So, Andy, You want to be a Real Estate Agent!

I had a conversation with a young man yesterday who has been contemplating getting a real estate salesperson license and jumping into the business. He asked for my advice and so I gave it to him - both barrels. It's not an easy job and it doesn't pay well - at least for a while. It really is starting your own business and as such should be approached the same way you would start any other business - you need information and you need a plan. You also need enough money - there the "start up" expenses of taking required classes, obtaining a license, joining the associations, errors & omissions insurance to name a few. You need money to live on until you start seeing returns on your efforts.

I suggested that he market himself to a successful group as a buyer's agent. By doing this he can be fed leads that he might otherwise not get, and if nothing else, he will gain valuable experience from successful agents.

I know several agents who work part time. One of these agents is an airline pilot with lots of free time to work his second job in real estate. After six months, he had spent approximately $5,000 on expenses that I mentioned above and marketing materials and marketing campains. His first sale came shortly thereafter (the end of his first six months) and he netted $9,000 after his split with the broker. So, six months of effort for $4,000 in income. Now, on the other hand, he also purchased a property at an extremely good price that was headed to foreclosure in partnership with a friend. There was expense in fixing up and marketing, but the sale of the property within the year netted them $40,000 in profit - $20,000 each. He is a dedicated, intelligent individual, he works hard and looks for opportunities!

We have a new buyer's agent with our group. After seven months he has completed one sale, assisted on a second and just wrote his second contract - that translates to about $20,000 in income, give or take a bit. As we head into the spring and sales historically increase (even in a down market), he has the opportunity to do well in his first full year as an agent!

As you can see just from the two examples above (and believe me, they truly are representative samples) it isn't easy to get into real estate sales, and it truly is the lucky agent that can be associated with a top producing team.

Of course, I continued to explain that we all need to pay our dues in this industry - we need to take floor duty (answering incoming calls into the main office hoping for leads) - we need to take as many "fast start" classes we can find - we need to ask more experienced agents for help when necessary - we need to market ourselves to anyone who will listen - we need to be sponges and read, read, read, we need to see every house that comes on the market in the area we want to work, we need to hold open houses for other agents (not a good place to make a sale, but a great place to meet prospective buyers) and we need to get our name out there and recognized. In other words, we need to make a super human effort if we want to become a top producing agent - and we need the personality and stick-to-it mentality it takes to be a successful business owner.

I don't mean to be discouraging - real estate has been good to me. The rewards at the goal line are great - both monetarily and emotionally. I have made great friends, I have had the satisfying experience of helping families into the home of their dreams, I truly enjoy what I do. A good agent will prevail in any type of market - I sometimes think that down markets are nature's way of weeding out the weaker agents!

So, that's my rambling for today - I'm looking for suggestions on topics you would like me to address - so please feel free to comment - I will respond.

As always BE INFORMED and CHECK BACK HERE OFTEN