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mrsengle is right. Real estate is quite expensive to get started in. In addition to tuition for the licensing classes (as well as fees to take the licensing test), there are fees to join your local Board, tons of fees to start up your marketing (business cards, signs, etc.), and, depending on the brokerage you join, there may be office fees as well. And all that before you ever have a single transaction. Once you get a listing, there's a lot more money going out in marketing costs and nothing coming in unless it sells. Buyers are less expensive to service but usually more time consuming and you won't get any marketing bump from buyers (whereas a yard sign and advertisements for listings might get you other clients). Mostly you can count on money going out for 3-6 months before any starts coming in.
If you can find a position as an assistant that actually pays a salary or hourly wage, that will be a good way to make some money while you're learning the ropes. Remember, you won't make money by holding open houses for another agent, although you will have the possibility of making contact with unrepresented buyers.
Some brokerages have mentor programs where new agents work with an experienced agent through their first several transactions. The mentor receives a percentage of the commission in exchange for guidance through the process. This is usually over and above the split that the brokerage takes of the commission.
Traditionally, the people who make the most successful real estate agents are those with the largest spheres of influence. If you have a lot of friends or a huge family or tons of people you know from civic organizations, church, school, etc. and you're comfortable mining that sphere of influence for people who will let you be their agent and refer you to their friends who are looking for an agent, then you should do well. If you don't have that built-in sphere of influence, you'll have to rely on marketing to find clients and marketing generally requires a major investment.
This is not a great time to be getting into real estate. People are leaving the profession in droves at the moment because the market is so difficult.
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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This is a GREAT time to get into the business because lots of people are leaving. I got in the business in late 1979 just as the proverbial solid hit the fan. I struggled, but I learned a whole bunch about the business and I could later brag about surviving the BIG ONE.
Good info...
biggest question is how does one get clients? I am new to the area so no natural market. But, I like that I won't be relying on family and friends-those wells dry up fast. I don't want to be given a fish, I want to be taught to fish...
best way to meet people is to become involved in other activities that you're interested in - join a craft club, or church, a book club, or singing group, volunteer at kid's schools, etc. Do something that you enjoy that will allow you to meet and get to know other people and the talk will naturally turn to what you do for a living. My kids school friends and their parents have been the best source of referrals for me.
You will also choose a target area where you will begin to advertise yourself...tons of info out there on ways to do that, but the main requirement is consistency.
Here's an example...in my first office, each agent had an assigned neighborhood to which we mailed out a "market update" every 6 weeks. Brokerage picked up the tab for printing and mailing costs. Through this, I established contact with several individuals.
When I changed offices, and the costs for the 1,000 piece mailout were no longer covered, I had to decide what to do about that "FARM" area. I did an additional mailout with my new contact information and included an announcement that I was changing to an email format for the newsletter. Several people responded by emailing me and asking that I add their email addresses to my list. Now, rather than mailing out to the "unknown", I do a monthly email update with lots more information and know that it is reaching people who actually want to see it. I will probably do a mailout for the holidays to the entire neighborhood to see if I get any response from people who may not have added themselves to the list this spring--maybe some are missing their newsletter?
Good info...
biggest question is how does one get clients? I am new to the area so no natural market. But, I like that I won't be relying on family and friends-those wells dry up fast. I don't want to be given a fish, I want to be taught to fish...
the top 2 ways to get clients are your circle of influence...people you know relatives hair stylist baker nail guy dry cleaner
(oh and BTW if you don't have a hair stylist dry cleaner or nail guy after you become an agent you will)
and secondly is ASK ASK ASK
go to the mall and ask for the business
oh also you can ask a seasoned agent if they have more than one listing if you can run an open house for them and you get to keep the leads
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