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I definitely second the idea of reading all the books you can. They are great motivators, and written by experts in the field. I loved Tom Hopkins books, and learned a lot from them.
You suggest that new brokers operate as a business. I have saved the requisite six months of living expenses in order to operate full time. What else should I be doing in order to be successful and stick with real estate? I realize this is a lousy time to enter the market. But my company is downsizing and by next April I fully expect to be unemployed. I'm ready to begin my new career in RE.
I hate to sound dense, but would you care to elaborate? I was a humanities undergrad. How do I get a business plan? Would taking a class at a community college help?
I was wondering about your advice about "looking for a job working for a realtor." I, too, am a newly licensed realtor. I've met with several brokers about joining their office/firms, but I'm not completely sold on the idea.
I still keep in touch with the relator who served as my buyer's agent. Over lunch she asked me to consider joining her team. Currently, her time is small, the broker, her daughter, and another agent. Knowing that I have zero experience in RE, I don't want to be (completely) taken advantage of. I've been warned that as a new agent I won't get the exposure I need, as well as the fact that I'll lbe paying a fee to the team leader for every transaction.
I certainly don't want to exhaust my savings to learn the business, but is joining a team another reasonable option. If so, what type of experience should I hopet to gain?
What did you do as a licensed assistant?
How would you define a "great agent" to work for?
What should I not be doing as an assitant?
What should I expect to learn? Earn?
Although I agree that the market is very slow in some areas including my own. I also believe this could be a great time to build relationships, learn the business and be there when the market goes back up.
I have thought about looking for assisting jobs but the agents I have spoke with have been so paranoid that I really want to sell that I will steal all their ideas and leave in 6 months, which I can understand from their point of view. But I am a very honest person and would never do that so I guess I just need to find an agent that's not too worried about that, or if it is a team structure just be hopeful that I would be an add on agent to their team.
I have worked in escrow for 6 years so I am familiar with that side of the business which I think will be helpful but I know I have a lot to learn.
Another question I have is....Do any of you specialize in one area such as buyers,sellers,seniors,etc..or do you do it all?
and the same with the areas you live do you cover the entire town/city or focus your efforts in a few neighborhoods/communities?
I was wondering about your advice about "looking for a job working for a realtor." I, too, am a newly licensed realtor. I've met with several brokers about joining their office/firms, but I'm not completely sold on the idea.
I still keep in touch with the relator who served as my buyer's agent. Over lunch she asked me to consider joining her team. Currently, her time is small, the broker, her daughter, and another agent. Knowing that I have zero experience in RE, I don't want to be (completely) taken advantage of. I've been warned that as a new agent I won't get the exposure I need, as well as the fact that I'll lbe paying a fee to the team leader for every transaction.
I certainly don't want to exhaust my savings to learn the business, but is joining a team another reasonable option. If so, what type of experience should I hopet to gain?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
When I began my career, few agents had licensed assistants. I'd never heard of a "team". So I interviewed 12-15 owner/brokers, (none of whom I wanted to affiliate with) and when I found one I felt comfortable with, I immediately hung my license on the wall, chose a desk, and began to attempt to find people to do business with. I began to spend money on dues, education, supplies, gas, MLS fees, marketing materials, business cards, brochures, advertising, and eventually computers and software.
I beat the bushes looking for buyers and sellers to do business with. After a few years, I'd done some business, but was still spending most of my time LOOKING for business, rather than conducting business. That's what happens when trying to establish a career - you hope you'll be able to find enough business to compensate for the time and money you'll spend LOOKING for business and buying the various materials etc etc etc you'll need. The majority of newly licensed agents don't make it. They simply go broke trying to establish enough of a critical mass of business contacts and activity to stay in business.
The alternative is to take a JOB working for somebody who WAS successful at building and retaining clientelle, and simply needs help providing service to them.
What kind of experience could you hope to gain?
You'll learn how show property, execute the documents properly, keep the files in order and how to make clients happy. You'll learn to address objections and solve problems for your clients. You'll learn how to explain "agency" practices in your state. You'll learn how to spend your valuable time productively, rather than saying "yes" to every single request you hear. You'll learn to turn an incoming ad call into an appointment, and how to figure out whether any given person who you meet is somebody you want to spend your weekends with or whether the person has a credit score of 372 and a recent bankruptcy, and you'll learn a hundred other things. If you're really fortunate, you'll eventually learn whether or not you yourself want to gamble on creating a reliable flow of business for yourself so you can in turn hire somebody to help you do these things (above).
