Real Estate

Earn back buyer's real estate agent commission - Become an Agent. New Humber College Course is now live!

  • Last Updated:
  • Jun 26th, 2023 4:42 pm
Tags:
None
Member
Apr 22, 2015
388 posts
76 upvotes
Toronto, ON
mathiewannabe wrote: real estate agent... professional? please. are you a real agent?

a high school kid can become a real estate agent by spending couple of months. there's no special skills nor is it hard to obtain.

you think becoming a real estate agent is on the level of earning an engineering degree or accounting designation?
it's easier than earning a diploma at community college which any idiot can do.

Also, oil changes?? anyone can do that too. a lot of people do oil changes themselves. it's not a rocket science. Mechanics don't become mechanics to do simple things like oil changes.
Ok I think I'm seeing your logic, if something is relatively easy to learn and do, then those people shouldn't be paid, they should spend 10 years in school and have an md before they can earn more than minimum wage. There are many professions where the work itself is very easy to do, and the pay is very high, i don't berate my dentist for charging $300 to pull a tooth I could do that myself couldn't I? I think you're upset that there are people that chose a career path seemingly easier than what you chose but make more money, that's called being bitter. No one likes a bitter mean spirited person, at the end of the day everyone is just trying to make a living for themselves and their families a little respect goes a long way.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 20, 2011
5310 posts
484 upvotes
Vancouver
LandKing wrote: probably because he's an Eng or Acct grad who makes less than RE agents without knowing why.
Haters will hate. I see that a lot with vehicles as well.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 20, 2011
5310 posts
484 upvotes
Vancouver
LandKing wrote: a good RE agents require a lot of soft skills, communication, negotiation that majority of engineering and accounting people don't have. Sure the technical skills or education required to be a RE agent is minimal just like a cop or sports player.. but to be good at it... takes a lot more

I see a lot of the younger grads and even some established worker with dismal soft skills like communication, leadership, negotiation or even written skills...I'm not talking about grammar. In real life, the hard skills for majority of professions are not really required..there's low level people to do that and it's easy to teach/learn. It's the soft skills like building relationships, negotiations..heck even knowing when to CC people and how to deliver the message that's most important.
You took the words right out of my mouth.

http://agbeat.com/real-estate-coaching- ... ate-agent/
"Education, Legal, Negotiation, Processing, Problem-Solving, Marketing, Leadership, Team Building, Tech-Savvy, Communication"
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 20, 2011
5310 posts
484 upvotes
Vancouver
AgentRoyal wrote: Ok I think I'm seeing your logic, if something is relatively easy to learn and do, then those people shouldn't be paid, they should spend 10 years in school and have an md before they can earn more than minimum wage. There are many professions where the work itself is very easy to do, and the pay is very high, i don't berate my dentist for charging $300 to pull a tooth I could do that myself couldn't I? I think you're upset that there are people that chose a career path seemingly easier than what you chose but make more money, that's called being bitter. No one likes a bitter mean spirited person, at the end of the day everyone is just trying to make a living for themselves and their families a little respect goes a long way.
Exactly. You don't see weekly discussion's about many other jobs saying they make so much for not enough work. The funniest part is that you can hire a realtor by the hour but almost nobody does.
Deal Addict
User avatar
Jan 14, 2006
1093 posts
43 upvotes
Toronto
AgentRoyal wrote: Ok I think I'm seeing your logic, if something is relatively easy to learn and do, then those people shouldn't be paid, they should spend 10 years in school and have an md before they can earn more than minimum wage. There are many professions where the work itself is very easy to do, and the pay is very high, i don't berate my dentist for charging $300 to pull a tooth I could do that myself couldn't I? I think you're upset that there are people that chose a career path seemingly easier than what you chose but make more money, that's called being bitter. No one likes a bitter mean spirited person, at the end of the day everyone is just trying to make a living for themselves and their families a little respect goes a long way.
lol extracting an adult tooth in a proper way is not an easy thing to do. You could do a lot more harm than good by doing it yourself.

