Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
You could consider being a part time agent while you build up experience if your job allows you flexibility to meet with clients, show homes, deal with contracts, etc. However, from your job description, does not sound like you have that option.
Actually my job does offer me flexibility. I can work four 10-hour days per week with one weekday off, and I can go in as early as 6 AM. If most clients would want to see homes in the late-afternoons after they are typically done with their own workdays or on the weekends, then I could conceivably do this part-time. From the listing perspective open houses are held on weekends. The odds of someone wanting to call me up to see a home at 11 AM on a Tuesday are slim, but even so I have flexibility at work to take a longer lunch and then just compensate by adding that time back onto the end of the workday.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tomocox
Almost without exception, do not go into the real estate business part-time. I do not know of one successful Realtor in my local market that successfully transitioned from part-time into full time. Of course, there are exceptions, but few.
That being said, go ahead, get your real estate eduction, get your license, put them in escrow if necessary, but once you commit, go for broke. I am a principal broker and I see many part-time agents make excellent part-time incomes, but none transit successfully to full time.
I would not tell you which franchise to join. While I am a RE/MAX broker and I know you will eventually be a RE/MAX associate, I will tell you to find a broker that sponsors Brian Buffini's 100 Days to Greatness. You need to learn how to prospect first, foremost, and always. It's your job and your career will depend on it.
I've followed you on this forum, and I really do admire your unabated passion and enthusiasm for RE/MAX. Obviously if you are so loyal towards them then they must be an employer of choice in the real estate industry. I had been more specifically looking into Keller Williams or Long & Foster with RE/MAX as a "back-up", but perhaps I should consider them as a frontrunner after all. Tomorrow morning I may walk over to my neighborhood Barnes & Noble and do some browsing to see what real estate career development books are available. I already know MikeJacquish (spelling?) from Cary, NC in another thread recommended one book in particular that sounds very interesting and is likely a "must-read."
Unfortunately if I want to get my feet wet in this industry at a young age, then my only option is to go part-time, as it will take me years to save up enough to justify risking losing a full year's income if I quit my current position cold-turkey to take a gamble as a Realtor, only to have a "flop" of a first year. I'm not fiscally irresponsible; the cost-of-living near DC is just outrageous, making it very difficult for 20-somethings to save for a rainy day. The only real "luxuries" I have in life are dining out once per week, high-speed Internet, and investing 5% of my income into a retirement plan with my current employer. Otherwise I tend to be on the thrifty side.
I'll be honest. My ADD kicked in about halfway through. You can be successful with a good plan regardless of age. You can overcame age objections with knowledge, a good presentation, and the right answers. Objections are a good thing, it means they'll do business with you as long as you handle their concerns correctly.
The money can be good, but it's a heck of a thing to have no guaranteed income. You'll need at least 6 months of expenses saved up, maybe more with the market currently slow. The key is getting with the right brokerage that will train you. Meet at least 3 different companies and remember 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
A buyer agent/licensed assistant is a great way to break in. It's expensive so I actually recommend all or nothing. That means you'd better be darned sure before you leave your other job. Do your homework and look up independent contractors. We're 100% commission based, no guaranteed leads, no benefits, no paid vacations, no set schedule. That also means you work when you want, you have the capacity to not be bound to a salary so the sky is the limit. You get out what you put in. High risk=high reward.
Work FSBO's. Work expireds. Work your friends, family, acquaintances. Get as many listings as you can, but work to make sure you take sellable listings.
I'll be honest. My ADD kicked in about halfway through. You can be successful with a good plan regardless of age. You can overcame age objections with knowledge, a good presentation, and the right answers. Objections are a good thing, it means they'll do business with you as long as you handle their concerns correctly.
The money can be good, but it's a heck of a thing to have no guaranteed income. You'll need at least 6 months of expenses saved up, maybe more with the market currently slow. The key is getting with the right brokerage that will train you. Meet at least 3 different companies and remember 50% of something is better than 100% of nothing.
A buyer agent/licensed assistant is a great way to break in. It's expensive so I actually recommend all or nothing. That means you'd better be darned sure before you leave your other job. Do your homework and look up independent contractors. We're 100% commission based, no guaranteed leads, no benefits, no paid vacations, no set schedule. That also means you work when you want, you have the capacity to not be bound to a salary so the sky is the limit. You get out what you put in. High risk=high reward.
Work FSBO's. Work expireds. Work your friends, family, acquaintances. Get as many listings as you can, but work to make sure you take sellable listings.
Thank you very much for the encouragement. In addition to what you wrote I just checked out your profile, and to have such high credentials at such a youthful age (you look to be in your mid-to-late-20s in your picture) inspires me and gives me hope that real estate isn't only for established career professionals who can "afford" to shift gears or for those whom are partnered/coupled with a better half with a "fallback" income. Granted you also live in a city with a fraction of the cost-of-living that mine has, but with a higher cost-of-living also comes higher sales prices (and higher commissions), so perhaps it's more of a "wash" in the end after all.
