Is anyone a real estate agent?

[Minnie824]

A friend of mine just went thru training, etc to become a real estate agent. It doesn't seem to have taken her long, and I was thinking maybe thats something I could do as a future career change. My only issue is, does anyone know how much money can be made with this career? Or what kind of hours? It seems to me that the hours would be flexible which is something I would like as well. Does anyone have any input on this?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My dh wants to do this too.

From what he has been told, you have to be ready to not make any "real" money your 1st year.
You are responsible for promoting yourself, which means putting out alot of cash to do so.

I know that is what is stopping him, for now. One of these days, I am sure he will dabble.

 

[Hillbeans]

I got my license last year. I do not want to do RE on a full-time basis and my reasons for that are 1) too much time needs to be invested in it to make any money and 2) you're on call almost 24/7. I also have a FT job which I make good money at and don't want to give that up.

I am a referral agent though, at the low cost of $100 a year (after spending about $500 on my license and classes). DH and I are going to be selling our home and buying another this year, so this way, I can get a nice 25% of the agent's cut I refer to sell my home. I make money really for not doing much of anything except the sale/purchase of my home.

In my neck of the woods, you really do need to do RE on a FT basis for anyone to take you seriously as an agent.

We've had terrible luck using an agent to sell some property in PA - which is part of the reason I got my license in NJ in the first place.

Good luck to you.

 

[kimisabella]

Around here, once you pass the RE licensing test, you have to get "sponsered" by an existing realtor - I'm not sure for how long though.. I don't know about every RE agency, but some here do not make you invest your own money, you are working for their agency and they do the advertising, ect... I'm definatley thinking of taking the classes, the RE agents around here make LOADS of money, they take 1-2% of what the home sells for, and with homes starting at $550K and going into the millions, the RE agents make good money. It is a pain because you are on call, and work weekends, ect. but it seems like it's worth it.

 

[agotta]

I run a real estate school with one of the largest brokerages on the East Coast. This totally depends on what state you are located in.

We estimate that our first year agents could make around $30,000. Start up costs are usually around $1800 minimum. It is a LOT of work. I know a lot of agents that couldn't cut it. Some got part-time jobs, some work as assistants to other realtors just to pay the bills.

There are obviously pros and cons to any job. A pro would be the commission check I saw this morning for one of our agents, $38,000!!!!!!

It takes a certain personality to be an agent. The agents that are good at it, love their job and put a lot of time/effort/money into it. We do offer part time positions and referral positions. Our referral agents make around $2800 per transacation depending on the sale price. But each brokerage is different as is each state.

The education is the "easy" portion as I like to tell my students. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[Dina]

I just started training (last night actually). I've met with the manager of an Brokerage nearby and I'll probably work out of their office once I'm licensed. There is alot of start up costs-- but I don't have to rent my desk or things like that (I've heard you have to do that with some agencies). I'm told that the amount you make depends on the amount you put into it. I used to teach high school, but I wanted something with a little more flexibility (so I could be home in the early mornings to take my kids to school. My husband is home by 3pm, so I don't need to be home when they get home from school-- when I taught we both left the house at 6am since he's in construction-- not great for the kids). The head of the agency I'm going with told me I could easily make 6 figures, but I don't think I believe that-- maybe a veteran could-- but I'm not expecting anywhere near that. I spoke with another manager with the same company but different office, and she said it's important that you don't need to make a certain amount of money right away-- it may take a long time before you start making money. It's all commission, and no benefits. You really work for yourself. I am looking at it as a full time job though, and from what I've heard I'll be putting in well over 40 hours a week. The good thing, for me, is I'm also told alot of those hours will be evenings and weekends (which works for our family)-- we'll see. I'm not sure if I'm any help to you, but PM me if you want to talk about training. I am actually looking forward to the work. We really relied on our agent when buying our home 6 years ago. She did so much for us, and I would like to do that for other families. Plus I love looking at houses, I go to open houses almost every Sunday (just for the fun of it)-- I think it would be something I enjoy.

 

[Disney Doll]

My DH is the sales manager of a large office of a successful independent company in our area. He has been in real estate for probably 20 years. I have knwon him for 18 of those years.

Some things I have learned over the years:
~Everybody wants to be a realtor during a good market, because they see realtors pulling down big bucks for seemingly a little work. Right now in our area, the market has been wild, with homes selling for ridiculously high amounts of $$, so evrybody wants in.
~In a slow market, being a realtor can be a very hard job, very-time consuming, with a small yield.
~The people who seem to do best at it overall are the ones who make it a career. Sure, you can hit big if it's a hot market, but once the market cools down, the thing that is going to keep you afloat is the client base you've built and how you have served them.
~There are many new rules, regs, and laws governing real estate, so it is nearly impossible to do it part-time and do it well. There's just too much to keep track of and too many changes. If you don't feel you want to devote full-time to it, then it's probaly best, if you get your license, to work on a referral basis.