The works of a dentist are not easy to do. The procedures are fairly complicated to do and are complex.
Banned
User avatar
Nov 1, 2014
4317 posts
562 upvotes
Toronto, ON
popbottle wrote: You took the words right out of my mouth.

http://agbeat.com/real-estate-coaching- ... ate-agent/
"Education, Legal, Negotiation, Processing, Problem-Solving, Marketing, Leadership, Team Building, Tech-Savvy, Communication"
Yes I forgot to add in..ability to have difficult conversations and think on your feet and be decisive is important as well and I can see especially in real estate especially...I mean with the market nowadays..you have multiple buyers for most properties..ability to make a quick decision on clauses and determine what offer would be most likely accepted is imporant..the highest offer does not always win.. having the conversation and understanding what's important to both parties is essential to be able to have a chance of offer acceptance.

simple things like knowing what clauses to include/exclude, what offer to sign back at, closing dates etc... and sure they could be negotiated..if it wasn't as fast paced as it is today... if a few offers come back and one already ticks all the sellers boxes in terms of closing and clauses...that is the one that prevails a lot of times..why waste time signing back to others who may or may not agree and lose another offer.

a lot of kids/students/fresh grads have no understanding of how it really works....books/technical skills are important..just like RE agents need to know the rules/regulations of the process...but tech skills are easy and do not distinguish the good from the bad... it's all the other skills that can't be teached is what separates the lifetime analysts to senior management in corporate and from the bad to good agents.
Banned
User avatar
Nov 1, 2014
4317 posts
562 upvotes
Toronto, ON
kasianman wrote: lol extracting an adult tooth in a proper way is not an easy thing to do. You could do a lot more harm than good by doing it yourself.

The works of a dentist are not easy to do. The procedures are fairly complicated to do and are complex.
I think that was his point... it may seem easy, quick but like most things..it is more than what's on the surface or as it appears to a layman
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 20, 2011
5310 posts
484 upvotes
Vancouver
LandKing wrote: Yes I forgot to add in..ability to have difficult conversations and think on your feet and be decisive is important as well and I can see especially in real estate especially...I mean with the market nowadays..you have multiple buyers for most properties..ability to make a quick decision on clauses and determine what offer would be most likely accepted is imporant..the highest offer does not always win.. having the conversation and understanding what's important to both parties is essential to be able to have a chance of offer acceptance.

simple things like knowing what clauses to include/exclude, what offer to sign back at, closing dates etc... and sure they could be negotiated..if it wasn't as fast paced as it is today... if a few offers come back and one already ticks all the sellers boxes in terms of closing and clauses...that is the one that prevails a lot of times..why waste time signing back to others who may or may not agree and lose another offer.

a lot of kids/students/fresh grads have no understanding of how it really works....books/technical skills are important..just like RE agents need to know the rules/regulations of the process...but tech skills are easy and do not distinguish the good from the bad... it's all the other skills that can't be teaches is what separates the lifetime analysts to senior management in corporate and from the bad to good agents.
Quick thinking and fast-paced- These requirements weren't so important years ago unlike other individuals that say the job has gotten easier. Exactly about the technical or book skills as well. People skills are one of the most important parts.
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 20, 2011
5310 posts
484 upvotes
Vancouver
LandKing wrote: I think that was his point... it may seem easy, quick but like most things..it is more than what's on the surface or as it appears to a layman
Exactly. Comparing that is useful as some people aren't aware that that the other mentioned profession doesn't exactly have the best reputation for decent costs for what is provided, hence the growing industry of tourism to other countries, with the cost savings being able to pay for a nice vacation.
Deal Expert
Feb 29, 2008
21738 posts
21353 upvotes
Tarrana & The Ri…
LandKing wrote: a good RE agents require a lot of soft skills, communication, negotiation that majority of engineering and accounting people don't have. Sure the technical skills or education required to be a RE agent is minimal just like a cop or sports player.. but to be good at it... takes a lot more

