⚠️ REAL TALK: Should Wholesalers Be Forced to Get a Real Estate License?

Spicy take 🔥

Licensing might suck…
But what if it's the upgrade we need?

Let the gatekeepers build walls - we’ll build ladders.
Still gonna close deals, license or not.

So yeah, I’m IN. But only if we play to win.

Not gonna lie — half the people asking for licensing wouldn’t even pass the test themselves. Funny how “protecting the consumer” always sounds like “protecting my commission.” Let the market decide, not the gatekeepers.

⏳Alright, community — let’s cut the fluff and get real.⏳

Yeah, licensing for wholesalers is creeping in like an uninvited party guest nobody asked for. Some preach “consumer protection,” but we all know it smells more like gatekeeping wrapped in bureaucracy.
 

Here’s the deal:

Is licensing really about safeguarding the little guy — or is it just a power play by real estate pros scared of competition?

Will slapping a license requirement on us legitimize the hustle — or just put chains on our freedom to move fast and break molds?

If we let this slide without a fight, we’re basically handing the keys to the old guard and shutting down the next wave of grinders who don’t play by their rules we are the fuel that keeps this industry evolving?

Biggest question on the table:

👉 If licensing becomes law everywhere, are you folding your cards, or doubling down and playing to win? IN IT TO WIN IT!!!

This isn’t just talk — this is about the future of our hustle the clock’s ticking on running your business YOUR way.

It is important to understand your law by state. I am in IL, one of the first to require licensing. I have not seen much difference with needing to be licensed. What I see is more misinformation than anything. The IL law targets the brokering of real estate, not wholesaling, per se. The standard state contract is assignable, always has been. Every contract in IL is assignable, unless stated otherwise. 

If you take the glass half full approach, by having a license every lead has a better chance of being monetized. If a seller wants retail pricing, and won’t budge – pivot, rather than killing the lead - list it, or refer it to another listing broker and get paid a referral fee at close. Now again every state is different, if it is just requiring a license to address brokering, I would be interested in hearing a compelling argument for why licensing is so bad. And to be clear, I was not licensed before I had to be. Like many others I wasted a lot of time and energy trying to find loop holes and ways around it, (youtube is full of stupid ideas) until I realized it just didn’t matter. It really hasn’t.

I think it is important to understand that some of the new or proposed regulations go well beyond just having a license, rather they are going after wholesaling. Those are two very different issues.

Honestly, I’m not worried at all. If anything—becoming a licensed realtor would be an advantage to us, in my opinion. 

Who do you think is lobbying for wholesale licensing?

I think at this point it wouldn’t hurt to have a license in your back pocket ,what I’ve seen is that most wholesalers don’t know how to comp properties properly so therefore they are locking up properties too high and not being able to close. I’m planning on getting my license soon only because I will be able to list properties along with assignments.

Wrong ARV is the number one complained from the buyers on the platform, for sure! 

Well I can say that having a license will not matter as far as running comps. I am working with a seller now off market facing foreclosure after wasting 3 months with an unqualified agent who had the property listed for about $100K over where it made any sense. Having taking the licensing classes and exams, I can say with certainty there is nothing in them about how to comp properties, at least not in IL. Most end buyer investors are far better at running comps than agents, they have to know their numbers, wholesalers should get their feedback and learn from them.  

To be straight forward, I have been licensed since before I started. It has helped immensely with access to MLS, understanding ARV and comps and legally the state contract forms keep you out of a lot of potential legal trouble.