. Any connections or resources I need from an agent I can get from people on my power team or my friends who are agents. Not a big deal!!