Real Estate?

[sparkly_stars]

I am looking for opinions on those who are real estate agents...
how do you like it, what do you feel? what kind of living does this bring you? how did you start off!

Opinions and anything is more then welcomed! (please and thank you !!!!!!!)

Michelle

 

[Dee*Jay]

Sparkley, I am a real estate agent "on the side." After making my husband move 6 times in 8 years he said, "you''re killing me--go do this to someone else," and the agent we were working with on that particular move said I would make a great agent, so I tried it. I''ve been very fortunate and in 2 short (long!) years I''ve built up a large client base and produce more as a part time agent than most full time agents do.

For me it''s all about picking your clients. I work mostly from referrals, so I know pretty much what I''m getting in terms of people, although I do pick up some clients from open houses (but even though I choose carefully). Because of my limited time (after all, I do have a FULL time job!) I only work with buyers at this point, and I refer my listings to another agent. But, in a year or two when the people that I''ve sold to previously want to move I will have to decide how to handle that.

I do love it, probably because I don''t HAVE to do it. If I was depending on someone buying a property to make my own mortgage payment, well, maybe this wouldn''t so much fun. But with no pressure to produce, it''s the perfect passtime for me. And in terms of $, I made almost as much my first year in commission as my regular job pays me (and my regular job pays me pretty well), so again I was fortunate. (That''s were the $$$ came from for the 3 ct upgrade and the new kitchen, LOL!)

As for your clients... the day they sign the contract you''re gonna LOVE Them, and the day they call you at midnight for the 10 night in a row with some other "urgent" crazy question you''re gonna HATE them. There is very little in between.

One suggestion I would make to anyone who is interested in the business is to see if you can try it part time first. A lot of companies won''t take on part time agents, and some brokerages require several-week full-day training programs, so that wouldn''t work too well with another job, but if you can find one where you do it part time in the beginning that would be ideal.

And HANG IN THERE. It took me 5 months from the time I got my first live client to when we go to the closing table, so you have to have enough $$$ to support yourself for several months becuase no closing, no commission. Plus, at some point you''ll be discouraged by the time you''ve put in with (seemingly) no results, but just when you think you''ll never get a contract something will pop!

Sorry for the long winded answer, but I wanted to give you a thoughtful response to your question. If you want to know more just let me know--I could go on for days!!!

 

[sparkly_stars]

Thank you Dee Jay!!!!!!! I do actually want to know more ! haha..
It''s fine that it was long, I appreciate it very much (sucks we no longer have PM.. but its understandable!)
but anyways, let me tell you a bit about me.. I am still quite young, so I am still quite capable of taking that "risk" of getting into it!
I would also like to buy/rent a house for university students at some point !
(because I am young, I think it would be good!)

Here''s a few more questions (and if you have more to add to ANYTHING PLEASE DO!)
- what is your sales approach? are you pushy or anything? i know a lot of people think that real estate agents are the type that want to "smooze" but you hardly seem like that type, and I am not either.
- how does the commision work? now that you are sort of "established" how often do you get a comission per house per hours (does that make sense?)
- do you find it fufilling? like the sense once its done?
what about the competition of other agents, how is that?
I think because I''m not smoozy type I may be more succesful, because I have dealt with selling etc before, and i HATE agents like that!! OH, and just out of curiosity what is your other job?


okay thats enough for now.. haha
(i''m glad you came to the "rescue!"

I am meeting with afirm tomorrow morning! (a large enough one) the broker/owner called me after he heard that I was interested , and I had completed one of those online similators/iq test/personality test !b

 

[Dee*Jay]

Sparkley - First of all, congratulations on your upcoming interview! I can''t wait to hear how it goes tomorrow!

Now for your questions:

I am SOOOO not pushy. For the people who know me and the referrals that get sent my way I obviously don''t have to be. For the people that I meet an open houses, well, if I don''t click with someone I don''t pursue them. And by "pursue" I mean that I will send someone a e-mail with potential listings that they may be interest in, and I''ll send one more follow up message after that. If they don''t respond, well, that''s it. And I only try to open a dialogue using e-mail (which people find so much less threatening). I never ask for phone numbers right off the bat. To be totally honest, I''m sure my business would be much greater if I did chase people down, but seriously, I am just not interested into bullying someone into being my client. If I did this full time, I would probably have to take a different approach, but that''s my method at the moment and it''s worked for me.

