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Home » Resources » Articles And Reports » The Gold Club Weekly Report » “7 Reasons Real Estate Investors Should Get Their Real Estate License” by Gary Wilson

“7 Reasons Real Estate Investors Should Get Their Real Estate License” by Gary Wilson

Getting my real estate license was probably the greatest single improvement I made in my real estate investing business. It not only made investing easier for me, it opened up doors for creating massive wealth and income that produced profits far exceeding what I was making on my investments alone. There are seven basic benefits that I gained by getting my real estate license. They are:

Direct access to information and properties.

It gives you direct access to real estate information related to the properties themselves. Zillow, Trulia, Realto.com, etc. are all leech systems. In other words, they get the bulk of their data form the one true source, the MLS! What’s even worse is that their data isn’t complete and they don’t have adequate systems in place to keep the data current. For example, have you ever seen Zillow attempt to display a multi-unit property correctly? They can’t get it right because their systems are designed to focus on single family homes! And, when a property gets sold it looks like it still active for sometimes months! What’s most important is that when you are an agent data from the MLS is available to you in abundance and much of it just can’t be gotten anywhere else. This can broaden your investing activities and achievements. One of the best developments recently is that a lot of MLS systems are now integrated with the local tax records.

You also get a key pad allows you to have direct access to properties that are for sale. You can make arrangements to see properties yourself without being dependent on another agent to gain access.

Access to a new world of tools.

Getting your real estate license makes it possible for you to participate in further education that you wouldn’t get otherwise and providing you with even more tools of the trade like hundreds of contracts, disclosures, notices, addendums, spreadsheets, calculators, checklists, marketing tools and techniques you can use to attract more sellers and buyers of your investment properties.

Grow your network

Getting your real estate license opens up a whole new world to you allowing you to develop a prosperous, vibrant and robust network of colleagues on a global scale. Every one of your new contacts could be a new source of properties, funding for your investments, sellers and buyers not just in your home town but literally anywhere!

Make and keep your own commissions.

Even if all you did was get your license for yourself, you can now earn and keep your own commissions; you could use those commissions to buy more properties. You could use those commissions to offset the sales price or expenses related to the purchase or sale of properties. It not only gives you a source of income it gives you another tool in your arsenal of negotiating strategies!

Quickly develop an additional six figure system that provides wealth and income in any economy anywhere.

The world of possibilities is almost limitless here! It all starts with you using your license to serve your fellow investors. For example:

Use your license to work with Flippers. You earn a commission when they buy the property. You earn a commission when they sell the property. And, you may even earn a commission if you find the buyer for their property. This essentially could give you three commissions from one client and one property! Let’s say they bought the house for $100,000. Then after they remodeled they sold it for $200,000. Assuming 3% commission per side (listing side and selling side), you would earn $3,000.00 ($100,000 X 3%) on the first transaction as the selling agent, $6,000 on the second transaction as the listing agent ($200,000 X 3%) and possibly $6,000 again on the second transaction if you are also the selling agent who brought the buyer. That’s a possible $15,000 in your pocket from one investor and one property. This is a very average deal. Can you use an extra $15,000 right now?

Use your license to work with rental investors. Rental investors, like me, typically grow form buying small rentals to buying larger and larger buildings costing more and more money and, therefore, earning you larger and larger commissions! And, there’s more.

When you work with rental investors, at some point they will require property management, and you’re just the person to provide it! Assume they had ten units with an average rent of $1,000 and you charged 10%. You could earn $1,000 residual income per month for coordinating rent collection and maintenance calls–maybe 5-10 hours per month. You could also earn a leasing fee equal to one month’s rent every time you fill a vacancy. Assume that is one per month (turnover rates are actually higher). Now you’re up to $2,000 per month. That’s only 10 units. Imagine if you had 100 units. Get the picture?

Working with wholesalers can also produce substantial income. There are some basic rules to follow if you are an agent who wholesales or who serves investors who do. I dive into that in little more detail in my book “Path to Profit, Investors vs. Agents.” For now, suffice it to say that you can profit handsomely by doing this the right way where everybody wins.

You get far more referrals from investors to other investors and owner-occupants than you ever will form owner-occupants alone. Think about it. When an owner-occupant signs the settlement sheet, they only want to get the key to their new house, unload the truck and jump in the pool. You are now in their past. Now, imagine your investor after closing. Later that day that investor will be hanging around with his neighbors, co-workers and/or family members and proudly showcasing his latest exploit. They invariably will ask him how he is doing all of this and he will invariably say “Oh, I have this awesome investor-agent who knows how to help me get the best deals.” Can you see now why I always got so many referrals from my investors–without me even asking?

As a result of working with investors, you will by default get their owner occupant business and that of their tenants who are looking to buy their own homes. If you don’t want to be a traditional agent (and I didn’t either), you can refer these deals to traditional agents and earn a 25% referral fee for doing so!

Before long, you will find yourself needing to build a team around yourself in order to keep growing and profiting. This will be expanded upon in the next two sections.

If all you did is what I just described in #5 above, you would be able to live life in the lap of luxury. But it doesn’t end there. That is only the beginning. This is where things really get interesting.

Quickly build and grow your own brokerage business to a 7 figure income stream.

Assuming you have made the wise decision to implement what I did and is described above, you may now be ready to go from linear growth to exponential growth. It may now be time to create your own brokerage business. The details of this endeavor are well beyond the scope of this article. However, just imagine if you had five, ten or how about 50 agents doing what I described above, and you as the owner of this new brokerage company got a piece of every pie that came through your agents respective doors. I grew my brokerage company from eight agents at launch to 50 agents in less than three years. This all occurred during the great recession when all other brokerage companies were shrinking. My brokerage company, Win Realty Advisors, was the fastest growing brokerage company in Western Pennsylvania during this time. I focused on investors while all others, who were focusing on owner-occupants, were going out of business. I actually grew a pretty profitable owner-occupant business as a result.

