I have been an agent and investor for over 15 years. I was lucky that my dad helped me get started in the business, but I also had to find my own niche before I became super successful. My niche as an agent was listing REO properties, or bank foreclosures. I also love to flip houses and buy rentals whenever I can. I get a lot of questions from my blog and social media about being an agent or an investor, and which is better. I can tell you that there is no right answer, but maybe I can help you make the decision of which is better for you.
Whether you want to be an investor or agent. It is extremely important that you focus on one or the other. People see everything that I am doing and think that would be cool to have a real estate team, be an agent, flip houses, have rentals, and a blog. Well, I did not do it all at once. I focus on one aspect at a time, built that business to run by itself for the most part and then moved on to something new.
One of the best ways to stumble in your career is to try to do too many things at once. Nobody wants to work with someone who is mediocre at 100 different things. They want to work with someone who is awesome at one thing, the thing they need help with at that moment.
If you want to be an agent, be an agent 100 percent. If you want to be an investor, be an investor 100 percent, at least in the beginning.
https://investfourmore.com/2014/09/12/how-one-thought-can-help-you-focus-and-be-successful/
The average salary for real estate agents in the United States is around $35,000 a year. That salary can be very misleading.
-Most agents are part-time and not full-time.
-Most agents have no clue what they are doing.
-Most agents do not have the proper training or supervision to succeed.
If you want to be a full-time real estate agent and are willing to work hard at the business. You can make much more than $35,000 a year. If you stick to it and find a mentor it is not hard to make $100,000 or more a year. In fact, there really is no ceiling to how much you can make. You can create a team, start a brokerage, and do many other things to make money as an agent.
https://investfourmore.com/2014/07/21/make-one-million-dollars-year-real-estate-agent/
Real estate investors can make a lot of money as well. You can make money flipping, wholesaling, renting houses, or even buying notes. the articles below go into more detail on how much you can make in each genre.
https://investfourmore.com/2013/04/14/how-much-money-can-you-make-from-rental-properties/
https://investfourmore.com/2014/03/20/much-money-can-make-fix-flipping-homes/
https://investfourmore.com/2015/07/19/how-much-money-can-you-make-as-a-real-estate-wholesaler/
The trick with making money investing in real estate is you usually need money to make money. You can start wholesaling without a lot of money, but it takes time and hard work. It will also take time and hard work to make money as a real estate agent.
I sold 26 flips last year and made over $600,000 on them after all my expenses including paying my staff. That was a pretty god year, but I have been doing this for 15 years.
I personally like being an investor better, because I have control over everything. I do not have to meet people, show houses, market, or do other agent activities. However, when I was selling a lot of houses as an agent, it was great for my career. Being an agent gave me a huge advantage as an investor and I loved the challenges.
My career has progressed, but I think being an agent was a great stepping stone to being a better investor.
If you want to be an investor or agent here are some things to think about:
-Are you looking for a career or part-time work?
-How much money do you have now?
-What are your goals? Make a lot of income, or create passive income for life?
If you have no money and want a career, being an agent first might be the best choice. If you become a successful investor it will probably make sense to become an agent at some point to save money on commissions and get more deals.
https://investfourmore.com/2017/04/13/podcast-96-pros-cons-real-estate-agent-investor/