As for commission, I can only tell you how it works for the market that I''m in, and the best way to do that is with an example. Say a property is listed for a total of 6% commission. 3% would go to the listing agent''s brokerage and 3% would go to the buying* agent''s brokerage. Then, the agents would "split" that % with the brokerage. So, you might get 50% of the 3%. You have to work out the "split" with your firm, and as you produce more you have more leverage to ask for a better split. On a $100K property, the total commission would be $6K. Your firm would get $3K. You would get $1.5K. Keep in mind you have to pay all of your expenses out of that $$$ because you''re an independent contractor.

*By the way, the agent that works for the seller is called the listing agent but the agent that works with the buyer is referred to as the selling agent. I have no idea why, but it is what it is.

As for fulfillment... it depends on what you''re looking for. It''s hard for me to answer that question. I am "fulfilled" by getting the deal done. And my bank account is "fulfilled" by commission checks (LOL!), but everyone will find this career, as with every career, fulfilling to a different degree. (Sorry for that non-answer.)

Competition is VICIOUS. There is no other word for it. I ended up selling something to a buyer that was also working with another agent (no, he did not tell either of us that he was viewing properties with multiple agents). I recieved a FURIOUS phone from this other agent the day after the buyer signed the contract and she about had a cow. We had a long conversation about what an ass this guy was (remember, Sparkley, buyers are liars) and that either one of us could have ended up on the short end of the stick. He could have just as easily bought something from her if she had been the one to show him the "winning" property. Also, we compared notes on a few other things and decided that he was seeing properties with other agents even beside us. Sorry for rambling there, I''ve gotten a bit off the point, but what I''m trying to say is that other agents will be vicious about the whole process.

Another example, one of my clients went to an open house without me (I try to never let them do this, but sometimes they just can''t help themselves) and even though they told the listing agent that they were working with me, she tried to steal them away. Phone calls, e-mails, the works. We ended up writing a contract on the property that the clients saw at that open house and the sale "mysteriously" ended up listed under another agent''s (not my) ID #. Hmmmm, wonder how that happened. It took a lot of hassle to fix that. (We''re supposed to close that deal tomorrow at 1:00, by the way, so keep your fingers crossed.)

My other job is that I am the Chief Compliance Officer for a financial firm. I try to ensure that the things my people do are within the bounds of the Federal securities laws, the exchange mandates, the firm''s own policies and procedures, etc.

Finally, no Sparkley, you don''t have to be a Smoozer to be successful at this! Just be yourself. Be honest, both with your clients and yourself. Don''t ever sell something just to get the commission. Treat every client like you would want to be treated. (Sorry if I sound like your mother here!)

What a long posted this turned into -- hope I didn''t bore you too much with all this stuff!

What market are you in (if you don''t mind my asking)? Is it a metropolitan or a suburban market?

 

[sparkly_stars]

Well THANK YOU
I am not 100% on the market, as I am learning (or will be) most of everything. I will see what kind of information the firm has to offer me tomorrow! I loved your stories, and I feel better about hearing what you had to say! I realize it is competitive so I hope my charm works magic!
I think I may do the same with the email, but because I would like consider it a full time prospect, I will instead proceed with a call afterwards.

I am in a city that is one of the fastest growing cities in Canada so we''ll see what is being offered! I do know that real estate in this area is a possible career that will be great for me!

For me, what I usually find fufilling would be succeeding, finishing something I worked on hard, accomplishing something I am proud of. I love that feeling when you work hard on lets say a project of some sort and it all comes to an end and it looks FABULOUS!
I am wondering whether my age will play against me though (because older people may assume I am less likely to help) but perhaps I can try and approach new home buyers etc..

All will reveal itself in time I guess!

GOOD LUCK ON YOUR CLOSING TOMORROW
and I will without a doubt let you know tomorrow how it went.
its funny, my mom was like WELL THEY ARE sales people, and the more agents they have the more money they make so be careful (not to get "swept into it all" haha)


OH.. you only get commision I assume right? (there isnt any base salary for the majority of agencies eh?) I LOVE the idea of a closing gift (I remember the last thread which is kind of what got me thinking!-this was something I thought about a long time ago! and it re-surfaced when I wasnt happy with the course I was taking!)

Okay.. I have also made this quite long.. SORrry

 

[Dee*Jay]

Sparkley, you are so welcome for the info. Let me know if you're curious about anything else. And please DEFINITELY post after your interview tomorrow so we know how it went. Gook luck!

