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I just recently went to real estate school and since then this new career has cost me a lot of money. Not only has it been stressful w/o an income but there is so much to learn and all w/o getting paid!
. . right now I'm feeling really discouraged. I have not had income in almost three months, just bought a house and everyday I'm finding out about another fee I have to pay. Also, I have several meetings I have to attend and tons of classes. That's fine because I'm learning but I need money!
You have my sympathy, Rapture. I, too, grew up in the business, so to speak. My dad was a broker and had a reputation as an honest, hardworking realtor. It is discouraging when you take pride in honesty, integrity, and great service, only to have some categorize all realtors as "scum of the earth". But hang in there! There really are clients out there who truly appreciate all your hard work! They're the reason we're in this business.
When I first decided to make the leap into real estate, I tried so hard to find out exactly how much it was all going to cost. What I was told was just the tip of iceberg! I ended up having to cash in part of my IRA in order to cover my startup costs. I really think it should be easier to find out the exact startup costs, depending on which state you're in. After all, we're in a business that advocates disclosure!
Hang in there, too, if you can financially. It is tough the first year or so until you get some momentum to your business. I have seen quite a few agents begin to panic and take part time jobs. The only problem with that is that they lose their focus on their real estate careers, and the next thing you know they're out of the business all together. One of the best continuing ed classes I took was a GRI business planning class. It really helped me understand "how" to do the business, i.e. how to build my business. It's not easy and it does take time. You just have to be very consistent.
If I had to do it over again, I think the advice to work as an assistant is excellent. In lieu of that, some other possibilities might be new home sales (low commission, but many will pay a base salary), or work with an experienced agent who is willing to be a mentor to you (usually you give them a percentage of your first few sales). If you find a great mentor, you'll be learning the business from the best. You might also get some clients that the mentor is too busy to work with.
My policy is with Farmers Insurance, and it went up a little, but not much when I had to add my office as a beneficiary or something like that. Call them for information. I, too, am relatively new, and am constantly running out of money from my commission checks, yet, when I was working for others in the usual work force, I found it impossible to pay my car expenses, rents, etc on $8-10 hour. Even banks, or retail stores would not hire full-time. I figured once what it would take to survive comfortably, and $2000 a month would be a start, (really skimping, living with a roommate or two modest incomes, cheap car), and could not find anyplace to earn this without a college degree. I even got to an assistant to a realtor, or an investment house assistant, and, guess what, they did not want to commit to full-time! Try driving to and from work for 6 hours a day, five days a week, and do the math. The take home just did not work. So, when I get down to the last few dollars, I just work part-time again, try and keep marketing myself in real estate, and hope my referrals will increase so I can eventually really depend on the real estate income. It is worth it. I love the freedom, activities, functions, learning, people and even the challenges of making it. I know there must be bad realtors, but in our local MLS meetings, all I know are kind, often church going family people who are kind, dignified, sensitive and, yes, successful people. Hang in there, there is a way to build a business, but it does take time, yes years. We had a unique family business for years, and it did grow steadily bigger until the kids were grown. Then we let it go, because it really was tough to pay the bills also. Some people do have a knack of getting wealthy. I am not so skilled, but I do believe you get out of your life what you put into it, and because of our self-employment for years, we have lots of friends which I am now using as my sphere of influence to kick-start my real estate career. Go to seminars and glean every bit of information. Keller Williams is a fairly new company, compared to others, and they are excellent in training and mentoring new agents. They are not in as many towns, however, like the other major brands. Good luck. You are young, and have time to do this.
Ask the insurance company to add your real estate brokerage as an "additionally insured" I have Farmer's and it was at no cost to me.
I don't understand this? They don't want to be added as "additionally insured" they just want to be added as "outside interested party" so that if I cancel or change my policy they will be notified. My insurance said they will not do that because it's personal information.
