If an agent had an MBA, would that make a difference to you? I’m obtaining my broker’s license, but would also like to obtain an MBA from the University of Texas here in Austin. I figured it can be good for networking and it’s been a personal goal anyway.
The program is 18 months full time and will cost about 60k. I’m incorporated, so will have it as a business expense. Not sure if an MBA makes a difference with investors, so I wanted to get opinions.
Personally, I could care less if my agent has an MBA or any other degree. But will it be an asset for you? Or will you be wasting a lot of time and money? 18 months and 60k is a lot of time and money to me.
I was actually thinking of getting my MBA recently - until I found out the cost. I would have done it at the local community college if it would have cost $2,000 or $3,000, but I certainly wouldn’t waste $60K on a degree that will mean absolutely nothing to me as an investor (or to you as a REALTOR).
Mike
I just checked again. The executive or part-time MBA is 60k, but full time is around 18-20k. That definitely helps, but it means opportunity cost since I’d have to go full-time.
Sorry, but you cannot put a price on education. Using that theory, why go to school if you are rich, or why go to college if you have a job that pays as well as a graduate.
However, if you want it just to improve your career as an investor or a realtor, then no it will not help.
fadiz is dead-on here.
If YOU want it, then go for it. But make sure that it’s for you, not just to help your business because it won’t.
As another said, I don’t care what degree you have, or don’t have, IF you can do the job.
However, I’ll also add that I’ve had experience with people that held MBA’s and higher degrees and if you advertised that you had one, then you’ve just placed a big negative in my book.
Raj
the advantage of an MBA is the contacts you create while at college. hopefully you will network well and the people you meet will be future captains of commerce and influencial people. If you’re just trying to impress homebuyers i think it will not make a difference. i suggest you spend 20k on advertising!
Hi Dee,
I have a Ph.D. Does it make any difference? Of course, I have to write more letters after my name. It may be nice to have your MBA, but what makes a difference in real estate is your ability and credibility, not letters after your name.
You can buy a helluva lot of homes with $60K.
Da Wiz
Let’s not fool ourselves here. An MBA has almost no (zero) value to an investor. I doubt very much if it would have any real value for a RE Broker. Most MBA students are going to be mid-level corporate types looking to improve their resume so that they can get a promotion. Could you get any networking value out of meeting people at an MBA program - probably. Is that the most effective way to network with Captains of Business or Influential people - no. If networking is the goal, then joining the Chamber of Commerce, various civic organizations, or even the country club would get you better access to the movers and shakers and at a much lower cost. Another way to do this as a REALTOR is to get involved with your local Real Estate Board, various committees, etc. As an investor, you can get involved with your local, state, and national REIAs and get involved as an officer, board member, committee member, etc. These people are in frequent contact with other influential business people, politicians, etc and the cost is almost zero.
I’m certainly not against education - in fact quite the contrary. I was seriously considering getting my MBA (just for the challenge and to keep improving myself). However, spending $20K, $40K, or $60K for something that will have absolutely no effect on my business would be a tremendous waste of money and therefore I’ve decided not to proceed at this time. I’m not saying that anyone else should make this decision. I’m just saying that you should consider the cost vs. the real value.
Mike
The only real difference I can see it making for you Dee is that if you don’t already have your 970 hours towards becoming a broker it would more than get you that. And we all know if you’re holding a license being a Broker is where the money is. Just mho.
I have my MBA and a bachelors degree in engineering. The up side of what it does for me is it got me this job that pays a whole lot of money. Now what does that mean? It enables me to live the type of lifestyle that is very comfortable (3000 sqft house with home theater and a pool, 2 new Jeep Grand Cherokees eat out everyday and vacation twice a year) put a bunch of money in the 401k and still have $2k to $4k left over at the end of the month. That means that if I find a house that I have to put down $10k to make the numbers work, I can do it without much problem. The down side is that I make a whole lot of money at my job, and when I think about quitting the job to invest full time, it gives me a whole lot of disincentive to do it. I have to weigh the 6 figure income, stock options, expense account, bonus and benefits against being my own boss. It will take me about 20 houses to make the balance close enough to consider and then realistically closer to 40 houses to make the deal do-able. I am finding out that about 10 houses starts to get me too busy to do the job and investing. It is a real problem but a heck of a lot better than the alternative.
Sounds like some good responses. Thanks to all of you.
I agree that I shouldn’t get the MBA for networking. I think that was the main thing I wanted since the University of Texas has such a large graduate population. I figured it would be nice to network with recent grads, students, faculty, businesses, etc.
I doubt I’d get my money out of it since I’ve been investing for a while and am now getting my broker’s license. If I do get the MBA, I’ll know it’s just for myself and it’s not going to necessarily pay me back.
…that 20-60k is a lot of houses…
An MBA is more than just proof you paid 60K to hobnob with middle level execs.
It’s a serious academic and professional endeavor. If you apply what you learn in the MBA setting to your real estate investing, you could take your investments to the Trammel Crow/Donald Trump level.
At the law school in Spring 2005, one of the principals @ Weingarten did an hour long lecture for Prof. Rider’s Real Estate Transactions course. There were a # of UT MBA students in attendance from what I understand. (I was unfortunately in another class) And of course, they all went out for something social afterwards. So you’re getting the secrets of the inner sanctum straight from the acolyte and then getting to throw back a few with him afterwards.
If your primary goal is to rub elbows with fellow longhorns, you can do that a lot easier than taking an MBA course. That’s what the alumni foundations, charitable organizations, and Longhorn football are for.
But do not let this board persuade you that the education in and of itself is not personally valuable and valuable to your real estate investments.
an MBA WOULD NOT MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE TO ME IF I WERE TO USE YOUR SERVICES. RESULTS IS WHAT MATTERS
dun -deel
Hi Dee,
The way to find out if an MBA is important would be to call the list of top producing Austin real estate agents and teams published in the recent Austin Business Journal and find out how many have an MBA. My guess is none of them, or very few, do.
Intelligence is not that important to whether someone will succeed in real estate. In fact, I’d say being too smart is a disadvantage. There are other more important traits one must posses.
Steve
Dee
I wish that I would have spent th $15K that I spent on my Masters degree in real estate instead I would be a millionaire by now. You have to look at what is the ROI (Return on Investment) of that degree. Up here in ND many companies say they value the education but when it’s time for promotions it’s the brown nosers that get them.
I personally would not spend the money on the programs it will be a hinderance if you do not have the job to support the loan payments. That could cause you difficulties in getting loans when the bank runs the ratio games.
NDI
“…that 20-60k is a lot of houses…”
I can’t answer the question from an investors standpoint…I don’t use the services of agents when I invest because, I’m an agent myself.
However, I do have a Broker’s license (obtained via waiver), and don’t believe an MBA would help me in day to day business one iota.
I believe much more valuable education can be obtained via other sources for much less cost, and investing in real estate is the path to true financial freedom.
“Intelligence is not that important to whether someone will succeed in real estate. In fact, I’d say being too smart is a disadvantage.”
Hogwash!
-Infowell