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Hi, cj. You sound almost exactly like me. My husband was active-duty and we were living in NOVA. When my youngest started kindergarten, I got my license. I was pretty successful, although George is right, your clients will want to see properties after work and on the weekends which takes some getting used to. Especially if you still have young kids at home and a spouse who works long hours ... short- notice child care can be a challenge if you don't have family or good friends nearby. Agents are competitive in that area but I never really had a bad experience. You will need to learn quickly how to handle a busy market though (multiple offers). Within 6 months of joining my brokerage (Long & Foster), I joined up with a seasoned agent to work some of his leads and that helped my business tremendously.
I understand your desire to help military people but how are you going to advertise that "connection"? Marketing yourself? Word of mouth? Remember ... there are lots of agents who will claim to understand the military customer. And you will also be competing with programs like USAA's Mover's Advantage.
Unfortunately 2 years in, my husband and I PCSed to AL so I had to start all over. It's definitely more low-key here but the price points are a lot lower as well! Good luck ... let me know if you have any specific questions.
Hi lindy, thanks for sharing your experience! Good to know you are familiar with the market in my area, its insane. When we bought our house last year, we had to compete with 6 different offers. So you brought up THE most pressing issue on my mind. Yes, I'd be great and I can do this but how will the people who need my help find me? Should I start blogging on military related issues, relocation stuff related to my area? Should I contact a website designer that will help me set up a website that will bring people pcs'ing to me? Can I go to the base housing office and offer my services to help people find rentals to get started? Can I advertise on militarybyowner? Those are my initial thoughts. The not so military friendly realtor who helped us came by way of the USAA movers advantage. Should I consider that referral service? I looked and looked when we moved because I had to buy the house before we got here (while my husband was deployed in Afghanistan) and had only 48 hours in the area to find a house to buy. I could not find a good relocation service company!
Since you are a mom, let me ask you this about managing the kids with this. I have in my mind that I can be at the office during school hours, and then evenings and weekends would be blocks of time (a few hours here and there) working. And then in the summer time when kids are home from school I can mostly work from home during the day but if I needed to go in for a few hours during the day, its not an issue as my oldest is in middle school and can babysit for short blocks of time. Evenings and weekends, husband takes over. Is this realistic? I realize there is no "typical" day but I wanted to avoid a mon-fri 9-5 job so at least one parent can be there for the kids during the bulk of the day during the summer. My husband is mon-fri strictly (finally!!!) working 7 to 4 usually. Okay, I've rambled enough, thank you!
I would too....if you find a broker that you really like before you get your license, he/she can probably make a good recommendation for your licensing courses. We have some instructors in our area that are pitiful.
Good point, thank you. We have a Coldwell Banker office that does the classes (and they are offering to waive the tuition for veterans/military spouses) so I will possibly call them first.
Don't just interview brokers. Get to know them. You can actually begin this process today. Pick out a list of offices you see as reputable, go visit with agents of those offices, listen to them before you interview with the broker. Get their stories of market entry, failures, etc.
Here is a statistic that comes from the National Association of Realtors: 80% of all people who try the business fail (70% who begin at a RE/MAX office). If you intend to be a professional, start as a professional. All real estate is local, and the quality of the local brokers will vary. There are great RE/MAX brokers, and there are those that are very poor, just as there are in every brand whether franchised, independent, small, large, or somewhere in-between.
Odds are almost impossible that I will never have a financial stake in where you land with your license, so if you wish, I'll be happy to accept private messages to coach you towards a successful start. Although I am a RE/MAX broker-owner, I have had personal experience with Coldwell Banker, Prudential, and as an independent, and I recruit against Keller-Williams, Century 21, Berkshire-Hathaway, Weichert, and most other brands. I won't push you to a RE/MAX office, but will explain the various compensation plans, the hidden details that just never seem to come out until you've been "Pelosied," you know you have to join the firm to know what's in the firm.
Hi lindy, thanks for sharing your experience! Good to know you are familiar with the market in my area, its insane. When we bought our house last year, we had to compete with 6 different offers. So you brought up THE most pressing issue on my mind. Yes, I'd be great and I can do this but how will the people who need my help find me? Should I start blogging on military related issues, relocation stuff related to my area? Should I contact a website designer that will help me set up a website that will bring people pcs'ing to me? Can I go to the base housing office and offer my services to help people find rentals to get started? Can I advertise on militarybyowner? Those are my initial thoughts. The not so military friendly realtor who helped us came by way of the USAA movers advantage. Should I consider that referral service? I looked and looked when we moved because I had to buy the house before we got here (while my husband was deployed in Afghanistan) and had only 48 hours in the area to find a house to buy. I could not find a good relocation service company!
Since you are a mom, let me ask you this about managing the kids with this. I have in my mind that I can be at the office during school hours, and then evenings and weekends would be blocks of time (a few hours here and there) working. And then in the summer time when kids are home from school I can mostly work from home during the day but if I needed to go in for a few hours during the day, its not an issue as my oldest is in middle school and can babysit for short blocks of time. Evenings and weekends, husband takes over. Is this realistic? I realize there is no "typical" day but I wanted to avoid a mon-fri 9-5 job so at least one parent can be there for the kids during the bulk of the day during the summer. My husband is mon-fri strictly (finally!!!) working 7 to 4 usually. Okay, I've rambled enough, thank you!
