Thread: Want to be

I'd like to tag on to this question myself.

I, too, am interested in the process and how to go about things. Obviously, I am aware that I would need to take a pre-licensing course (according to my state-GA) and then take the state administered exam. Beyond that, I'm clueless. I don't exactly want to be off completely on my own nor do I have money sitting around for marketing purposes. So assume I get my license....what do I do?

Any thoughts on this or advice would be greatly appreicated.

No one has an answer for such a simple question?

This is proving to not be much in the way of a useful medium for gaining information. Seems some people here have forgotten that they, too, once had questions about the profession that they needed answers to.

That's unfortunate.

I took a sales person core course, about 63 hours.
I passed the state exams, and once passed it successfully, I got a bunch of broker writting to me for the job.
They don't pay them, you're pay by the commission. No sale, no pay.
So the most important at first is the training provided by the firm.
The course and the real life are two different world.
Once you are with a broker, knock on doors, knock on doors and knock on doors again and again. Once you've done that, get out knock on doors twice as much than before. You'll get your first check in around 6-9 months after that. If you keep doing that regurarly, you're on the right track...Good luck...

well there are a few things. If you really don't have money to start it up you're honestly going to be in trouble unless you have a spouse or someone to help support you. My fiance just got into Real Estate but I'm a Mortgage Loan Officer so I make plenty of money to support us while she gets her feet wet.


But to answer some of your questions. You don't have to take any formal education if you don't want to. I know some colleges offer courses to cover the real estate exam and that will get you your license (as long as you pass the exam) other people just study the real estate books and take the exam (this way seems to be quicker if you are self motivated.)

As soon as you get your license you will have brokers calling you. There is no hourly pay and no salary involved. You help a client buy/sell a house you get commission from that. If you go to a company like RE/MAX (my fiance is there now) and they will have some different pay plans for you. My fiance is on a 70/30 split. She gets 70% of whatever she makes and she has a cap of like $16,000 for the company. So lets say from january to March she paid the company $16,000 in commissions she gets 100% of everything after that. There are more it just depends on what you want to do.

To start everything though you can expect to pay at least $2,000 for fees and licensing...I spent around $4-5k for her to start. I got her a lap top, pda phone, advertising, license, company fees....etc. It takes some money to get it all going, there really isn't any way to get around that.


Cheaper ways to gain some clients are to talk to everyone you know. Before you even start I'd sit down and write a list of EVERYONE I know or have met. Once you are an agent call them all and speak to them. Let them know what you are doing and that you are new and need some help to get the ball rolling. Most people are happy to refer a friend/family to another friend. They trust you, simple as that. make sure you send them a letter with a few business cards after you talk to them. Thank them for helping you out. Remind them every now and then that you are still in the business by mailing out a letter.

You could always host an open house for some of the established agents wherever you end up. That'll help you gain some clients or you could even join a established team if they need someone for whatever reason. My fiance took a position as a listing agent for a well established team in our area so its been a benefit to her and is working out quite well.

You can get mailing lists from a title company of homeowners and try to mail to areas. That doesn't generate as much business. It takes a lot longer than other ways but it can work in the end. You can get some sort of door knob flyer and walk the community and putting them on doors, You can knock on doors, you can talk to local business owners they usually know a good deal of people as well as their clients might need an agent and they'll hope that you refer business to them.

I personally work with 4 real estate agents, a cpa, insurance agent, life insurance agent, financial advisor, BK attorney and I'm working on finding a divorce attorney. Networking is the key. In the end its not what you know but WHO you know.


I hope this helps a little bit.

Exactly you will most likely need to get licensed which is the easy part and most people would say tells you absolutely nothing about actually practising RE.

IT'S ALL COMMISSION BABY! for the most part, unless you go work for a builder who may give you something to eat on between deals.

Getting in to the business without having capital is tough and definitley not the way to go...besides needing to eat...there are lots of gadgets and marketing programs you will probably want to buy.

I think anyone going into the real estate of mortgage business should have enough money in the bank for at least 6-10 months

And if you can't afford to market yourself you are going to have to pound the street extra hard
NETWORKING NETWORKING NETWORKING REFERRALS REFERRALS REFERRALS

That said it's a very interesting business and you can certainly make A TON OF $$$$$$

PS Taking the Post Licensing course or Brokers course right away will give you some useful knowledge too..GOOD LUCK

Oregon and TJ,

Thank you both for your responses!

The information is very helpful. I can say this much...the laptop and pda part of getting started is not a problem. It's the advertising I'd be more concerned with.

I'm also more interested in understanding what you mentioned Oregon, when you stated that brokers would be calling you right away after obtaining your license. Why is this (I assume they get a listing of recent grads??)...and is it good or bad? I would be far more interested in getting in with an established company such as Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ReMax, etc. and learning through them. Questions is, how would you go about doing that and would you still be responsible for all of your own advertising?

I have a great job now that I could hold on to and just work my way into real estate on a part-time basis if possible until the real estate opportunity got up and running.

What would you advise?

For what it's worth, I'm in a very similar situation. I have a decent full-time job with incredible benefits in the computer industry and make a pretty good living, especially considering my age.

The thing is though, I am a very pro-active person and HATE the office politics, being chained to a desk for 9 hours a day, told what to do, etc. I know that if I had the chance to do things my own way and work the way I wanted to, I could be even more successful. That's why I fully intend to flat out quit my current job and dive into real estate full time later this year. From what I've read so far, it's really just a matter of acquiring your license and signing on with a broker that will train you adequately until you get ramped up. Being completely new to the game, I'm not as concerned about the money aspect as I am about the training because the money will come in time.

My suggestion to you is to visit the offices of some of the brokers that interest you. Most will probably be glad to answer any questions because as they see it, you could very well be their next source of revenue.

Keep us posted and good luck!

Thanks a bunch Jim! I'll see what I can do. Right now, I have to try and find another pre-licensing course...most of them are already underway and I haven't seen any new ones being offered yet. I'll keep you posted though.

Thanks again!