It took me 6 years to establish myself, and 9 more to build a solid reputation and a clientele sufficient for me to flatten out the peaks and valleys in my income. Then I began a 4 year course of action which has allowed me to go from doing an average amount of business to doing more. If I had known I could have begun my career by being paid, I'd have saved myself (at the very least) 5 years of real struggle, and I'd be way ahead by now.
You're wondering if you're going to be taken advantage of...I might have wondered that too. But that's because I didn't understand that FINDING business is more difficult than conducting the business.
You may want to ponder how you'll find sellers who'll allow you to list thier house, or how you'll find buyers who you can serve...After all, without exception, everybody I know...knows half a dozen Realtors, with nice cars and a closet full of suits...many of them smarter and more attractive than I
I had to figure out what I had to offer that would earn ME the business, rather being the guy who hears the story at the neighborhood Holiday party: ...("Guess What? I just bought a house, David!")
With all respect, you have two masters degrees, and you are selling RE? My God, I'm presuming they weren't in law or medicine, but how could you spend all that time and money just to get into a business you yourself say is a bad time to be in? This just goes to show how misallocated our labor resources are in this country.......I presume that at least, when RE markedly slows down, that we will reallocate our labor more properly. With all respect, I hope you are able to use those degrees to your advantage if RE slows down markedly.
I agree with Eric - Why the meanspirited comments? What's the point?
btw - Several of my colleagues have terminal degrees. The Realtors with PhD's I know would rather assist buyer and seller clients than write journal articles and watch junior faculty fight tenure battles.
There are more than a few careers which aren't from the inside as they appear from the outside. Being a Realtor is one.
Last edited by chaz longue; 12-05-2007 at 02:14 PM..
What did you do as a licensed assistant?
How would you define a "great agent" to work for?
What should I not be doing as an assitant?
What should I expect to learn? Earn?
Actually when I started, I was not licensed - I had administrative skills and a background in banking/lending, so was a good fit for the agent who hired me to do some of her marketing projects and keep track of her files. As some of the other posters have said, many agents are cutting back on expenses now, so might not be looking to pay an assistant. I only worked for her 20 hours a week but it was a wonderful way to learn about the business. I think some of the best knowledge I gained was by overhearing her telephone conversations with clients, other agents, closing agents, appraisers, etc. I also helped with pulling listings to show to buyers, worked on CMA's, took pictures and learned how to edit them, maintained her database of clients, that sort of thing...
What should you learn & earn -- if you are licensed, you can begin working as a buyer's agent for an experienced agent as well as doing the assistant type duties. I would ask the agent to take you on appointments when he/she is going to be showing property, so you can learn about the conversation that takes place. Buyers will be turning to you with tons of questions, so you need to be prepared with answers or know where to go to get the right answers. You'd need to work out in advance how you'll be paid depending on the source of the client (you or the other agent), and how much assistance the other agent gives you during the transaction.
You will also want to go on listing presentation appointments so you can learn how to talk with sellers, and see what kind of information you'll need to be prepared with when you do your own presentations. Everyone has their own style - some very casual, some very prepared with step by step "script" that they follow. You'll figure out your best approach as you get more experience.
I would define a great agent to work for as one who is open to teaching you and willing to share in the profits that your efforts will add to their performance. I was very fortunate to have a generous agent who rewarded me when my efforts led to new business for her. You will also want an agent who has a steady stream of business going, and has some types of systems in place for their business.
You've gotten some great advice from some obviously well experienced professionals that I won't re-hash.
One suggestion missing here IMHO is to find out where the hot properties are selling right now. If they're in commercial, go that route; if the're in land, go there, condos, specialize there...you get the picture. In this economy-challenged market, if you get into markets or niches that are not really suffering from the subprime fallout, you might be able to jumpstart your career into something profitable early. Wish someone had suggested that to me before I stepped into a group of well established residential generalists.
There are lots of specialty designations you might be interested in as well.
Good luck!
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Another spin...