No need to apologize for the ADD kicking in. I acknowledge that I do tend to be very verbose, but I can also be very descriptive, have a proven track record of having a keen photographic eye (see some of my community photo tours on this forum), and do very well at overcoming preliminary objections to what I have to offer to someone. I view my youth as being an asset---not a detriment---because I can and do capitalize more upon social media, creativity, and the latest technological marketing trends more rapidly sometimes than those my senior.
Ultimately I would want to go independently, but having no guaranteed benefits is definitely something that would be off-putting, at least initially. With how staggering the cost of health insurance is you might need one full sale each year just to fully cover that financial burden for policies for yourself and your family.
I have a lot to "chew on" over the next few days, but this thread thus far has done a lot of good at helping me to better rationalize my thoughts. Keep the advice, suggestions, criticisms, etc. coming!
Actually my job does offer me flexibility. I can work four 10-hour days per week with one weekday off, and I can go in as early as 6 AM. If most clients would want to see homes in the late-afternoons after they are typically done with their own workdays or on the weekends, then I could conceivably do this part-time. From the listing perspective open houses are held on weekends. The odds of someone wanting to call me up to see a home at 11 AM on a Tuesday are slim, but even so I have flexibility at work to take a longer lunch and then just compensate by adding that time back onto the end of the workday.
Not at slim as you might think.
I show houses all the time weekdays during the day.
I have listing appointments all the time weekdays during the day.
I have closings - well, I wish they were all the time - weekdays during the day.
I show houses all the time weekdays during the day.
I have listing appointments all the time weekdays during the day.
I have closings - well, I wish they were all the time - weekdays during the day.
Unfortunately my current position isn't quite that flexible to accommodate such requests on a regular basis. I can work no earlier than 6 AM and no later than 6 PM on any given workday. If I were to do the four 10-hour workdays (10.5 hours counting a mandatory unpaid 30-minute lunch period), then I could go in at 6 AM and leave at 4:30 PM. That only gives me 90 minutes of leeway to get the shift in before 6 PM, assuming I were to work a split schedule to show a home or two in the middle of the day, and I'd want to neither make a client feel like I was "rushing" them (lest they feel like they're not worthy of my time), nor would I want to neglect (and risk losing) my primary job.
ACK! LOL! It looks as if I just may be stuck, unfortunately, sticking this current position out for at least several more years.
I've followed you on this forum, and I really do admire your unabated passion and enthusiasm for RE/MAX. Obviously if you are so loyal towards them then they must be an employer of choice in the real estate industry. I had been more specifically looking into Keller Williams or Long & Foster with RE/MAX as a "back-up", but perhaps I should consider them as a frontrunner after all. Tomorrow morning I may walk over to my neighborhood Barnes & Noble and do some browsing to see what real estate career development books are available. I already know MikeJacquish (spelling?) from Cary, NC in another thread recommended one book in particular that sounds very interesting and is likely a "must-read."
.
Thank you for noting my passion for RE/MAX. I earned it the hard way. In 1998, I joined RE/MAX Commercial, but with the wrong broker. A year later, I moved to Coldwell Banker Commercial, and then to a Prudential commercial office prior to going independent. While with CB & Pru, I got to work hand in hand with their representative residential agents. This allowed me to observe the good and the not so good aspects of each.
In 2008, my wife and I decided we had no choice but to take our boutique (small-independent) office to a franchise or close. We researched long and hard about which course to follow. We looked at several big time brand franchises and some less than big names, but every time we headed down a path, the RE/MAX balloon flew in front of us. We didn't even talk to RE/MAX because we didn't think we could afford being with such an outstanding firm. The more we looked, however, the more obvious it became, it was either RE/MAX or the door. Much to our surprise, we called in RE/MAX and we were able to buy the best franchise for less than the cost of nearly every other brand.
RE/MAX has proven itself over and over to us. If you want to be a professional, then I know that only RE/MAX (with the right broker of course) can take you all the way to the top. I have nothing to gain by helping or hurting you or any reader of this forum, but interview, interview and learn, learn, learn about the business. There is a reason that while KW has more US agents now than RE/MAX, RE/MAX outsells KW by 14 to 5. That is nearly three homes sold by a RE/MAX agent to every one sold by a KW agent. Coldwell Banker is at 14 to 9, and the rest are down the line.
As a RE/MAX broker, I know why, but for some reason, it must sound too good to believe.
If you want to be a professional, then I know that only RE/MAX (with the right broker of course) can take you all the way to the top. I have nothing to gain by helping or hurting you or any reader of this forum, but interview, interview and learn, learn, learn about the business. There is a reason that while KW has more US agents now than RE/MAX, RE/MAX outsells KW by 14 to 5. That is nearly three homes sold by a RE/MAX agent to every one sold by a KW agent. Coldwell Banker is at 14 to 9, and the rest are down the line.
