- So you're looking to get into the real estate business
and maybe earn a little extra cash on the side, huh?
Well in this video, we're gonna talk about five
side hustles that you can pursue in the real estate industry
that can help you to build some more financial freedom
and depend a little bit less on your day job.
Stick around.
(upbeat music)
Hey, I'm Seth Williams, I'm the founder of REtipster.com,
where we give all kinds of insights and guidance
for real estate investors.
And in this video, we're gonna talk about a few
different ways you can get involved
in the real estate industry if you're just trying to earn
a little extra side cash and get your foot in the door
so that you can learn more about how this business works
and eventually take this to a much higher level.
So I remember back when I was working my first job
outta college and I desperately wanted to get out of it.
I wanted to get into the real estate business
as an investor so I could start making a lot more money
and really just doing life on my own terms
and not living and dying by what my boss told me to do.
And there was nothing wrong with my job,
I just didn't like the idea that I had to do
what they told me to do all day, every day,
and I could never do my own thing.
And so I got started the way most people do
is I found a way that I could make money
in the real estate business while I was still working
my full-time job.
And good news is, there's all kinds of ways
that you can make money on the side.
And one of the easiest ways I know of to get started
is to become a notary.
Becoming a notary is not expensive, it's not difficult.
And essentially what a notary does, their job is to attest
to the validity of signatures and the original documents
that are being signed.
So for a lotta years, I actually acted as a notary in my job
and I would sign hundreds of different loan documents
for people who were borrowing money.
And by acting as a notary and signing my signature
right next to theirs, I was saying that I had actually
looked at this person's personal identification,
I verified that yes, they are who they say they are,
so the document is not forged, it's not a fake signature,
this is a real valid and legally enforceable document.
And that's really what a notary does.
And most notaries can earn anywhere from 75
to even a couple hundred dollars for every signing
appointment that they book,
so for every time they meet with somebody
and notarize a signature.
And notaries are needed any time you're signing
loan documents, any time you're signing a deed,
and the amount that you earn per job as a notary
depends on where you're getting the job from
and who you're working with.
For instance, if you get plugged in
with a local title company or attorney or escrow office
and you basically just act as a mobile notary for them,
where you're going out to meet people and sign
their documents, it's typically gonna involve
a little bit of travel time because you have to go
to where this person is and watch them sign the document
and verify that they are who they say they are.
But aside from understanding how to do this properly
and just signing the document right after they do,
that's really all there is to it.
It's not hard or difficult work.
You just have to go through the motions
of becoming a notary, filling out all that basic paperwork,
and then remaining in good standing in the state
where you're authorized as a notary.
So it's pretty straightforward and this is not something
where you're gonna get rich from it.
But if you can constantly maintain appointments,
say one a day or even a couple every single week,
it can add up fairly quickly to a nice side income
on a monthly basis.
Another way to make a nice side income
in the real estate business is to get into
the business of bird dogging
or some people even refer to it as wholesaling.
And essentially what this is is you're going out
and you are finding great deals for other cash buyers.
So for instance, let's say you're able to find a seller
who is highly motivated, they're willing to sell fast
for a very very low price.
You don't necessarily have the cash to buy it yourself,
and even if you did, you wouldn't have the resources
to do all the flipping on your own.
But, if you have connections with one or more other
real estate investors in the area who are actively looking
for deals like this, you could bring the deal to them
and earn a referral fee.
And I think for the most part, if you have a good trusting
relationship with somebody, it is possible to just have
like a gentleman's agreement, handshake agreement,
where they would pay you for every deal that closes.
But for most cases, when you're starting
a new relationship with somebody that you haven't worked
with before, you'll probably wanna start
by getting some paperwork involved, getting an actual
purchase agreement signed with the seller
and then assigning that agreement to that cash buyer.
And then you would essentially get paid an assignment fee
when that deal closes.
I've actually got a very detailed blog post
that explains all the mechanics and paperwork
behind how this happens.
I'm gonna link to that beneath this video,
so feel free to check it out.
I will say that assigning purchase agreements like this
is not legal in all 50 states unless
you're a licensed real estate agent,
so keep that in mind.
You don't wanna just start going this without first
reviewing your state's laws just to make sure
that you're actually able to do this
without breaking the law.
But if you are able to do it, and you still are able
to do it in most states, this can be a great way to earn
some side income in the real estate business.
Along those same lines, let's say you actually do want
to become a licensed real estate agent.
If you wanna be a Realtor and list and sell properties
in the local MLS and collect a commission every time
one of these properties sells.
There's a lot of real estate agents that work like this
and in my conversations with some of the more serious
agents out there, they've told me that as few
as about 20% of all the agents out there
are actually doing this as a full-time career.
The rest of them are doing this more on a part-time basis,
where they're selling anywhere
from like one to five deals per year.
So a lot of real estate agents out there totally treat this
like a side hustle and just do deals when they have time
on the nights and on the weekends.
And if you wanna do it like that, that's totally feasible.
In order to become licensed as a real estate agent,
you're gonna have to go through some testing
and exams in the state where you're working.
That's usually gonna involve a little bit of prep work
ahead of time too because you have to learn
how to answer these questions right before you actually
take the test.
And of course, as you can imagine, there's costs
associated with all this stuff too.
So you should definitely be prepared to pay some
of those costs before you even go down this road.
Then there's also ongoing education and annual membership
fees you'll have to pay as well,
so keep all that in mind.
