Thread: Where to Start?

PLEASE make sure you do shop around before you take a position - it is much harder and more expensive to switch later.

Look for these:

1) TRAINING TRAINING TRAINING is a must
2) Somewhere where you'll get floor/ desk time to get a few leads and get your feet wet.
3) a mentor program or at least a broker who is there to answer your questions and walk you through the 1st couple
4)Good name recoginition is good for starting out as gives you the image of having the backing of a good company (even if eveyone in your office would steal your deal in a second! )
5)There are lots of good ways to market your self, don't spend all your money on seminars and sales tools - choose one or two and use them well

Being a realtor & loan officer?

That's how I started out:
It's nice to try to get as much income coming in at the start as you can but there is soo much to learn I don't think you will do any of your clients justice - master one and then think about it...besides there are so many referral programs out there it is better to refer and make a slice than having to balance both.

I also learned that if you are the LO and realtor you don't have anyone else to blame or back you up when a deal gets sticky LOL

I ended up getting back into both because I love it, but one step at a time...

how much does the training cost? - that's a good question.

remember commission splits are NEGOTIABLE.

a big company is good to start with probably - name recognition goes a long way, plus they probably offer more trainings

i think Century 21 offers a lot of trainings - but it does come down to the broker.

Thanks for the advice. I'm taking my pre-licensing class all next week and hope to be ready for my exam soon after!

I've shopped around a little and it looks like I may go with Real Estate One. They sound like they do a lot to help you get on your feet. The fees seem reasonable. No desk ... more of a split for them but I have the option of paying desk fees. Which is nice because once I start getting some steady business (as steady as it's going to get for sales) then I can just pay my desk fees and make more $$.

Thanks again!
LISA

To me the bottom line is how good of a broker/mentor you have.
I'm with Coldwell, yeah, great training and all that but I place more value on how much help/motivation/guidance I get from my broker.
Example: last week I "thought" I had found a buyer. I about went bananas over it (I'm new and this was my first lead). What to do, what to do. Called my broker, he was busy at the other branch office but he said "I'll be there in 20 minutes" and he was. He took the time to sit down with me and go through every question I had.

Andrea,

awesome! that must be exciting - banging out your first deal as a sales agent!

let us know how it goes!

I am wanting to become a realtor and hoping that someone could answer my questions.....
I've been doing some research on how and where to take classes and now I see something about pre-license classes....what's that? I know every state is different, I'm in AZ, but can I take my classes online?

have you talked to anyone - like a realtor or called one of the real estate schools? why would you want to take the class online (no idea if they offer this)?

taking the course with other people will get you introduced to your classmates and you can get to know some of them.

it's not that big of a deal once you do it.

just know that like 8 in 10 people don't stick with it - meaning after they get their sales license.

if you devote yourself to it, you'll be in a better position to succeed.

have you talked with a broker?