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Hey, I am only 16 but I love browsing these forums. I love looking at real estate listings and when I watch tv im mostly watching. House Hunters, How Much Is it Worth, House Virgins and so on (with of course reality tv show). I was wondering since I have to figure out what I want to do with my life since im a junior in high school and will be applying to college in less than a year. If I should do something in the real estate business. I really dont know. Help can be appreciated.
But I dont know if Real Estate can afford the lifestyle I wan to live. I want to live in a city or in New England and be able to travel around the world like once or twice a year. For a week at a time. Or even afford to live in NYC/Long Island for a while since thats where all my family lives.
Help would be appreciated. Im also considering many different things like being a real estate lawyer or something. So different ideas can help a lot.
Well, I am NOT an agent but am looking into it as well. Here is what I can say:
You CAN make a lot of money if you are good at it and work hard. Personally, I think this is the best time to be getting into real estate as I think it is best to learn the business in a slow market rather than one where you just sit back and it comes to you. (You know, learn in the tough market and know how to manage in any market)
Time-If you are successful you can take time off to travel...I think you need to put in 5 good years and then if you are successful take a week or two off a year. Real estate is flexible EXCEPT you have to be available to your clients. You just may need to pass on a client in order to take your vacation. (I think this is where a partner would be valuable)
What I suggest (and remember, I am not an agent) is go to college and get a degree in something you love...marketing, business...those will help with this type of career. Graduate and then get your license. If you find out you don't like RE then you can fall back on something else with your degree. OR, go to college and become a licensed assistant on a part time basis...This will allow you to get your degree AND learn the business.
I got my degree in Communications with an emphasis in Public Relations. I worked for a large RE company in their marketing department before I had to relocate. THis is where I got the bug for RE as well. ONce we move into our new home I am going to get my license and work part time as I have young kids. But, I am going to try and become an assistant FIRST and then when ready to go full time, I will go out on my own.
Good Luck! I think it is GREAT you are asking questions and trying to figure things out at 16. Just remember, it is easier to go to school as a young adult than to go back as a adult with lots of responsibilities. Get your degree!
I'd have been MUCH better served had I looked for a JOB as an assistant, rather than becoming an agent myself back in 1988 - but assistants were fairly rare back then.
I have 2 more suggestions...
1) Take the RE shows with a grain of salt - they have very very little to do with what you'll be doing in the first years of your business. They may be "reality shows", but they bear very little relation to the reality of Realty.
2) Visit a local chapter of BNI. The founder wrote his PhD thesis on Business Networking (which is rarely taught in business school, but can make of break the business of a Realtor) and a visit to a chapter will be both fun, and a real eye opener for you, particularly if you get a chance to sit and chat with the Realtor from the chapter afterwards - I promise.
Hey, I am only 16 but I love browsing these forums. I love looking at real estate listings and when I watch tv im mostly watching. House Hunters, How Much Is it Worth, House Virgins and so on (with of course reality tv show). I was wondering since I have to figure out what I want to do with my life since im a junior in high school and will be applying to college in less than a year. If I should do something in the real estate business. I really dont know. Help can be appreciated.
But I dont know if Real Estate can afford the lifestyle I wan to live. I want to live in a city or in New England and be able to travel around the world like once or twice a year. For a week at a time. Or even afford to live in NYC/Long Island for a while since thats where all my family lives.
Help would be appreciated. Im also considering many different things like being a real estate lawyer or something. So different ideas can help a lot.
One of the best quotes I heard was from my pre-licensing instructor:
"Learn how money works, and you can make it in real estate."
I'm a believer.
If you can work with people, and understand money, you can do well.
College can be a big help, if you study stuff that will drive your dream.
Law, finance, English or a second language, composition and public speaking, and debate all come to mind.
Learn facts and the skills to present them convincingly, and have fun doing it.
Might lead you to real estate, or to some other field.
Thanks for the information. I figured that the reality tv shows were more exciting than what actually happens.
How is being a realtor in New England since thats one of the places I would love to live.
My parents are saying that I shouldnt do real estate because the market is bad( the morgatage crisis) and that I wont make money. Is this true? Or do real estate agents still get paid during bad housing markets the same amount they get during great ones?
Location: Mokelumne Hill, CA & El Pescadero, BCS MX.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tymel
My parents are saying that I shouldnt do real estate because the market is bad( the morgatage crisis) and that I wont make money. Is this true? Or do real estate agents still get paid during bad housing markets the same amount they get during great ones?
Considering that there is no state in the country where you can be licensed until you're 18, I think you'll be OK by the time you are old enough to be licensed.
I think you should do anything in your life that brings you joy and you have a passion for. Rock on!
If you're 16 and listening to your parents, you may be the only 16 year old that does (That's an old persons joke)
My parents are saying that I shouldnt do real estate because the market is bad( the morgatage crisis) and that I wont make money. Is this true? Or do real estate agents still get paid during bad housing markets the same amount they get during great ones?
You will be working for a living doing something long after the current market conditions are forgotten.
It may be real estate. Maybe something else. Hopefully it will be something for which you have a great passion.
The market is bad because home sales in the US are projected to be approximately 5.9 million this year vs. 6.5 million homes last year.
Someone is making a living on those 5.9 million homes.
I only need about 40 of them next year, and I will let everyone else share the rest as they can work it out...
And... It is very good you respect your parents. They have found their way this far, haven't they?
My parents are saying that I shouldnt do real estate because the market is bad( the morgatage crisis) and that I wont make money. Is this true? Or do real estate agents still get paid during bad housing markets the same amount they get during great ones?
Interesting - Your parents are always right, but in this case they may be right (that you're unlikely to make money as a new agent) ...but not for the reasons they think this is so...
There's not always a direct and obvious correlation between the state of the market (like the present "bad" one) and an individual agent's fortunes. The vast majority of Real estate agents only get paid when a sale happens which they are directly involved in - either working with the seller or the buyer. And as Mike points out, you'll only need to be involved in a certain number of them. Assisting x number of buyers or sellers in a "good" market or a "bad" market makes less difference than what x is. And x doesn't always correlate with the market - it correlates with how many people you can find to assist.
So it's not the market that will matter as much to you, ...as how many people think of YOU when they need a real estate professional - instead of thinking of the woman down the street who's been at it for 30 years and who's been sending Just Listed postcards to her past clients and customers several times a year for decades. You know the woman I mean...she never retires, she just gets a bigger Mercedes every year... Seriously though...she pays somebody to help her manage her database, assemble bulk mailings, and so on. Go find her when it's time, and see if she's hiring...
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