When I met DH, the real estate market in our area had just been through a high and was in "crash" mode. DH stuck it out, and built a good reputation and a good client base. He didn't necessarily earn thousands of dollars for those first few years of our marriage, but he served his clients well, acted with integrity, and had a good reputation. But there were some lean years financially, even though he busted his butt working tons of hours. But part of the drawback of real estate is that your income is directly affected by the market and what it's doing. You could be the best realtor in the world, and if the market is slow, you're either going to have to bust your butt to keep a certain income or your income will drop.

DH loves mhis job. He has loved helping people find a "home" as oppposed to a house, he has helped many lower income families be able to buy a home because he was willing to go the extra mile to research unusual loan options etc for them. Thse don't make him the tons of money people think realtors make, but they do give him a good deal of satisfaction.

Best of luck with your decision.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

A friend of mine just went thru training, etc to become a real estate agent. It doesn't seem to have taken her long, and I was thinking maybe thats something I could do as a future career change. My only issue is, does anyone know how much money can be made with this career? Or what kind of hours? It seems to me that the hours would be flexible which is something I would like as well. Does anyone have any input on this?

I'm an agent and while the money can be incredible, you need to be prepared to work incredible hours to get there. While you can set your own hours, you need to also be prepared to work when others are off. That means, lots of evening and weekends.

It's also a very expensive career to get started in. I spent $20k my first year in advertising. While I was doing that, I didn't have any income coming in.


I've also spent around $2,500 in schooling. Texas has more hours than most states for licensure and then I got my GRI and ABR designation. I've pretty much done everything I could school-wise to succeed.

Even if you make a sale the first week you're out there, chances are it'll sit in escrow for at least a month - sometimes two, before you get paid. You don't get paid, until closing. New homes can be even worse. I have one deal that won't close for another five months.

The upside? I love my job. I love helping people find their houses as much as I love receiving my paychecks. Sitting beside me, is a corkboard with pictures of the families that I've helped. All of these people (but one very anal engineer) have become life-long friends. It's very rewarding.

Just go into it with your eyes open. It's not the easy career that some think it is. Those will be the same people who think we all make money hand over fist, or have low opinions of what we do, thanks to some bad apples out there. It's hard work.

Good luck in your decision!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

DH loves mhis job. He has loved helping people find a "home" as oppposed to a house, he has helped many lower income families be able to buy a home because he was willing to go the extra mile to research unusual loan options etc for them. Thse don't make him the tons of money people think realtors make, but they do give him a good deal of satisfaction.

Best of luck with your decision

I work primarily the first-time home buyer as my niche and it doesn't bring in a ton of money either. However, I get some awesome referrals from them, since they require so much hand-holding.

It's very rewarding!

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

I run a real estate school with one of the largest brokerages on the East Coast. This totally depends on what state you are located in.

Are you familiar with Champions School of Real Estate here in Houston?

I'm interested in teaching GRI courses eventually and I was told by TREC that I had to have a certain number of teaching hours under my belt before I could. Champions is the logical choice for me.

I would like to teach contracts, part-time, a few days a week. Do you mind sharing with me what you look for when you're hiring?

 

[AllyandJack]

I have a quick question for any female agents out there. I went to school, got my license and have a big company ready to take me on. Money isn't a huge issue since DH can support us and I got all the ins and outs of what compensation, etc is like with this company. I have a "mentor", but it's a male.

My mentor told me he works about 30-40 hours a week, but he doesn't make a heck of a lot of money. I'd be happy if I averaged $30,000 a year. I'm fairly easy to please. I also would love to be a buyer's agent because the thrill of helping someone find their home really appeals to me. My mentor was my agent and I remember how happy and excited I was and I'd love to be a part of that for other people. Oh....and not having to drive into the city and sit at a desk all day is a HUGE selling point.

From a female perspective, I am a bit uncomfortable with the idea of meeting people after hours. I presume most people would want to see houses between 5-8pm during the week and that's fine with me, but I am really concerned with meeting up with strangers. Do you meet first in the office? At least that way, I'd sort of know who I was meeting.

How do you handle this? Do you drive the clients or have them follow you in their own cars? It's a huge concern of mine and, really, the main reason I haven't taken the plunge.

 

[jenks0718]

I am a realtor in NJ. I have a full time job and do this on the side. I love it, but I am someone who prefers a regular paycheck every week as well as pensions, benefits, 401K and the like.

I always set my hours with my clients and never feel like I am working every night and weekend. I NEVER work Saturday unless it is to show one house on Saturday morning and that is it. Saturdays are the days for my family. I also limit 2 nights a week to real estate and I still do well. My first year I made 29K AND I worked full time! It can be done. Most of it is luck and also comes from referrals from families and friends. Advertising can be over rated.

I tell anyone who will listent o get their license. On a 200K house I would make 4200.00 splitting the commission with a cooperating brokerage. If I sold the house myself I would make closer to 9K. Its GOOD MONEY

And that is just one house. Even if you average 5-7 sales a year part time that is way more money for way less hours than holding a part time job.

