We will be selling our home next fall, and I was thinking of becoming licensed so I could sell the home. Any replies are appreciated. I live in CA.
You don’t have to be licensed to sell your home. In fact, I would make the case that you would be better off not being licensed.
Your state Real Estate Commission grants licenses. You become a REALTOR by joining a trade association, the National Association of REALTORS.
Not all real estate licensees are REALTORS.
Not all REALTORS are real estate salesmen.
I wanted to know if I could make $$$ if I am licensed when we sell our home. I also plan to buy/sell more homes and wonder if having a license is a pro or con or both?
Our home will sell around 480K…what will the comission be as an agent , and any taxes I owe as an agent to IRS…is it worth it?
you need to better equipt yourself with the real estate agent role/career. An agent is an independent contractor, with an agency agreement with a broker, to represent a seller or buyer in the home buying or real estate process. What an agent makes is dependent on 1. what the seller is willing to pay. 2. what the buyer if acting as a buyer’s agent is willing to allow compensation to be. 3. what the broker split is.
In acting as a seller and an agent you do not benefit. Your broker may require you to go through them, in this case they may get a portion of the commission; at best and you get 100% of something you will pay social security and income tax on the earnings. Learn what you can and be a good student, hire a broker an watch the process and then decide if it is a career you would like to enter. Or do it yourself and test the waters with yourself as the client of a new agent.
It’s pretty expensive and time-consuming to get a license. I don’t see why you’d get one when you can just sell it FSBO and use an MLS listing service. How can you make more money since the seller pays commission anyway? You actually would then pay tax on your commissions since you’re a licensed professional. You also have to pay your broker a cut most likely.
When you get your license and take the test, you don’t know much more than if you just read books on Amazon.com. I’d suggest you talk to people who are agents to get their personal opinions. Many often have FSBO packets and will list your home if you don’t succeed.
If you’re planning on buying and selling often, you just need to weigh the benefits. I’d initally started real estate as an investor, but decided to do the job fulltime because 1) I really liked the field and 2) because it’s too expensive to sit on a license without using it.
“You don’t have to be licensed to sell your home. In fact, I would make the case that you would be better off not being licensed.”
If it’s for a one-time sale…I’d wholeheartedly agree.
In fact…many agents in our office list their property through another agent to avoid liability. After 15 years…I’m confident enough in my own abilities to go it alone & save the commission.
Our broker allows us to buy one home & sell one home a year w/out taking a fee split. You can do as many as you want–of course–if you’ve made your split.
“I also plan to buy/sell more homes and wonder if having a license is a pro or con or both?”
I’d say both.
If you’re just planning on having a license to save yourself the commission when you buy or sell…you’re wasting your time. Also, consider the moment you get your license & begin buying & selling…you’ve got a HUGE target on your back. Other than the medical profession…can you name another industry w/more potential for lawsuits?
If you intend on buying & selling real estate as a career…I’d say having a license is definately a pro. Once you become knowledgeable…you can save the commissions when investing, and you’ll see far more opportunities than the average investor.
The cost of obtaining & maintaining a license is all relative. In other words…if you’re one of the group that ‘makes it’…the cost will seem like a pittance in comparison. Beats going to college for eight years…just to come out & find out you’re an obsolete commodity before you ever got started. Happened to my lil cousin…seems computer programmers are a dime a dozen in India. She’s now a confectioner after eight years of college.
“Outsourcing is good for America”…YAHK!