You don't wanna do this unless you're actually planning
on selling some properties and bringing in some income
to offset those costs.
Another way to make some side income
in the real estate business is to get into something
called affiliate marketing.
Now if you're in the online space,
if you have a blog or a YouTube channel,
you're probably very familiar with this.
But if you don't know what affiliate marketing is,
essentially what's happening here is you are finding
products and services from companies that you know
and have experience with and are willing to put
your reputation behind and you promote these services
to your audience.
So we're talking if you have a blog or any kind
of a platform where people are regularly paying attention
to what you put out there, you can say hey,
I've been using this, it's been working really well.
If you wanna check it out through my affiliate link,
I'll earn a small commission when you sign up.
That's pretty much all there is to it.
Now I will say, I think that there's a right way
and a wrong way to do this.
If you've followed the REtipster blog
for any length of time, you probably already know
I've done a lot of these affiliate promotions over the years
and I only do 'em on the companies that I really believe in
and am willing to stand behind.
Because you gotta remember, anything negative
about the thing you promote is ultimately going to reflect
negatively on you.
So you only want to do this with things
that you're very familiar with and you're willing
to stand behind.
Now promoting another company's stuff
through affiliate links can be as simple
as just posting your link on your social media platform
so that all your friends and followers can see it
and then you might get lucky.
Perhaps somebody will click through your link
and buy something.
But in my experience, it's been a heck of a lot
more effective to actually offer a ton of value
before you even get into the point
of posting your affiliate link.
For example, I've done affiliate promotions
for companies like Cozy and RingCentral
and BombBomb and I can't tell you that any
of these companies are perfect, but they're pretty darn good
and I believe in them a lot because I've used 'em for years.
And when I went through the process of intentionally
promoting these companies on the REtipster blog,
I didn't promote it without offering a lot
of free education and explanation as to how it works,
why it's helpful, and how to really use it
to make the most of your business and get a lot better
at what you do.
So whether one of these readers or viewers
ends up buying anything or not, and I'll tell ya
most of them don't, they're still gonna walk away
with a lot of value in any event.
Most of the affiliate promotions I've done in the past
do not make a ton of money.
I'd say an average one might make a few hundred dollars
per month, but there have been some when I've been able
to get the right product with the right audience
and the right promotion where it's been able to earn
upwards of $1,000 in one day.
So it can be pretty cool if you can get all the stars
to align, but again, I wouldn't plan
on getting rich from this.
It's just a nice side stream of income
if you happen to have an audience and you know
how to promote it in a way that actually adds value
to people's lives.
And the last side hustle idea on this list
is actually several things rolled up into one,
and it's all about being a freelancer.
So I want you to ask yourself, is there anything
that you're particularly good at that you can use
to offer value to other people's businesses and lives?
For example, do you know how to use Photoshop?
Do you have a good speaking voice?
Do you know how to write well?
Because you could do things like graphic design,
creating logos for other people,
or you could do voiceover work for people's phone systems
or you could offer business writing services.
Anything like that where you know that there's a need
out there and people need easy help and you can basically
just extend your services,
and if you market yourself specifically as an expert
in the real estate industry, you'll be miles ahead
of all the other freelancers out there
who are marketing their services to anybody and everybody.
If you wanna give freelancing a shot and you think
you have some value to offer the world,
there's a couple websites you should definitely check out
if you haven't already seen them.
One of them is Upwork.
The other one is Fiverr.com.
And both these websites are kinda different
in what they do.
Fiverr is more like low-end, ultra cheap help.
Upwork is more the high-end,
like ongoing business relationships.
But they can both be a great fit for both people
who are looking to hire work and people who are looking
to hire out their services.
So definitely check out both of those.
I've got a couple blog posts that explain very thoroughly
how both websites work.
Again I'll link to those beneath this video too.
But don't be afraid to put yourself out there.
I think there could be all kinds of ways
that you could monetize the things
that you're already good at and really make
a lot of money over the long haul if you're willing
to plug away at it on the nights and on the weekends
and when you have time to do it.
So in my mind, side hustles are not just
about making money on the side,
but it's really about hope and thinking
about the future.
And if you're feeling like you're shackled to your day job
or whatever source of income you currently have
that you frankly don't enjoy that much
or say if you just don't have any income
or not enough income at the moment,
I want you to understand through this,
like there are all kinds of ways you can make money
and you don't have to be a slave to your job.
Making money from a side hustle is not gonna be quick
or easy in most cases, but if you pick one or two things
where you wanna be an expert and add a lot of value
to other people's businesses and you commit to it
for six to 12 months and keep plugging away,
I think you'll be surprised to see,
these can be pretty impactful in a lotta ways.
It'll even give you a lot of psychological freedom
when you realize, there's a lot more you can do
and a lot more you can offer the world
than just the income that your day job has to offer you,
assuming you have a job at all.
And also keep in mind, there's a lot more opportunities
out there than just these ones I've mentioned here
in this video.
So keep your eyes peeled.
Always be on the lookout for ways that you can add value
to the world and make money on the side.
So let me ask you, are you currently working
at any kinda side hustle?
If so, what is it and how's it working out for you?
Feel free to leave a comment beneath this video
and let us know and who knows, maybe we can all learn
of some other ways that we can make some income
on the side in the real estate business.
Thanks a lot for watching.
For more information, be sure to check out
the full blog post associated with this video.
Again, I'll link to that and a lot of other things below.
I hope you got some new ideas from this
and I'll see you next time.