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A little background: I put my career on hold to be a stay-at-home mom. My son turned one last month.
I'm considering becoming a real estate agent. I love, love, love real estate. It's something I've considered getting into for the past five years or so, but just never did because I had a great career.
Is it possible to be a successful RE agent and still be a SAHM? Is it reasonable to expect to be able to do paperwork at home and show properties on evenings and weekends? If clients are only available during the day, is it good practice to work with a partner to take care of those showings?
I'm not looking to get rich in this business (although that would be nice). It's just something that i really enjoy, and I'd like to make a living out of it.
Any thoughts, comments, or experiences appreciated.
Banks and Title Companies work "Banker's Hours". When will you be able to do the daily stuff? Showings on the weekends and evenings are one thing, but when are you going to actually get these people to close? Can it be done, yes. Is it the ideal option, no. I work a lot of hours during the week. I hate going out in the evenings and weekends because that's my family time with my kids since they're in school all day.
Yes, a partner or team would be ideal for your situation.
I think the first question you need to ask yourself is what it is about real estate that you love? Like many careers, I think people often have the wrong idea of what it involves. Do you like marketing? Are you willing to face rejection often? Do you like selling? Are you willing to build up a sphere of influence, sit at open houses, meet people with strange hours, work until midnight to get a contract written on a hot house for a buyer? Are you willing to take the heat from an outraged seller or scared buyer because a lender or another agent didn't do their job properly? Are you good at problem solving? Successful agents do more than show houses. They market themselves and their property listings. They solve problems. The manage a closing as one would any project.
I no longer work as a Realtor. I went back to my first career area because I missed it. I also did not like the hours of real estate--weekends, evenings, calls that interrupted weekends away with the family. The market in my area was fine. I just needed and wanted a different lifestyle. When I started in real estate I had been a SAHM for 10 years and my children were older. Yes, you can easily do paperwork and phone calls at home. I did that often. I even worked with a partner for many years. We helped each other out when the other was not available, but I was still primarily on my own.
Others make real estate work under many different work schedules. I suggest you go in with your eyes wide open. Expect to make no/little money for 6-12 months in many areas. Expect to be "paying" to work during those months with licensing fees, MLS fees, advertising and marketing materials, etc. Real estate is not for the faint of heart.
Just being honest, but no. It was extremely difficult when my son was 10, 11, 12....I could not imagine doing this job with a very small child.
Being a Realtor means being available when your client needs you, not when its convenient for you. I've gotten several buyers who got tired of working with other agents who were always tending to their kids and could not commit the time they needed. Its harsh, but its the reality of the business.
I'm considering becoming a real estate agent. I love, love, love real estate.
You may love real estate now but you've never worked it. There's a good chance you won't love it after a year or 2. If you really want to get into the business I'd suggest finding someone to work for as an assistant if you can work some week days.
I became an agent when my kids were 3 and 1. If I had to do it over again, I would work on a team or partner with someone rather than being a solo agent. It was really, really hard.
Just practical things...many markets are brisk with multiple offers. That means you have to get into houses right away with your buyers to compete. Do you have someone that can take your kids on a quick notice?
Home inspections happen during the day. You need to be there. Do you have someone that can watch your child for three hours?
Earnest money needs to be deposited during the day regardless of your child's nap schedule or if they are sick. Hauling a feverish child in your car to go get earnest money from a client, then run it down to escrow. Not fun.
Your partner is late getting home and you've booked three houses. Are you hauling your kids with you or do you have someone to watch them? My husband being home later than we agreed was the biggest source of problems for me. Traffic happens. People get irritated when you are late. I just started telling him to be home half an hour earlier than I really needed just so I could get to appointments on time.
While you can minimize the "drop of a hat" aspect of real estate you can't get rid of it. I was really surprised at how many people would prefer to see a house over a lunch hour as opposed to an evening. You will likely not do as much evening and weekend work as you think. Consumers value that family time as well.
So, my advice? Work as an assistant. You can do a lot of assistant work from home or with your kiddo in tow. You can sit open houses on weekends. There are a lot of things you can do in real estate that are more little kid friendly. Loving homes is not the same thing as loving the profession of real estate agent. Many people confuse these.
I started when my son started Kindergarten and that was hard enough. The first year or two you will likely work a lot of open houses as that is one way to meet clients and that will take you away from weekends. I can't imagine trying to do this job while at home with small children. It is a job, and you have to be available to work for your clients.
I can't offer any insight beyond the excellent info you've already received but you might want to consider getting your license and then becoming an assistant who can also do open houses on weekends and score an occasional sale as a result. Then, when your kids are older and if you still have an interest, you can move into it full time as a knowledgeable and experienced agent.
Team up with another stay at home mom. You can trade babysitting. Get two iPhones and sync your schedules so you overlap. Have a babysitter/child care on stand by in case you can't stagger coverage.
My biggest question is you stated you "gave up a good career" to be a SAHM. You do realize being a real estate agent is a CAREER, and a very demanding one at that.
I think people who believe they can "dabble" in real estate are setting themselves up for failure from the beginning. Its a full time (MORE than full time) job.
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