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.
OP, have you considered becoming a real estate assistant for a few years until your kids are a bit older and in school? It would give you the opportunity to get your feet wet, learn from an experienced realtor, make connections AND not be 100% commission while you do it. if I were in your position that is what I would do. Actually, I have four kids ages 7-15 and am just preparing to take the pre-licensure course. I am planning on being an assistant first because, for me, I would be more comfortable being a consultant on a huge investment (which is what selling real estate really is. it's not selling houses) once I have some experience under my belt.
Hi Pegotty,
I've also considered that. I'd have to ask around to see how much that pays...I'd have to be available probably at all times, just like when working as an agent...and I'm not sure that it'll pay enough to cover my daycare expenses, but I could be wrong. I think it's a great idea for you, since your kids are all in school already. I'd probably do it that way myself, if my kids were in school too.
But anyway, I'm going to ask around and find out how much it pays...to see if that would make more sense for me. That way I'm not stressing out about finding time to find clients and all. I wouldn't have to be spending money on marketing...and like you said, I'd be getting my feet wet...I'd get great experience!
Thanks for the suggestion! And good luck with your studies and testing.
There is no way I would ever spend $1500/month on babysitting to work a commission only job without any other sales/commission experience. If you've worked in sales before and know you have the skills to get the clients, maybe that would be worth it. I've been a mom to a bunch of little kids. The odds are that you'll be pulled in way too many directions. In a few years, things will be much simpler and you won't need to pay for daycare.
I am a full time mother and part time real estate agent. But, my kids are older - 7.5 and in school. My husband makes a great salary and my income is extra, not required. He is also able to make dinner and take care of everything during the evenings or on the weekend if I am working.
My opinion is: you absolutely can not do this job with the children at the ages they are. It's simply not possible. You will not have enough time to meet potential clients when they need to be met. Your days are completely out and it sounds like evenings would be tough too.
Wait until they are older. Make sure you keep your license up to date. The market will be there when you are ready.
I also want to add that I was a full time stay at home mom for my girls the first 5 years - before they started school. We never even did pre-school. I got my license when they were about 4ish. I quickly realized that time was an issue.
I wouldn't trade one minute of those young years with my girls. If you can afford it and can continue to be with them full-time, consider it. You can continue to accept whatever work comes your way by word of mouth or friends and family but not be burdened with marketing and lead generation.
Over 80% of agents last less than 2 years. While people are always new in their careers at some point, this is the kind of turnover you see in restaurant staff.
Yes, it is really hard to get much client and to start a business. Especially for a mom, who also needs to take care of home and clildrens. Try to get connected with people online, create accounts on various real estate forums that woulds be helpful for you.
We DID use an agent who was a mom. We became friendly with her because our kids were in the same elementary school. She got a lot of business through becoming friendly with other parents in the elementary school. We never would have met her if it hadn't been for the kids.
I think it takes time. But the kids are a great icebreaker if you're networking with other parents! Get very, very involved at your oldest's school. Put the middle one in a big nursery school half day 5 days a week (I wouldn't do a daycare - too many parents have no time at pickup/dropoff to hang out). Hang out a lot at pickup and drop off time. Chat. Listen. Be very, very friendly in each place. Suggest going for coffee together after nursery school dropoff, or walking together - you won't be the only one pushing a jogging stroller! Make lots of playdates. Be everyone's best friend. Volunteer for lots of school events. Get involved with the PTO at the elementary school.
Also, get involved with the biggest church around that fits with your religious beliefs/values. You will meet lots of people that way, too. Kids at a church are an asset, too, and help to break the ice in meeting people.
Make reciprocal playdate arrangements with all your new friends who have kids (preferably stay at home parents) so that you will have a number of people whom you can ask to take care of the kids at the last minute so you can do a showing. Offer to do the same for them, and mean it. Live in each other's homes, so that you feel comfortable imposing upon them, since they impose upon you.
