Do I need to have a license to be a property manager?

Yes and no. The answer varies based on what you want to do within property management. For example, if you only work under one owner and are paid as an employee then you are exempt of needing a WV real estate license. Make note of the statement “paid as an employee”. If you haven’t taken the class, you might not fully understand what that means. Most individuals are independent contractors and not paid as employees. Usually, you are paid by commission or some reward for performance. If that is the case, you need licensed to receive things in that way. That said, if you want to be paid in commissions based on performance you need to be licensed. If you are content with the structure of an hourly rate regardless of performance and have a property owner that wants to pay you like that then you do NOT need a license. It’s the details of where you plan to manage properties that determine if you are legally permitted to do that. The simple way to remember is mostly this rule. If you get paid hourly, at a fixed amount regardless of performance and you are working for ONLY ONE entity then it is ok without a license. If you want paid (or the owner wants you paid) by commission FOR how well you do then you need a license. There honestly would be plusses and minuses to each situation and it will be dependent on both the owner of the property and your personal desires and goals in the industry. I will say that many apartment and condo owners who use property managers often enroll their employees in our classes so that they get licenses lined up for the future. They might start out as paid a fixed amount and don’t have a license but want to later have options that are legal for rewarding the property manager.