A career in real estate...

[Rehan]

Can any of the real estate agents at RFD (I know there's at least one...) provide some insight into what it's like to work as an agent?

What are the most important skills to have? How many hours of work are there in a typical week? What's the typical net income? What does it take (time, money, etc.) to become an agent, and what does it take to stay in the business?

[ronny1980]

im working in the IT industry but at thew same time im taking my real estate license course on the side..

to be honest...real estate theres alot of money to be made..
my aunt pulls in $250000 a year...is all a matter of building up ur clientelle

u need to have good social skills for sure...outgoing...and great at customer service...able to negotiate is really important as well.

to be able to buy and sell real estate...u need to atleast pass 3 exams...phase 1,2,3... 1 is pretty easy...2 is pretty hard...3 im not sure yet..havent done..

in terms of hours....when u start....ur gonna have to work pretty hard....but once ur clientelle starts building up...thingd wil be much more better

my aunt goes on vacation like 5 times a year...she doesnt have to find houses to sell...clients come looking for her..

she makes mad cash...

IMO....theres a huge potential in real estate...but u gotta be able to handle the pressure to begin with...

check this site out...ontario real estate association.

www.orea.com

[rb]

Ronny is correct, you need social skills for sure, and organisational skills are just as important. Ask yourself do you have a large circle of friends ?..if you don't you may find it difficult to make contacts later on. The exams aren't too hard. However when you work for yourself, you need to also ask yourself if you are able to go without the safety net that comes from full time employment (regular income, benefit , paid vacation) etc

[B40]

Is it something you could do on the side? Like 10 hours a week? Or are there any types of 'careers' like that?

[rb]

maybe starting off you can do less hours (if a broker will hire you on those conditions) but to properly service clients you will have to work probably full time.

[Rehan]

rb, how long have you been an agent? Are you planning to remain in the industry?

Yeah, it does seem like a lot of them make quite a bit of money. According to RE/MAX, "RE/MAX agents on average exceed a gross commission of $105,000, with our top 10% earning well in excess of $250,000". (That's from here. )

Thanks for the link to OREA. Lots of good information there...

[Rehan]

Two other questions:

1) How much of the 3% commission actually makes it into the agent's pocket?
2) How much of the time is spent at home vs. out with clients vs. at the office?

[grant]

I'm not an agent but I know (a) MOST agents quit the profession within 5 years (B) you're a SLAVE to your pager, you get no off hours.

I'm thinking of getting my license so i can do my own viewings, & write my own offers.

[ranjeet2000]

im working in the IT industry but at thew same time im taking my real estate license course on the side..

to be honest...real estate theres alot of money to be made..
my aunt pulls in $250000 a year...is all a matter of building up ur clientelle

u need to have good social skills for sure...outgoing...and great at customer service...able to negotiate is really important as well.

to be able to buy and sell real estate...u need to atleast pass 3 exams...phase 1,2,3... 1 is pretty easy...2 is pretty hard...3 im not sure yet..havent done..

in terms of hours....when u start....ur gonna have to work pretty hard....but once ur clientelle starts building up...thingd wil be much more better

my aunt goes on vacation like 5 times a year...she doesnt have to find houses to sell...clients come looking for her..

she makes mad cash...

IMO....theres a huge potential in real estate...but u gotta be able to handle the pressure to begin with...

check this site out...ontario real estate association.

www.orea.com

it s good now cuz of the boom, but remember during the 90s? when mortgages were high? real estate agents weren't making much backl then or during times when real estate isn't big.

[ronny1980]

the number of hours u want to work depends on u...and the broker..some brokers allow it..some dont..

my mom and aunt works for remax... and they love it..

If u sell a house u listed...then u will get the full commision...which is around 7% depending on the broker...theres 2 kinds..

usually an agent lists and another sells..so u split the commision...

but think about..if one agent lists a for $300000... and ur able to sell it...u will get about 3-3.5 commision..thats like $9000 rite there..is good money...

if u sold a house u listed...at $300000....u will get $18000 before tax....which is pretty damn good man..

u will also have to choose whether u want to do residential or commercial...suually ppl do residential first...easier..gain some experience..and then later on...start doing some commercial.. and once u have enuf clients....u can become a broker.. and start pulling A $HITLOAD OF MONEY

[frogger]

Doesn't the brokerage take a percentage of the comission?

[ronny1980]

yes he does....basically theres suualyl a 4 way split...

Listing agent/listing broker
Selling agent/selling broker

of course the agents get more cos they do the work...

each agent usually gets around 3-3.5%..and the broker gets around 2-1.5%

but commisions differ for each broker...
theres usually 2 types...

type 1: agents get a higer % commision but every month they have to pay the broker a Desk fee. (this protects the broker so that if the agents dont sell anything the broker still gets money)

type 2: agents get a lower % commision but nothing is paid to the broker if they dont sell anyting

[Rehan]

in terms of hours....when u start....ur gonna have to work pretty hard....but once ur clientelle starts building up...thingd wil be much more better

suually ppl do residential first...easier..gain some experience..and then later on...start doing some commercial.. and once u have enuf clients....u can become a broker..

What do mean be clientelle/"enough clients"? Real estate buying/selling is basically a one-time transacation, so there's no additional business one you finish the deal...at least not until the next time they're in the market to buy or sell again, and that may be many years down the road.

So wouldn't the size of your marketing audience be more important than the past clientelle?

[gman]

in terms of hours....when u start....ur gonna have to work pretty hard....but once ur clientelle starts building up...thingd wil be much more better

suually ppl do residential first...easier..gain some experience..and then later on...start doing some commercial.. and once u have enuf clients....u can become a broker..

What do mean be clientelle/"enough clients"? Real estate buying/selling is basically a one-time transacation, so there's no additional business one you finish the deal...at least not until the next time they're in the market to buy or sell again, and that may be many years down the road.

Of course, there are. If your customer like your service, they will introduce their relative, friends, etc, to you. Also, real estate agent also deals with rental property.

[Rehan]

Of course, there are. If your customer like your service, they will introduce their relative, friends, etc, to you. Also, real estate agent also deals with rental property.

Well, I would consider the relatives, friends, etc. not to be clients, but rather the audience of word-of-mouth marketing... But if that's what ronny was including, then okay.