You can do any of those things for marketing yourself (although I wouldn't spend $ on a web designer at this point). The base housing office probably won't be willing to hand out your business cards as they cannot appear to be endorsing a specific business owner. You can definitely advertise on MBO but you wouldn't be eligible to join USAA's Mover's Advantage right now. They have experience requirements as far as completed transactions and years in the business. Your best bet is to be in the office as much as possible. Make sure everyone gets to know you and starts noticing that you're there all the time. That's how I got invited to work with the seasoned agent ... he knew I was new and probably looking for business and I seemed motivated. Also, you need to tell every military friend you have that you're doing RE so if they, or someone they know, is PCSing to the area, they can give you a call. Put it out on FB, etc.
Your ideas are basically OK for the child care questions. You have an advantage since your oldest is in MS and can babysit on short notice. That will help tremendously. When I started, my oldest was only in 2nd grade so it was hard. The challenge arises when you have a client in town who wants to find a rental or buy a house within the next 3 days (sound familiar?) and you end up spending ALL day with them (10 houses/day is not unusual). Are you willing to give up your whole weekend in those situations?
Okay, big update! Thank you for those who provided such excellent advice. I will keep you mind Tom, and so appreciate you willing to be a voice of reason in this chaotic business.
My news... so this morning at my son's hockey practice, I was casually talking to another parent. They asked if I had found a job, and I mentioned that I was thinking of getting my real estate license. We talked about it briefly, I am offered business cards of their realtor friend, ect. Then 10 minutes later another dad, who apparently overheard my conversation about real estate, tells me he is selling his house (HAS to sell) and how fast can I get my license. He will only work with someone he trusts, and wants ME to list the house. The $800k house. I don't know if I continued breathing at that point in the conversation or not. Not only does he need to sell, he needs to buy a smaller house in the same area. I tell him I'll see what I can do, will get with him this week. I get home, and he's contacted me via email telling me all about the house, and it needs to be on the market within the next 8 weeks. And again, a list of reasons why he and his wife want ME to do this. So, first I am honored and thrilled that a casual acquaintance wants to me to represent him but now I am freaking out because obviously I needed to be licensed yesterday. I am going broker/real estate class shopping this week. Even if the timing does not work out and I don't get this listing, its exactly the push I needed to move me in the right direction. So with this new information, do I tell a broker this?
Thank you! I start my classes in 2 weeks and if all goes well, I will be licensed by the end of April. Tell me what you know about Coldwell Banker? No desk fees/no copy fees, 50/50 commission split (which changes the more you produce), mandatory mentoring program, I really liked the Broker (non-competing). All licensing/association fees a year are $2000ish. I am meeting with some others tomorrow. Thoughts?
Thank you! I start my classes in 2 weeks and if all goes well, I will be licensed by the end of April. Tell me what you know about Coldwell Banker? No desk fees/no copy fees, 50/50 commission split (which changes the more you produce), mandatory mentoring program, I really liked the Broker (non-competing). All licensing/association fees a year are $2000ish. I am meeting with some others tomorrow. Thoughts?
It all depends on the broker. There are great Coldwell Banker franchises everywhere. There are not great ones I am sure. One of ours here has a great broker....the other lost his franchise for basically collecting franchise fees from his agents yet not paying CB.
Its all about who is running the place, and most companies have different commission structures to choose from.
My prediction is that real estate is gonna be hot hot hot in your lifetime. Why? Simply because first of all, the increase we are seeing in real estate prices (now expanding outside of Long Island and San Francisco, i mean) is no bubble. This is permanent and will escalate. Realtors will make oodles of money on those commissions. And, perfect for you, you can still be home a lot of the time to raise those kids. Just make sure that you learn that trade the very very best you can. Talent in selling properties, and the ability to get a covey of potential monied cash buyers is the key these days.
Serious realtors with a good reputation are doing very very good. Like a lot of other sales industries, you gotta be good at it (you'll live off of referrals primarily). Seems your interest and motivation in this area would predict a successful future there.
Realty and taking the civil service exams are the two areas I recommend these days - regardless of your intellectual skills.
Okay, big update! Thank you for those who provided such excellent advice. I will keep you mind Tom, and so appreciate you willing to be a voice of reason in this chaotic business.
My news... so this morning at my son's hockey practice, I was casually talking to another parent. They asked if I had found a job, and I mentioned that I was thinking of getting my real estate license. We talked about it briefly, I am offered business cards of their realtor friend, ect. Then 10 minutes later another dad, who apparently overheard my conversation about real estate, tells me he is selling his house (HAS to sell) and how fast can I get my license. He will only work with someone he trusts, and wants ME to list the house. The $800k house. I don't know if I continued breathing at that point in the conversation or not. Not only does he need to sell, he needs to buy a smaller house in the same area. I tell him I'll see what I can do, will get with him this week. I get home, and he's contacted me via email telling me all about the house, and it needs to be on the market within the next 8 weeks. And again, a list of reasons why he and his wife want ME to do this. So, first I am honored and thrilled that a casual acquaintance wants to me to represent him but now I am freaking out because obviously I needed to be licensed yesterday. I am going broker/real estate class shopping this week. Even if the timing does not work out and I don't get this listing, its exactly the push I needed to move me in the right direction. So with this new information, do I tell a broker this?
I'm based in Columbia, MD with a builder and formerly worked in sales with long and foster in Baltimore. Given how many experienced agents are in this part of the world and the dollar amount of the transactions, I have a difficult time understanding why someone would wait for a new person to get a license that will lack the experience for a transaction of this magnitude. Unless you have some incredible gift for sales and transaction management, I highly recommend you team up with someone and not go at this alone.
Something tells me this guy is a PITA to work with and other agents have quit working with him. It's not a personal dig against you. I've just been in this real estate market long enough to think something seems off about this.
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