You might want to think again.  Recognizing the need for Realtors to get creative during these tough times and offering their home buyers and home sellers solutions that work, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) will be hosting a free webinar interviewing Lease Option expert Wendy Patton.  Wendy Patton has taught lease options or rent to own to thousands of Realtors, home sellers, home buyers and real estate investors.

They are a workable solution in these difficult real estate times.  They can help home sellers when their home isn't selling by conventional methods (don't you hate investing all of that time and effort in a sale and then lose out?).  They can help home buyers who can't currently qualify for a mortgage (don't you hate turning away those buyer leads?).  And they can help Realtors earn more commissions because you can get your full commission on a lease option or rent to own deal.  That's much better than turning away a buyer lead or losing a seller.

This lease option webinar with NAR is Thursday, August 27th at 3 PM EST.  Space is limited so sign up now!  Remember this webinar is free.

The seller grows impatient.  They want their home sold and they are running out of time.  That's when they call their listing agent up and say "Realtor, if you don't sell my home soon I'm going to have to RENT it!"

Rent is that dirty 4 letter word.

If you are a real estate agent you need to learn not to fear this.  You can still get your full commission from this seller because now they are a prime candidate for a lease option sale.  One of the biggest hurdles sellers often have to overcome with considering a lease option is the idea of having tenants in their home.  But they've just told you that they are now considering just that.

Selling on a lease option is obviously not the first choice, but it sure beats losing the listing or just renting the home and not getting paid squat!

Real estate investors who are trying to find real estate agents to work with need to keep in mind that real estate's dirty 4 letter word is your key to networking with agents.  Most agents don't know what to do when they hear the word "rent."  You can show them how you can help both the home seller and the agent.  Plus if you let the agent double dip when you find the tenant-buyer the agent is really going to appreciate you.  You did all of the work finding the buyer, they come out looking like a hero, and everyone gets what they want.

Becoming a Realtor, as a real estate investor, will give you many advantages. There are no disadvantages that I know of.  Investors tend to be adamant one way or the other about being a licensed Realtor.   I am definitely on the side of becoming licensed.  Being licensed has been one of the best tools that I have as an investor.  Being licensed allows access to your database of ‘comps’ or comparables.   This is the data you need to buy and sell real estate – with good information.  If you have a great Realtor, or you can get access to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) without being licensed, great, but I still think it is better to be licensed than not.  I personally like to do my own comparables. (maybe that is the controlling part of me J ).

Some investors say it gives them more liability to be licensed.  I have two answers to that:

1. What are they doing to create liability?
2. Don’t they think a judge is going to consider them as an ‘expert’ when they find that you buy and sell real estate for investment purposes?

Some investors say that sellers won’t sell to you if you are licensed. I find the opposite is true. Most sellers are happy that I am licensed and “know what I am doing”.  If you are licensed you will also get commission on each deal you buy or sell (if it is listed on the MLS). Every office is different on how they split the commissions received by the office.

My recommendation is to GET LICENSED!!!

When becoming a real estate agent you must work directly under a licensed broker. To become a broker, each state has their own requirements.  I have been a broker since 1997.  When you are a broker you can have other Realtors work underneath you, but becoming a broker should not be the “be all end all”, unless you really choose to own a real estate company.  There are many expenses when you own your own office.

As I travel all over the country, I am asked frequently how to locate a good broker.  This is always an important part of working as a licensed Realtor. You will want to work in an office environment that encourages creativity, investing and entrepreneurship. You will also want an office that provides exceptional real estate training.  The company that I have found to be the best overall, in all states, is Keller Williams.  I personally owned 4 real estate offices prior to joining Keller Williams.  I am now an associate broker in a Keller Williams (Keller Williams) office, as well.  Why?  For the above reasons.  Keller Williams has a fantastic training program along with several other key ingredients.  Keller Williams is open and focused on real estate investing and entrepreneurship.  The founder of Keller Williams, Gary Keller, along with Jay Papasan and Dave Jenks, co-authored several books on real estate investing.  I was featured in their book, “Millionaire Real Estate Investor”.  Gary Keller also endorsed my book “Investing in Real Estate with Lease Options and Subject Tos”.  Much of my investing strategies and techniques have personally been focused around working with Realtors. Being part of an office will give you access to listings and relationships with other Realtors.

Keller Williams hosts a radio show on Mondays called “Millionaire Mondays”.  I have been on that show many times now.  Keller Williams is the fastest growing real estate company in the U.S. and they are currently the 4th largest, with over 600 offices.  Gary Keller invented a system that no one else has been able to reproduce.  There are many companies that have tried.  It is essentially a multi-level marketing company. Each person you recruit becomes part of your “downline” and you start to receive a small part of the commissions they earn as well as the ones you earn. It does not matter what office (market center in Keller Williams) they are a part of, you will be rewarded on who they bring in and how much they buy or sell.  It is a fantastic approach to becoming a Realtor which gives incentives for Realtors to recruit other Realtors.

Some of the best advantages to becoming licensed are:

1. The training that comes with becoming a Realtor – especially in Keller Williams
2. Access to the MLS – to get comps
3. Part of the commission on each purchase or sale you make
4. A network of Realtors (many opportunities might come to you before anyone else even knows about them)

I recommend you become licensed and consider Keller Williams as an office for you.  I will gladly sponsor you and also assist you in working as a Realtor.  I can help you get started in the right direction. I have been licensed over 20 years.  Let them know I am your sponsor and we can work together to help you as an investor and also to assist you to recruit other investors (Realtors) in your team.  Please email me to find the closest Keller Williams office to you.  Wendy@WendyPatton.com or call me at 248-394-0767 and I will assist you in making a great choice for your future.

Realtors have a relationship with their seller that is very unique. Sellers tell their Realtors almost everything about their personal lives.  Realtors therefore know who is motivated and why. They know who is getting divorced, if they are in trouble financially, if their builder is almost done with their new home, if they have custody issues, if they are getting worried about double house payments, and on and on. A lot of real estate agents probably want to say, "Too much information!" but they don't.  They stay as interested as possible in order to build rapport.

Because the Realtor is providing a very necessary service to the homeowner in helping them sell their house, and because the homeowner so freely tells the agent everything, the homeowner is not shy about calling the Realtor and saying the four-letter word after the home has been sitting on the market awhile: "Realtor, if you don't sell my home soon, I am going to have to rent it!" This word makes a Realtor cringe. If the home doesn't sell soon, the Realtor won't get any commission.

As a lease option investor these are the types of agents you are looking for.  The ones who have heard real estate's dirty four letter word - rent.  Network with real estate agents to find if they have any sellers who have talked about having to rent their home.  These are the kinds of sellers that make good lease option candidates.

I can't take credit for it though. I've gotten help. I've been working with an SEO expert.

This stuff is so powerful I wanted to share it. I am doing a webinar with this SEO expert Tuesday night, April 21st at 8 PM EST. You don't want to miss it. He'll be sharing how to get on the front page of Google and STAY there.  He'll show you how to beat your competition and get your website optimized.  I love this stuff. It is very cool. We'll look at things like using YouTube and Facebook to build up your website. The best part is you don't have to be a techie to do this stuff!

You can register for this webinar on my Wendy Patton website or you can go here to register directly. There is no cost to sign up for this webinar, but space is limited so sign up soon.