question for any realtors here. (sale, real estate, rental)

[jea6321]

So over the past few years I have been debating getting my real estate license and wanted some opinions from anyone here who does or has sold real estate.

my current profession leads itself to being extremely busy from dec-april (60-70hr weeks), oct-nov and May are typical 40 hr weeks for the most part and I will get laid off most of the time from june-sep. I was thinking of starting to work on real estate on a part time basis to start and if it goes as planned, switch to full time in a year or three.

so has anyone here worked part time or part of the year as a real estate agent? was the experience harder doing it as a part time gig?

if anyone has decided to just go for it full time, what was your experience like? I could see it being possible to go for 4-6+ months perhaps before closing your first sale. That could be a tough transition if you had no other means of income.

Im aware of the steps to get a license and it should be of no concern.

any other opinions or thoughts that may be helpful?

I would really appreciate to hear from actual people who are or have been in real estate sales. I can find plenty of people who are not involved outside of this board and no offense but if you have no experience with it, I dont care about your opinion. thanks!

[selltheburgh]

The busiest months are feb thru June.

I made about 6k in my first 6-8 months and had a lot of out of pocket expenses.

[jea6321]

did you have another job during your first 6-8 months? or were you working exclusively as an agent?

[selltheburgh]

I Had another part time job with flexible hours.

[gg]

Most people that dabble in real estate don't last that long unless they have a spouse or other income. The fees these days are higher. The MLS is the biggest ripoff going. No idea why the big firms don't get rid of that cow. Last I was in real estate it was over $40 a month for a very pathetic system. Most big firms like HH, Pru, North, CB and others require you to be a member, but I have been out of that business for quite some time. There are little places that are not "realtors", which allow you not to be a member. Then there are board dues and continuing eduction every two years. Of course one sale a year covers your costs, but keep in mind, you might be driving people around and they never buy and so on. We used to call the part timers the "lunch bunch". Mostly people with money that were looking for something to do. Real estate is loaded with them. They make $5-$10k a year.

[jea6321]

I would only want to do part time to get started. maybe the first 6 months or so. If I decide to go for it I would be planning to transition to full time as quick as possible. I love my current profession ( job) but Im pretty much capped out in my field for what I do pay wise and the hours can be overwhelming at times. ( I have done 15-20 days straight of 12+ hour days numerous times) and I have worked 3 months with only 3-4 days off total a few times.

I could just see that having zero income for 6-8 months as a problem. I am single ( I do have rental income that could help but not completely) and only have my income. Perhaps waiting til I have an additional rental property (1-3 more years) would be best as I could at least get by on that income til I started closing some properties.