I see a lot of the younger grads and even some established worker with dismal soft skills like communication, leadership, negotiation or even written skills...I'm not talking about grammar. In real life, the hard skills for majority of professions are not really required..there's low level people to do that and it's easy to teach/learn. It's the soft skills like building relationships, negotiations..heck even knowing when to CC people and how to deliver the message that's most important.
Pretty much. His post was ignorant. You need a lot of skills to be a successfull agent. Some of them can't even be taught. I could tell you a number of these RD nerds would fail in RE. 0 people skills and inability to function without instructions to follow.
Banned
User avatar
Nov 1, 2014
4317 posts
562 upvotes
Toronto, ON
AgentRoyal wrote: There are many professions where the work is easy and well paid that's my point, interlocking for example isn't hard lay a few bricks get a pressing machine, anyone could learn it in an afternoon, doesn't change the fact that you will still have to pay 10-20k for the work once it's done. Anyway to each their own, thankfully the masses have more sense than the el cheapo DIY folks, who think they can go to a Home Depot course and successfully build their own deck. Lol.
this is the RFD mentality...everything can be learned doing by looking on youtube

I tried to caulk my faucet in my shower with silicon because there was some gap after drying ...boy did I make a mess and does it look ever ugly..nothing like how I thought it would be from looking online and thinking it's just squeeze bottle and shape with a pointed tool lol
Sr. Member
Sep 16, 2009
693 posts
481 upvotes
LandKing wrote: this is the RFD mentality...everything can be learned doing by looking on youtube

I tried to caulk my faucet in my shower with silicon because there was some gap after drying ...boy did I make a mess and does it look ever ugly..nothing like how I thought it would be from looking online and thinking it's just squeeze bottle and shape with a pointed tool lol
I think the broader point is being missed here. Its not so much that one doesn't want to necessarily hire real estate agents. Its more that they are overpaid - yes that can be made into a whole discussion too but agents - lets at least be somewhat honest about this. If the commission on selling/buying a house was more along the lines of 2% total, it would flush out the oversupply of agents (and there is a huge glut of those because the barrier to entry in this field is so low) and both the buyer and seller would benefit and people wouldnt hate agents so much. I cant think of any other more universally hated professional.

The fact that one could become their own agent and sell/buy at least their own house and come ahead says something about the whole real estate system as it is in ontario currently. I know I wont be hiring an agent to sell or buy my next place but I know I will probably have one on the other side of the transaction. They are not going to go away, but you can minimize their damage.
Penalty Box
User avatar
Jul 11, 2008
4368 posts
1508 upvotes
Away from RFD idiots
AgentRoyal wrote: Ok I think I'm seeing your logic, if something is relatively easy to learn and do, then those people shouldn't be paid, they should spend 10 years in school and have an md before they can earn more than minimum wage. There are many professions where the work itself is very easy to do, and the pay is very high, i don't berate my dentist for charging $300 to pull a tooth I could do that myself couldn't I? I think you're upset that there are people that chose a career path seemingly easier than what you chose but make more money, that's called being bitter. No one likes a bitter mean spirited person, at the end of the day everyone is just trying to make a living for themselves and their families a little respect goes a long way.
No, I don't think you see my logic.

Your example is.... Dentist? are you kidding me?

No, i never berate my dentist nor have I berated ophthalmologist who did 10 minutes of work giving me lasik which i paid $3k for. I was thankful for their service.

No, I'm not an accountant nor an engineer but yes, I do find it very unfair when there are many engineers out of work in Canada while we have no skill job like real estate agents making a killing by selling couple of houses - which isn't even theirs. Does that make me a bitter mean person? If you say so.

RE agents will eventually be replaced by technology in the next 50 years. I suppose you can keep selling houses of other people and take a cut of 2.5-3% of total selling price until then.
In Quebec, I heard not many people use RE agents there, but something like comfree is popular there.

To people saying it requires a lot of skills to become a successful agent... please. I suppose it'll come easy if you're out going, but same can be said for car sales man. it doesn't require any brains to become one.
..
Deal Fanatic
User avatar
Apr 20, 2011
5310 posts
484 upvotes
Vancouver
LandKing wrote: this is the RFD mentality...everything can be learned doing by looking on youtube