 

[sparkly_stars]

you are so so kind
I wish we lived in the same area just so I could see your magic! (sort of speak without of course stalking HAHA)
But thanks again! Also, let me know how your deal goes tomorrow!

I do know it will be a vicious world if I enter the market, but with a chin up and support from family and friends I think I might do great !!!

 

[portoar]

Hi Sparkly,

I''m a real estate agent also, going on two years in the business. Prior to going into real estate, I was first a budget and policy analyst for a major University, and brought home a great salary. Then I spent several years as a full-time mom with young children, and all that entails. I went into real estate for a couple of reasons -- first, because it''s always been my dream career -- I love looking at homes -- second, I needed a job with flexibility to work around my full-time mom job, and also, I felt I could make good money, being in a state (California) where home prices are high.

I agree with Dee Jay, in my first six months I only had two transactions. There is a big learning curve in real estate. The days where agents cover neighborhood "farms" are all but gone -- we''re in the internet world, and if you don''t go where the client is looking then you''re not going to make it. The vast majority of clients do their real estate searching online, and because of this, I went with an internet real estate company.

I couldn''t be happier. I draw my leads from clients who register with our website to look at listings. I get anywhere from 80-100 leads a month, and sure, some are lookey-loos, some already have another agent, etc. But from 80-100 leads its easy to draw a large enough client base. I would say the two start up skills that it took me time to learn are first, learning in detail about neighborhoods, schools, amenitites, and such. To speak with knowledge and confidence about the area you work takes time. Second, it did take me some time to learn the confidence to pick up the phone and talk with people. I''m not doing cold calling, it''s more like "warm calling" because these are already people who have logged onto our website to search for homes and they''ve provided a phone number, or at least an email address.

I also went this way because I didn''t want to have to expend the energy marketing myself and tracking down my own leads. It''s expensive to print your own business cards, pay for your signs, send out marketing mailers to neighborhoods, pay for newspaper ads, pay desk and internet fees to a company, pay your MLS and association dues, your errors and omissions insurance. I do none of that, my company pays for it all, and sends me the leads. I can forget about marketing and concentrate on showing and selling homes.

I work with all kinds of people -- I have clients I''m working with on their first home purchase for $300,000 all the way up to clients who are planning $5 million home purchases. I treat every sale as if it were my own purchase and the $300,000 client gets the same care and customer service as the $5 million client.

As for high pressure sales, no. The biggest key to success is to be friendly, down to earth, instead of pushing for the sale, find out what your clients need and then provide good customer service. I have had people tell me "no" and then come back and ask for my help because I was friendly and honest, not just trying to make a sale. One of my clients looking at homes in the $1.8 million range recently told me that she''d worked with other agents before but she likes me because I''m not a snob. Just be yourself. Treat your clients like you would treat your friend. Don''t be formal. Be casual.

I also work *primarily* with buyers, but I list homes too. Although working as a listing agent is *supposed* to be easier than working as a buyer''s agent, I do prefer working with buyers.

As for money, 2005 was my first full year in the business. Although I took a good part of the year off to manage my mom''s estate after she passed away, and worked part time the rest of the year because of the mom job, I still drew down a large salary.

 

[sparkly_stars]

Thank you!!!

That sounds interesting (an internet firm) something I think I would probably prefer ! I haven''t heard of any in my area though (But will look once I am done posting haha)

I just got home from meeting with the owner, it went well! He just basically gave me the information as to where to start where to go, etc (how to get liscenced etc!) He also said I could come to him once I had finished and he would get me started..
It''s good to have a bit more knowledge now and to know where to head out etc..

 

[Dee*Jay]

Sparkly, glad your meeting went well!

As Portoar''s post indicates the internet is a vastly growing part of the real estate market and a lot of agents have had great success leveraging that channel. I didn''t really address that in any of my messages because it''s not an area that I have any experience in.

Let us know how things go and if you have any other questions as you move along!

 

[portoar]

Sparkly, what area of the country are you living? One more piece of advice I would give, is that if you are not going to go with an internet company (as far as I know, my company is the major real estate player in the internet market and we''re in 10-12 metropolitan areas of the country), then go with a large company that will give you good training. Some of the small mom and pop brokerages don''t really have the setup to train new agents. The more training your company offers, the better. Getting your license is really just the first step. The sales, contract, and transaction management training is crucial to success.