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!

Comments(5)

  • northwest0129th May, 2009

    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 ]

  • notactingmyage29th May, 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...

  • Stockpro999th June, 2009

    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]

  • cjmazur1st April, 2010

    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.

  • ITBInvestor27th June, 2010

    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.

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