Things You Can Do With A Real Estate License

When Most People Discuss Getting A Real Estate License, They Think Only About Listing And Selling Houses

However, that is not the only reason for having a license.

There are about 420,000 California Licensees at this time. There are about 180,000 Realtors. Almost all people who specialize in selling houses belong to this group. There are other Licensees who are not Realtors but belong to Multiple Listing Services.

That leaves around 200,000 to 240,000 Licensees (give a take a few thousand) who do not specialize in the residential market. Now, some of those remaining are still licensed, but not working with anyone. But there are others.

What Do They Do?

1. Sell Commercial, Industrial, Retail, Apartments, Motels, etc. (When you hit one, you hit it big)
2. Property Management (Steady income, best in bad times)
3. Loan Brokering (Residential Loans need a Federal Endorsement)
4. Business Opportunities (Yes, you can sell businesses)
5. Escrow, Title, Home Warranties, Transaction Coordinators (Do not need a license, but still part of the market)
6. Syndication (Put groups together to buy properties, think Crowd Funding)
7. 1031 Exchanges (Help someone defer their taxes on income property)
8. Development (This field scares me, but you could become another Billionaire)
9. Rental Agencies (I recommend avoiding this field)
10. House Flipping (Hate that word but it can be profitable)

And in the field of Real Estate Sales, there are specialties galore:

• Over 55 housing
• Relocation
• Foreign Investors
• REO’s
• Short Sales
• Foreclosures
• Farms
• Dirt
• Resorts
• Millennials
• Down Payment Assistance
• Fixer-Uppers
• Beach
• Condos
• etc. etc. etc.

What Did I Do?

Many decades ago, I went to the Forest E. Olson office at 13747 Victory Blvd, Van Nuys, CA with my very new license. I said that I wanted to sell Income Property doing Syndications.

Keith Wheeler told me, “Since we give no draws or advances, you will have to have six months income in reserve as it takes time to close that first property.”

I told him, “I can make it to Thursday.”

Then, Don Olson said, “You have an MBA in Management; we are thinking of starting a Property Management Dept. Would you be interested in doing that on a salary?”

I said, “When do you pay?”

He responded, “Every Wednesday.”

I replied, “Let’s go.”

And The Rest Is History

18 months in that job 4 months in Sales with FEO and closed two Apartment Sales, very lucky; 15 years doing Syndications and PM on my own; 39 years doing Real Estate Education; about time for something new.