Thanks to everyone for the advice. I have been trying to think this is just like starting a business and it's going to take time, hard work and money to get going. That's fine but the insurance thing just really ticked me off.
Sorry, but this is NOT how it works....if they stink at their jobs you just have to wait until the contract runs out....................................
I know every state is different but where I live, you can easily get out of your contract if the agent is doing a bad job. Same as firing them.
I know every state is different but where I live, you can easily get out of your contract if the agent is doing a bad job. Same as firing them.
The first thing to do is to make a phone call and an appointment with your agents managing broker.
If your agent is a one man shop or married or otherwise related to the managing broker - then ride it out.
I feel a listing contract is like a trial marriage. I do not do more than a 90 day listing the first time. If the sellers fail to keep their property showable, or refuse more showings than they allow or do not do anything about the loud bird or dog, refuse to change the price after 15 showings and no second showings or offers...or are otherwise unmotivated...I will not renew the listing. Life is too short to work with unhappy/ungrateful people, no matter how much they are willing to pay.
Try and hang tough Rapture. Being self-employed can be really difficult (not just in real estate but other fields too the first while), but I know some people who have done very well in real estate because of their honesty, integrity and work ethic. Could you look at some type of part-time employment which would help with the bills until you get fully established? I know quite a few agents, and other self-employed folks who have done this until their cash flow increases. Good Luck.
Try and hang tough Rapture. Being self-employed can be really difficult (not just in real estate but other fields too the first while), but I know some people who have done very well in real estate because of their honesty, integrity and work ethic. Could you look at some type of part-time employment which would help with the bills until you get fully established? I know quite a few agents, and other self-employed folks who have done this until their cash flow increases. Good Luck.
Thank you. I have a part time home business that I get some income but not yet enough to make the bills. I thought of getting a part time job but everyone is telling me that will interfere with giving the real estate 100% which I really need to do, to be successful. Others are suggesting I become an assistant to a realtor for awhile. I'm going to look into this.
Ok, here's the latest. I'm working on switching my insurance because mine refuses to do whats required. The company I signed with is putting a little pressure on me to get this done. I'm not rushing into anything because it's going to affect my home owners insurance, SO insurance, motorcycle inc. etc...So a friend said what if you don't put clients in your car and they just follow you? That removes the liabilty, so this shouldn't be an issue. Then when I'm ready I can change everything. Sounds good to me, so I call the company (I signed with) and they said no I'm still liable if someone gets hurt and because I'm working for the agency, I have to have this coverage and add them as this outside interested party. Anyone familiar with this?
From a sales perspective, it wouldn't be a great idea to have your clients follow you around on tour.
2 biggest reasons:
1) it's generally accepted to be a professional courtesy to take your clients to the properties you wish to show them and the route to access the properties ... there's more at stake here than just the destination property, so you get to point up the local features/benefits to a property while enroute.
2) you get to exercise a lot of control in the selling process by having a captive audience with your clients in your space. If the rapport is good, you're able to receive (and send) a lot more than just verbal communications (such as you might get from using a mobile phone enroute) ... you get all the body language and the interaction of your clients between themselves and you. These clues are essential to your selling success, knowing when to ask for a close, reaction to certain phrases/language, etc.
If you haven't yet learned about this aspect of the "sales process", then I'd strongly advise you to get some sales training & seminars in before you waste any time/expense with clients. It's way too easy at the beginning to start out with less than a good reputation ... and your referrals will only come from enthusiastic/satisfied clients. 10 good clients' experience will be more than offset by 1 unhappy or less than satisfied client ....
You simply cannot cut corners in this business and expect good results in a competitive marketplace. Get the insurance you need to do the job properly; it's just another cost of doing business.
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There really are clients out there who truly appreciate all your hard work! They're the reason we're in this business.
I ended up having to cash in part of my IRA in order to cover my startup costs. I really think it should be easier to find out the exact startup costs, depending on which state you're in. After all, we're in a business that advocates disclosure!