I tried to caulk my faucet in my shower with silicon because there was some gap after drying ...boy did I make a mess and does it look ever ugly..nothing like how I thought it would be from looking online and thinking it's just squeeze bottle and shape with a pointed tool lol
You hit the nail on the head. You're not a disillusioned hater against people who make a better living than you. It takes skills to become a successful anything.
Sr. Member
May 11, 2009
706 posts
280 upvotes
Lawl great troll thread OP! Now we can pretty clearly see who's an Agent on this board. 5/5 will subscribe again!
Penalty Box
User avatar
Jul 11, 2008
4368 posts
1508 upvotes
Away from RFD idiots
popbottle wrote: You hit the nail on the head. You're not a disillusioned hater against people who make a better living than you. It takes skills to become a successful anything.
are you an RE agent? of course, agents will defend their 'profession'.

my post was purely against his post saying
Lol@ anyone going through all this trouble to save on fees. while you're at it maybe post some mechanic courses for me so I can do my own oil changes and stuff...matter fact with Google who needs to hire a professional for anything? Just search videos and diy your heart out. Thankfully 95% of the general population see the value in hiring qualified people for services instead of bursting a blood vessel trying and often failing to do things themselves. Just saying
yes, I suppose there value because there's a lot of people who use RE agents, but don't bring down others who see RE agents as nothing more than a LEECH and want to do the process themselves - they don't see any value in agents period.

People will google how to do oil changes themselves, but they're not going to become a MECHANIC just to maintain their car.
..
Member
Jul 1, 2008
259 posts
33 upvotes
I think some people are missing the OPs point in his post in which it's stated he only plans to do this on the side and sell maybe 1 house per year. I'm sure you need certain soft skills to become a successful full-time agent, but this is more like a one-off thing. This also brings to light the broader question of whether or not agents' commissions are too high in this market.

There are a lot of people selling homes on their own now, see all those propertyguys signs on the streets. This is just another way to further capitalize on that. Whether or not you are willing to go through the effort of it all is a different question.
Deal Expert
User avatar
Aug 2, 2010
15196 posts
5016 upvotes
Here 'n There
LandKing wrote: a good RE agents require a lot of soft skills, communication, negotiation that majority of engineering and accounting people don't have. Sure the technical skills or education required to be a RE agent is minimal just like a cop or sports player.. but to be good at it... takes a lot more

I see a lot of the younger grads and even some established worker with dismal soft skills like communication, leadership, negotiation or even written skills...I'm not talking about grammar. In real life, the hard skills for majority of professions are not really required..there's low level people to do that and it's easy to teach/learn. It's the soft skills like building relationships, negotiations..heck even knowing when to CC people and how to deliver the message that's most important.
Everything you mention has nothing to do with the qualification process of 4 bird courses & 3 exams, comprising 175 hours of study, all of which you can do in 4 months. The attributes you describe, while very important to become a successful agent, are not exclusive to the real estate profession nor does the licencing body have them as requirements. Yes the proof is in the pudding after you get licenced in terms of being successful, but in the beginning everyone has the same potential as you did when you were first became licenced. That is my point. The hurdles are the lowest of any 'profession' I have ever seen, if you can even call something that takes less than $3,000 and 4 months to become licenced a 'profession' Becoming successful once one is licenced as a real estate agent is not the topic of this thread.

Basically: Breathe, be 18 without even a high school diploma, pay the $1,820, do the 4 courses, pass the 3 multiple choice exams with a score of at least 75% and you can be licenced to sell real estate by paying another $750 to RECO for registration to be licenced in Ontario and for insurance. That's it! The $860 TREB/OREA/CREA annual fees are optional and non-payment of them do not bar you from transacting real estate in Ontario as I point out in my first post (even though popbottle, apparently a BC real estate agent, keeps denying that reality in Ontario).
Banned
User avatar
Nov 1, 2014
4317 posts
562 upvotes
Toronto, ON
eonibm wrote: Everything you mention has nothing to do with the qualification process of 4 bird courses & 3 exams, comprising 175 hours of study, all of which you can do in 4 months. The attributes you describe, while very important to become a successful agent, are not exclusive to the real estate profession nor does the licencing body have them as requirements. . Breathe, be 18 without even a high school diploma, pay the $1,820, do the 4 courses, pass the 3 exams and you can be licenced to sell real estate by paying another $750 to RECO for registration. That's it! TREB/OREA/CREA fees are optional.
notice how I prefaced what i said in the very first line in the second word with "good"

Top

Thread Information

There are currently 2 users viewing this thread. (0 members and 2 guests)