subject: Licensed Real Estate Investors? [print this page] Licensed Real Estate Investors? Licensed Real Estate Investors?
Realty Resource of KC is a Real Estate Brokerage for Real Estate Investors, by Real Estate Investors. A small but growing brokerage of Real Estate Agents who are either Real Estate Invstors themsleves and / or who cater to the Real Estate Investor.
We will be a part of the webinar / teleseminar MAREI is holdingat the end of Octoberdiscussing the pros and cons of getting a real estate license, the steps to obtaining a licenses and finally some questions to ask potential brokers.
This article is a preview.
The cons of being a licensed real estate agent and investor at the same time? This has to be the hardest part of this post. Being a Real Estate Broker for about 3 years and a licensed real estate agent and investor since 2000, I can't come up with much in the way of con's. The worst thing I have had to deal with is that when I sell for sale by owner I have to put on my marketing the terms "owner / agent," which in the scheme of things is not too bad and at it's worst cost me an extra $50 to run an ad in the Kansas City Star for the extra line. But hey, advertise on Craigslist, get better traffic, and it does not cost you a thing.
The pros . . . we will cover more indepth on the webinar, but in brief:
Access to MLS to run your own comparables
Access to MLS and a Realtor key to go look at your competition.
Access to MLS and Realtor key to go look at REOs and make offers on your own time.
If you choose to be your own realtor in listing properties, you can with the right broker, get by with a minimum transaction fee on your side and a 3% commission for the other agent in the transaction.
You will have to tune in to the webinar to find out more about how to get your license. If you are eager to figure this out in advance, please visit some of the following web sites:
http://www.kcrar.com
http://www.KansasRealtor.com
http://www.MissouriRealtor.org
CESKS.com a local school for training
Last, you need to keep in mind that if you are a new realtor, meaning you just passed your exam, in most cases you have to hold your license and practice real estate for a minimum of 2 years in both Kansas and Missouri before you can hold your own license like I do. Until then you need to find a broker, like Realty Resource to hold your license.
So what should you look for in a broker. In a word, training. If you know nothing about real estate or being a realtor I would strongly recommend a company that offers training. There are a lot of good companies out there and if you want my favorites, well, you have to contact me.
Next you want to ask how much business the broker is going to expect from you. Some companies expect you to perform and hit a quota and others don't care. Some don't want you doing anything with out your licenses, so for sale by owner is out, so be sure to ask.
Next you want to see what services are offered by the company and what their fees and commission split.
For example one company here in Kansas City claims to be a 100% commission company, but your monthly fee can be anywhere between $350 and $400. And for your first 15 to 20 transactions you need to pay another $350 to $400 fee. Need forms, there's a fee. Want to use the copier, another fee. Completed the minimum number of transactions to not have a the $350 to $400 fee, there's still a $50 fee for Errors and Ommission. Great plan if you do a huge number of transactions, but if you don't you might do better with a company with a smaller monthly fee in the $50 range, no fees for E & O and a commission split of say 30% to the broker and 70% to you.