 

[Dina]

I think its up to you and the agency/brokerage you work with. When we bought our house, we started just by calling the phone numbers attached to listings we saw. All of those agents (I would say about 5 or 6), just met us at the house and showed it to us. We really liked one of those agents, so we just continued to work with her (and stopped calling numbers on listings in the paper). I actually never went into her office until we were writing up a proposal for one of the houses. She didn't drive us around-- Joe and I would just meet her at the first house and follow her, but I know I've been told, normally agents do drive clients around. But, I know other people who have gone into an office and met their agent first, and had to sign paperwork. Our agent just brought the paperwork in her car (but didn't have us sign anything until our third time out with her). I think if you prefer to meet the client in your office, I think you can do that.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

From a female perspective, I am a bit uncomfortable with the idea of meeting people after hours. I presume most people would want to see houses between 5-8pm during the week and that's fine with me, but I am really concerned with meeting up with strangers. Do you meet first in the office? At least that way, I'd sort of know who I was meeting.

How do you handle this? Do you drive the clients or have them follow you in their own cars? It's a huge concern of mine and, really, the main reason I haven't taken the plunge.

Funny that you mention this, because another female agent was raped this past week, by someone posing as a potential buyer. When you think about the logistics, it can be a dangerous job.

I used to have my picture on my yard signs; I've taken it off because of the crime statistics. It would be way too easy for a criminal to drive by, see what you look like and make an appointment to "see the house".

My broker has a procedure in place to minimize our risk. We meet all buyers at the office and a copy of the DL is made. It is left at the office, along with a list of what houses we're showing and in what order. It's not fool-proof, but it's better than nothing.

I've gotten the heebie-jeebies before from certain people and when I do, I bring my husband along. He's an inspector, so it sounds logical for him to be there. Other times, he's sat in the car. I've also called him and left my cell phone going, to where he can just listen in. I always do this at open houses, when someone walks in.

Then again, I used to work as a mortgage loan officer and I've had a gun held to my head in a bank robbery. You just never know...

 

[Cindyluwho]

My DH is the sales manager of a large office of a successful independent company in our area. He has been in real estate for probably 20 years. I have knwon him for 18 of those years.

Some things I have learned over the years:
~Everybody wants to be a realtor during a good market, because they see realtors pulling down big bucks for seemingly a little work. Right now in our area, the market has been wild, with homes selling for ridiculously high amounts of $$, so evrybody wants in.
~In a slow market, being a realtor can be a very hard job, very-time consuming, with a small yield.
~The people who seem to do best at it overall are the ones who make it a career. Sure, you can hit big if it's a hot market, but once the market cools down, the thing that is going to keep you afloat is the client base you've built and how you have served them.
~There are many new rules, regs, and laws governing real estate, so it is nearly impossible to do it part-time and do it well. There's just too much to keep track of and too many changes. If you don't feel you want to devote full-time to it, then it's probaly best, if you get your license, to work on a referral basis.

When I met DH, the real estate market in our area had just been through a high and was in "crash" mode. DH stuck it out, and built a good reputation and a good client base. He didn't necessarily earn thousands of dollars for those first few years of our marriage, but he served his clients well, acted with integrity, and had a good reputation. But there were some lean years financially, even though he busted his butt working tons of hours. But part of the drawback of real estate is that your income is directly affected by the market and what it's doing. You could be the best realtor in the world, and if the market is slow, you're either going to have to bust your butt to keep a certain income or your income will drop.

DH loves mhis job. He has loved helping people find a "home" as oppposed to a house, he has helped many lower income families be able to buy a home because he was willing to go the extra mile to research unusual loan options etc for them. Thse don't make him the tons of money people think realtors make, but they do give him a good deal of satisfaction.

Best of luck with your decision.

You and I have been living parallel lives for the past 18 years. It's almost freaky how everything you said in your post was identical to my husband & I. WOW!!

 

[Disney Doll]

You and I have been living parallel lives for the past 18 years. It's almost freaky how everything you said in your post was identical to my husband & I. WOW!!

LOL Cindy!!!! My DH always says he married me because I had healthcare benefits!!!

Of course, I married him because he cooks!

 

[agotta]

Are you familiar with Champions School of Real Estate here in Houston?

I'm interested in teaching GRI courses eventually and I was told by TREC that I had to have a certain number of teaching hours under my belt before I could. Champions is the logical choice for me.

I would like to teach contracts, part-time, a few days a week. Do you mind sharing with me what you look for when you're hiring?

No, I am not familar with that school. The school I run is in Virginia and Maryland. We only require 60 hours of education and it only costs our students $275.

In Virginia and Maryland there are 3 requirements to teach, and are fairly easy to fulfill. You don't actually have to have teaching experience. My teachers are independent contractors. I have one teacher who works 5 nights a week plus 2 Saturday's a month. I have one teacher who teaches 4 days a week and the rest only teach 2 days a week. They all love what they do and are experienced agents. One of my instructors is actually a 5th grade teacher. PM me if you have any questions. TX is a whole different story than any other state.

 

[Am_I_There_Yet]

TX is a whole different story than any other state.

Isn't that the truth! In just about every aspect too!