Value Of R.E. License To Investor
I tried this question on another forum and got no response. Maybe the answer is obvious to most forum members, or perhaps I didn’t articulate it carefully enough. As an investor (single family home rehabber for resale and/or rental) who is very hands-on in most phases of the process, is it worthwhile or beneficial to me to have a real estate agent’s license? What are the advantages and disadvantages? I don’t plan to ever act as agent to sell other folks’ properties. Economically and practically, does this boil down to selling via FSBO versus using a realtor? Beyond that, I wonder if the knowledge base acquired through the licensing process would be of significant value to an investor over the long term. Just looking for opinions here. Thanks!
FIRST If you are a license realtor agent for some one or not
At the very first talk with a seller you have to tell them you are
And in some cases this will be the end of talks right there as most people do not want to talk with a realtor if they are doing a fsbo
This is the big thing in every dealling you have to make them sellers for sure aware that you are a license realtor
On + on the other side is you would be able to look at all the information on a property with a mls listting
giving you a bit more of a heads up on some properties and stuff
This is just my input and i hope others will help you out here as well [ Edited by northwest01 on Date 05/29/2009 ]
Thanks. Excellent references. Those were precisely the types of discussions I was looking for.
Quote:
On 2009-05-29 14:04, ITBInvestor wrote:
See also http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ViewTopic55286-12.html (To Get A RE License Or Not), http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ViewTopic62381-12.html, and http://www.thecreativeinvestor.com/ViewTopic65147-46.html (Is It Illegal To Post A Property If Your Not The Owner Or Broker?) I put the last one in there just to get you thinking...
I have never seen the downside of being licensed as an agent in any of the states where I do business.
With hundreds of transactions I have never lost even a single one because I was a licensed agent.
On the upside, I have access to the MLS in my area. I frequently get brought pocket listings that I can buy before they hit the main market and I save 3% when selling.
When we sell one of our rehabs I can preview all of the competition in the area at will to see what our property will need to sell at top dollar and sell fast.
Oh, I almost forgot, many times the deal is too thin for me to buy and make a profit as an investor but I can help them sell their house and make a tidy commission.. In these times alternative revenue streams are very nice to have.
The drawbacks are few and hardly worth mentioning..
[addsig]
Based on the advice of a RE Broker, CPA and my atty, I with rew from RE Broker school.
With the creative deals I do, all said the license would hinder me more than help me.
Regarding "saving money" as an upside from conklbm... in the context of the original poster who is "an investor (single family home rehabber for resale and/or rental) who is very hands-on in most phases of the process" and who probably does 5 or so homes a year (yes, I am guessing, but this is the rehab forum)...
I am selling a property on behalf of my company through a flat fee MLS service. It costs $345 total and the listing is good until sold. Cost includes sign, lock box, Centralized Showing, forms, etc. Without the sign and lock box, the cost is $295. If I were licensed... the Triangle MLS service in my area requires Board of REALTOR® Membership, TEMPO Training, and an Orientation Class. The MLS fees are here at the Triangle MLS Schedule of Fees link: http://www.trianglemls.com/subscribership.cfm/s/0/page/48 with 2 of the 13 different fees listed below:
New Firm/Office $1,500 application fee
Quarterly Licensed User Fees $150.00
The REALTOR® Membership is $416.00 and a $300.00 orientation fee (http://www.rrar.com/membership.cfm/s/148/page/140) So unless I sell about 4-5 houses a year (which I do not currently do since as a buy/hold investor I do not flip) using a flat fee MLS service is cheaper than being a broker and submitting MLS entries myself.