What a load of crap. We just finished this discussion Tom, but since you insist...Only RE/Max you say?
I almost hate to beat a dead horse, but OP you need to go with the broker that puts you in the best position to get started. Had I started with my local Re/Max I may or may not have succeeded. Honestly, I'd have probably gone broke and not gotten the training I received with my current company. A good agent will succeed regardless of the company they are with. The agent trumps the company any day of the week and twice on Tuesday. I'll take the training at the Realogy brands (CB/C21/ERA) or KW over Re/Max any day. I firmly believe those are better places for new agents to start in many markets. I will agree with Tom that the Broker in Charge needs to be there with an open door policy for you as a new agent. That's key. I had that to go with my incredible training and I don't know if I'd have made it without those 2 things.
I'm not going to knock Re/Max though, despite the fact Tom feel he needs to sling mud at the other companies to make his look better. I think Re/Max is a wonderful model and a great company. I respect Linegar quite a bit. If I were to leave my current company there is a high probability that's where I would end up. There are many great companies out there, and some models in some markets work better for some agents. There is no magic bullet one size fits all company, including Re/Max.
I'm not going to get involved in the brokerage argument here because the client hires you and not the name of your brokerage. There are 70 agents at my brokerage and I've worked my way from an 80/20 split to a 90/10 split and that never reverts back. I'm at 90/10 as long as I'm with the company. There's a small transaction fee on a sliding scale but unlike with the huge brokerages, if I don't make a sale for a month I don't have to stroke a check to the brokerage. No desk fees, phone fees, PIA fees etc.
Back to the question at hand: your posts are way too long! Lol...holy moley! In short, I wish I would have statrted in real estate at your age. I played drums professionally for over ten years, lived a dream but my career in real estate was put off for a decade. At 38 I'd be a whole lot better off now if I would have started earlier.
it's true that you'll need a financial safety net. At least 10-12 months worth if you're going full time.
Work for your license, go part time. My first year was spent doing rentals and open houses and filling in for another agent who was very successful. I got the overflow, and I got good at it. My client list now consists of referrals and those rentals. Oh yeah, I do BPOs, as it keeps my pulse in parts of the market that I may need to reference one day. Your enthusiasm is excellent. I love what I do! I do something new every day, am in charge of my calendar, love my clients and have fun. You could certainly create a niche within your age group (no caviar necessary).
Good luck, I look forward to working with you one day!
Quote:
Originally Posted by RestonRunner86
Actually my job does offer me flexibility. I can work four 10-hour days per week with one weekday off, and I can go in as early as 6 AM. If most clients would want to see homes in the late-afternoons after they are typically done with their own workdays or on the weekends, then I could conceivably do this part-time. From the listing perspective open houses are held on weekends. The odds of someone wanting to call me up to see a home at 11 AM on a Tuesday are slim, but even so I have flexibility at work to take a longer lunch and then just compensate by adding that time back onto the end of the workday.
I've followed you on this forum, and I really do admire your unabated passion and enthusiasm for RE/MAX. Obviously if you are so loyal towards them then they must be an employer of choice in the real estate industry. I had been more specifically looking into Keller Williams or Long & Foster with RE/MAX as a "back-up", but perhaps I should consider them as a frontrunner after all. Tomorrow morning I may walk over to my neighborhood Barnes & Noble and do some browsing to see what real estate career development books are available. I already know MikeJacquish (spelling?) from Cary, NC in another thread recommended one book in particular that sounds very interesting and is likely a "must-read."
Unfortunately if I want to get my feet wet in this industry at a young age, then my only option is to go part-time, as it will take me years to save up enough to justify risking losing a full year's income if I quit my current position cold-turkey to take a gamble as a Realtor, only to have a "flop" of a first year. I'm not fiscally irresponsible; the cost-of-living near DC is just outrageous, making it very difficult for 20-somethings to save for a rainy day. The only real "luxuries" I have in life are dining out once per week, high-speed Internet, and investing 5% of my income into a retirement plan with my current employer. Otherwise I tend to be on the thrifty side.
I'm not a real estate agent. So, this is just my perspective from the client side. An agent's age isn't a big concern to me. I want an agent that I like and trust, and that really knows real estate.
It sounds like you don't have much, if any, experience with real estate. If I were in your shoes, I would be more concerned about learning about real estate than what music to play in the car when driving buyers around.
If you really dislike your current career and becoming a real estate agent isn't an option right now due to finances, have you considered any other careers where you would get the face-to-face interaction that you want? If real estate is really the place for you, have you considered moving to an area with a lower cost of living?
Last edited by skchi; 05-20-2010 at 09:30 AM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
LOL! It looks as if I just may be stuck, unfortunately, sticking this current position out for at least several more years.
