Real Estate Agents in CT (contract, listing, fees, MLS)

[tionne317]

I'm interested in getting into the biz part time. Can someone please list all the fees associated with this. I'm confused. Beside the classes for licensing what is do you have to pay for? How do you pick a good co to work for?

[2bindenver]

Depending on your State Association (CAR) and local association you have 3 levels of dues, MLS fees, lockbox & access key, state license fee, E&O insurance, cell phone, continuing education, advertising, printing, lockboxes, signs, car insurance, car (late model) clean & gassed up. Paper, color laser printer, PDA, notebook (tablet), sofware like Office, contract software, website (url, design, hosting), email, ISP, air card, office bill....

[dncngrl1964]

alot of the larger companies will help with some of the costs like CE classes and start up packages business cards etc like i know in my area Keller Williams and GMAC do that but only if you sign like a 2 yr deal with them
here are quesrtions you can ask thought

Is the qualifying broker also a competing broker
is there a cap on the splits
are you to be an independant contractor or an employee
do they hold Continuing ed classes on site or will you have to locate your own
Are there perks for working for their company instead of another
is there someone their who will support you through your first few transactions or do they just throw you to the sharks

[sunsprit]

realize that it costs the same to get into this business part time as full time.

you will be competing against full-time pros who will have many more opportunities to attract, retain, and service their clients all the way through the process to completion of a deal (which is payday).

unless you have some special insight into your local market to network and attract clients, it will be difficult to justify all the expenses for your business, unless you're planning this as a recreational hobby.

I tried part time real estate sales, and it wasn't worth the effort nor did it keep my interest, even though I did network with buyers in a good market and sold houses. I wound up using my ticket instead for my own personal investments.

[johnlvs2run]

Originally Posted by tionne317

I'm interested in getting into the biz part time. Can someone please list all the fees associated with this. I'm confused. Beside the classes for licensing what is do you have to pay for? How do you pick a good co to work for?

I've been a real estate broker in California since 1985, now semi retired.

I have taken all of my preparation, continuing education and classes by correspondence course, either by mail or the internet. This method is much easier for me, more informative, and saves money and time. I would recommend that anyone else do the same.

Originally I got the agent's license, got the broker's license 6 months later, and went on my own 2 years to the day from the start. It is good to work for a knowledgeable broker who you can talk with for 2 years. To find a good company, I interviewed with 6 or 8 brokers in the area of my interest. The one I chose was very low key, approachable, and loved to talk about real estate. I found out later he had sold 256 houses in a year in the 1950's. It was great to work with him, though unfortunately he passed away towards the end of the 2 years I was there.

You don't need a new car. Any clean well maintained car will do.

You don't need to pay for advertising. It is not cost effective. The best advertising you can do is your own. You don't need a professional printer. You don't need a PDA or any special software. Most things you need don't cost very much or else you would have them anyway. I've made quite a few of my own websites and they didn't cost anything. But you don't need a website anyway. They probably take more time than they're worth. You can run off your own flyers with a printer. Business cards are inexpensive from the internet.

You don't need a cell phone. I've never used one.

The top guy in our company that had 13 offices and 500 agents went on his own and I met him later on. He said he'd been afraid to go on his own but finally did it. Then he made more in the 1st 6 months then he'd made the previous year being the top person in the company. This fellow drove to listing appointments on a motorcycle, with his signs on the back. When I went to his office I couldn't find it but kept passing an old house with one of his signs in the front yard. Finally I figured out that this was his office!

He knew how to keep overhead to a minimum, plus being a multimillionaire and owning quite a few properties.

The most important thing you can do is to do your business your own way, which might not suit anyone else but suits you. Do it your own way. Make your own plan and focus on your plan, to the exclusion of anything else.

[dncngrl1964]

Originally Posted by johnlvs2run

I've been a real estate broker in California since 1985, now semi retired.


Originally I got the agent's license, got the broker's license 6 months later, and went on my own 2 years to the day from the start.

Unfortunately in GA you have to be an actively licensed agent for 2 years before you can take the test for broker and you have to take some kind of pre licensing classes for that also

[johnlvs2run]

Originally Posted by dncngrl1964

Unfortunately in GA you have to be an actively licensed agent for 2 years before you can take the test for broker and you have to take some kind of pre licensing classes for that also

In California you have to be an actively licensed agent for 2 years OR have a university degree. I have the B.S. and M.S. degrees so qualified to take the broker's exam from the start. However I took the agent's test first and the broker's exam 6 months later.

As far as I know California has most stringent requirements of any state in the country. Yes you need prelicensing courses (not classes), and continuing education courses for renewal. However, you can take all of these through correspondence courses, which are much better than sitting in a classroom type setting.