Follow the clear path to creating a property management business.

What will soon follow is the next logical step in your growing empire. Start your own property management business. Your investors will want it, and you can provide it. Start small and develop the skills and systems necessary to create and grow this rock solid profit producer. I started with my own units. When I had systems and people in place, I added about 40 of my clients’ units. When I mastered the business of managing other people’s properties at the level, I started to take referrals. In less than three years I grew to almost 700 units. I spent almost no money on advertising. It was virtually all done by word of mouth. This is a very stable business because your income comes off of the top of your clients’ income. You can earn income from charging the vendors who you hire to serve your clients a fee. You get to keep late fees. You get to keep application fees. I haven’t even described what happens when you start marketing. Suffice it to say that you can grow quite rapidly when you grow properly.

In conclusion, it’s not an “OR” world, it’s an “AND” world. Investors should get their real estate license and serve other investors, thereby, opening up a very relevant and easy to implement line of business that compliments and leverages their already existing investing activities. I was able to leverage my license as an income producing asset just like a rental property and run it like a business because I saw opportunity and I seized it. I walked the talk. I produced results because I am an investor, and I leverage not just my investing activities, but my knowledge and experience to serve other investors, and I have been amply rewarded for this. So can you.

About the Author:

Gary Wilson is widely considered the leading authority on teaching Real Estate Investors and Agents alike how to leverage what they’re already doing and create massive new wealth and income.


Gary has been investing in Real Estate for nearly 30 years building a rental portfolio worth millions of dollars, flipping other properties and even wholesaling. He has been a licensed Real Estate agent for more than a dozen years and Broker for more than half of that time, creating the fastest growing Real Estate brokerage company in Pennsylvania during the Great Recession, while others were shrinking by 50%. Gary also went onto create an Appraisal business, a Title Closing business and a Property Management business that grew from 40 units to nearly 500 in less than 3 years with virtually no marketing costs.


Gary has grown into a sought after speaker, writer, teach and coach to investors and agents across the world. Fortunes have been made by those who follow Gary and implement his systems of creating massive wealth and income by using their Real License as an income producing asset to serve the Real estate investment community


Gary spends his personal time participating in high adventure activities, visiting friends and family far and wide and promoting his greatest accomplishment – The Healing House Foundation. A portion of all proceeds from Gary’s business ventures goes towards the support of the Healing House Foundation – a Non-Profit venture that serves families who are healing and rebuilding their loving relationships after suffering from the wounds caused by the illness of addiction of a loved one.


Stay tuned for details on an upcoming webinar with Ron and Gary as they discuss this topic more in-depth!

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15 Responses to “7 Reasons Real Estate Investors Should Get Their Real Estate License” by Gary Wilson

  1. Ron Caruthers says:

    This is a really thought provoking article. I wouldn’t have considered getting my license before this, but I will definitely consider it now.

    Thanks.

  2. Tom Holyfield says:

    Had one once…Wish I still did.

  3. Jerry Birdsong says:

    Every day I am more convinced that it would be in my best interest.

  4. Robert Pfluge says:

    Anybody comment on the downside of an investor having a license?

  5. Brandon Dickman says:

    Great Article! Thanks for the info!

  6. Evan Sholly says:

    Gary,

    Great article! Are there certain firms you recommend which are more investor friendly or charge less to be an agent?

  7. Chyanne Ford says:

    Most definitely am acquiring my license.

  8. Pamela Hewins says:

    I don’t like Realtors very much, and I used to be one. Most of the ones I’ve met are too concerned with their own interests of the transaction. Even though “Ethics” is drummed into the licensing course, it is a concept quickly abandoned when the agent receives their license; too many of them think “Realtor” after their name, means a license to lie and commit fraud.

    Here in Florida, there are just too many “sharks” and other predators to swim with. That’s why I prefer to be a real estate investor, and not a Realtor or Broker.

    Of course, I realize some good agents do exist, like Brian and Lynette Wolff! Wish there were more Realtors like them. What sets agents like the Wolff’s apart from the typical predator Realtor, is genuine interest in helping people achieve what they want. Only then you can you expect to be rewarded handsomely in the transaction.

  9. Nate Portney says:

    Dear Ron,
    I would consider this after making some deals. How many deals first do you recommend before considering a license, and how much does the license cost to train and exam?

    is it needed to become a realtor, or just an agent?

    regards,
    Nate

  10. Nancy Shah says:

    This articles overcame several of my reasons for not wanting a license and added a lot of positives for doing so.

  11. Brian Lathrop says:

    Interesting information. I may consider it at some point. Is this more important now than it was 5 or 6 years ago?

  12. Gerald Faunce says:

    Thanks for the great article Gary. I’ve got a license in inactive status. i will be firing it back up soon after reading this.

  13. Brian Brown says:

    What about getting a business license? obviously we need an LLC/land trust or S-corp holding company, but do we also need a business license to do terms deals?

    thank you,

    Brian

  14. Zaydee Rulw says:

    I had my license for decades… let it lapse in 2012 when I retired from real estate… until I was re-introduced to Ron LeGrand and his wonderful training… I now have my license again and completely agree with Gary Wilson…

  15. Larry Barther says:

    I’m new to investing but I went ahead and got my license while learning Ron’s system. Now, after reading this article I’m even more excited! Thanks!

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