Thread: Career Change

I live in Charlotte, NC and am taking the pre-licensing class in October. What area do you live?

I live in pretty close to Mint Hill, near the intersection of 24/27 & 51. Do you know many realtors in this area? I only know the one who sold us our house and I've been trying to get as much advice as I can from her.

i only know 1 realtor who works as a full-time agent. my husband is also a realtor, but he uses it to practice personal investments and sell his own properties. he doesn't really the work experience of the type of realtor who works under a company, which is what i'm more interested in.

as far as RE schools, i've looked into Mingle and SSORE mostly. you can google both for websites. my husband did his class with Bill Ghalagher at SSORE and I think I'm going to do the same. He's supposed to be really good.

Definitely try to to network with other realtors to ask questions about how they like their profession. I'm doing the exact same. I have a contact in another market also, and that helps some, but I wish I knew of more people in Charlotte that I could talk to.

if you'd like to discuss privately, you can send me a private message.

I've seen the SSORE in a magazine and the dates for the classes look pretty good. I've also inquired about the Allen Tate school. The only thing is that I don't think I want to work full time and then go to school at night. That would take time away from my newborn and I'm just not ready to do that. Do you know if it is fairly easy to find a job as an agent in Charlotte. I'm just guess that it is, simply because there is so much construction of new homes.
Anyway, let me know if you talk to anyone and what advice they give you!

It doesn't sound like your ready to be an agent right now. It sounds like your family is priority right now. You have to be able to adapt to the schedules of your clients. They require almost as much attention as a newborn at times. Finding a company to work for is easy. The real estate company's need you to make money you don't need them. You pretty much need to see which one will fit your needs most. You might need to start out part at first, but not all companies accept part time agents. Just weigh your options and see what fits you needs.

Hi.
You have more options than you may be aware of.
You can work full or part time in a real estate office (pre license),
assist agents with open houses or mailings, get your license and
do referrals, find properties for investors and of course get your
license and work for an agency or have your own agency.
Charlotte real estate is booming but there are also a lot of agents.
Best wishes.

Wow Iggy, thanks for giving her that advise, because i just learn something. I did not know that you can work in a real estate office without your license. I saw an ad in our sunday newspaper about an agency in my area, who're hiring for prelicense and license individuals. I now understand the ad and called the office. The person i needed to speak to was not a available so i left a message.

Thanks

I live in Florida where the RE market was HOT for some time... It has since cooled down leaving agents high and dry. When you are a RE agent you should always have a back up plan just in case this happens in your area.

I do know that a lot of Floridians are migrating North due to high property taxes, insurance premiums (car, home, health) cost of homes vs. annual salaries, and of course... HURRICANES

Many Floridians are looking to move to Georgia, Tennessee, South Carolina and North Carolina, if they haven't already. I think it would be a good career move to start in the RE industry esp. because of your location.

You are right about NC and Floridians moving here.
Charlotte is especially doing well, even with the "slowdown".
We were at the airport a few months ago and struck up a conversation
with a woman bringing her family (including grown children) and
company to a location just outside Charlotte.