Of course, you should never take the kids with you on a meeting with a client, or to a showing. The trick is to never let the client think that you aren't 100% available to him, while being available for the kids! But kids are an asset for building a real estate agent's business, not a hindrance. We LOVED that agent - because we were comfortable with her - she was at the same stage in life as us. She was HONEST and straightforward with us, something that has been hard to find in a realtor over the years. If she didn't know how to do something, like a HUD foreclosure sale, she told us, got help, and we learned together.
If you already had a 100K/yr career, it STILL would barely pay to put the kids in daycare while you worked. As long as you're not in need of the income, yes you can build as an agent while raising little kids. You just have to have the right personality to network with other families, and when hubby gets transferred, they'll use you for the listing.
Another thought I just had and maybe other agents can chime in on this. I'm not an agent yet. Just preparing to take my pre-licensure this summer so I'm sure others know better if this is a good idea.
I've been doing a lot of research on marketing in my spare time while I wait to start the class. It seems to me that the most effective marketing works for you while you're not working. From what I've read, you need to set up systems that automatically work otherwise you have large gaps in your income. For example, once you spend a lot of time calling leads you might get a few customers, but while you're taking care of those customers and getting them closed you aren't generating continued business because you haven't been investing as much time in it. So you get in kind of a cycle that isn't very productive and has lots of up and down.
A way around that is to invest in marketing that is automated so you still get some calls while you are busy. Maybe if you spent some money on that, it would generate better leads for you without you needing to make as many calls yourself. For example, I have been thinking that once I close my first house as a sellers agent, I would create a marketing piece and send it to all the neighbors so if anyone else is considering listing, they might call me. I have read that it is good to follow up these kinds of things with several pieces so they see your name a few times and have some recognition and then continue sending them at wider intervals. For example, after a close send out something to every home in the neighborhood for a period of 3 months and then send another mailer after another 3-6 month gap. I think this kind of marketing might work for you because it is something you can do during nap times and doesn't require the kids being quiet and not interrupting while you're on the phone. Hopefully that will generate some business for you, but of course it will also cost money.
I have also read about using some kind of "robo call" service (not even sure what the technical name for this is), but it seemed like a good way of generating leads. The idea is to make the most of your time. If you can be working on something else while calls are being made on your behalf and you get some call backs from them, it maximizes your time. Again, I don't really know much about this yet so maybe consider this an idea to look into and talk to other successful agents about whether they have used this method of lead generation.
If I were in your position, I would spend at least half of my "work" time researching and taking classes in marketing. It would probably also be really beneficial to spend 1 hour every day (even if that means putting the kids in drop-in daycare) calling targeted leads. If you do that every single day, some business will come of it. But I think letting the kids go to daycare for that hour or maybe two will help you be much more focused and purposeful about that time. it will also help you create a routine for how you manage your days. That way when the kids are there you can also be engaged with them and not feel guilty like you're being pulled in so many directions or like you should be working.
I also want to add that I was a full time stay at home mom for my girls the first 5 years - before they started school. We never even did pre-school. I got my license when they were about 4ish. I quickly realized that time was an issue.
I wouldn't trade one minute of those young years with my girls. If you can afford it and can continue to be with them full-time, consider it. You can continue to accept whatever work comes your way by word of mouth or friends and family but not be burdened with marketing and lead generation.
Hi Jojow,
Thanks for sharing! I greatly value your opinion and advice. I've only been doing this for four months, so I do want to try it a bit longer and see how it goes. I know what you mean about being there for our kids and not missing out, they grow so fast. They certainly are my priority, so if I feel like I'm not spending enough time with them because of work, then I will just wait a few years, like you did. And keep my license up to date, like you said, so I don't have to do it all over again.
Really, I'm not trying to get rich doing this (not yet,). So as long as I have enough transactions to pay for my expenses and make a little extra money, I would be happy right now. I'm not depending on my income yet. So I think you totally get where I'm coming from as a mother and agent.
Yes, it is really hard to get much client and to start a business. Especially for a mom, who also needs to take care of home and clildrens. Try to get connected with people online, create accounts on various real estate forums that woulds be helpful for you.
Hello! Thanks for your advice. I have started a FB page and I post my services on many web pages. There is a lot of online competition though, but I will keep doing it, especially since it's free and I can do it from home. Thanks so much!!
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.
